One of Trinity College Dublin's most distinguished voices yesterday bowed out after 35 years of presenting Latin eulogies at its honorary degree ceremonies.
Dr John Luce, the college's public orator, gave his last speech at a ceremony in which renowned pianist John O'Conor and the television, film and theatre director, Michael Bogdanov, were among the recipients of honorary doctorates.
The other four recipients of the awards were Professor Alan Heeger, a physicist and Nobel prize winner from the University of California; Dr Cecilia Jarlskog, a theoretical physicist from Lund University; Professor Tim Shallice, an expert in cognitive neuroscience at the University of London; and William Walsh, a businessman and philanthropist.
Speaking at the ceremony, Dr O'Conor said receiving his honorary doctorate in music was "one of the highest honours you can get in Ireland".
This was particularly true because as a young student, he had not been allowed attend TCD.
"Both my sons came here, though," he said. "I would have given my eye teeth to have come here. So being recognised in this way really is a great honour," he added.
Described by the chancellor of the university, former president Mary Robinson as a "most learned and eloquent man", Dr Luce said he had agreed to take on the role of public orator 35 years ago "because the Provost asked me to, and I've always been brought up to do what the Provost said."
While having to translate more recent terms such as "semi-conducting polymers" into Latin was a challenge, he said that frequently such words were "actually clearer in Latin".
He added that officiating at ceremonies recognising former South African president Nelson Mandela, astronaut Neil Armstrong and former president of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev were among the highlights of his career as orator.
"I'm in my mid-80s now, and I thought I'd done it for long enough," he said. "But I do have mixed emotions on a day like today."