The former president of the European Parliament, Pat Cox, and the late art historian and philanthropist, John Hunt, have been awarded honorary degrees at the University of Limerick.
They were among four people recognised for their achievement and contribution to the region in a conferring ceremony yesterday at the university.
Mr Cox, elected president of the European Parliament in 2002, was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Economic Science.
He lectured in economics at UL before spending four years with RTÉ as a presenter and broadcaster on the Today Tonight programme. A former general secretary of the PDs, Mr Cox also served Munster as an independent MEP for more than a decade.
He was "particularly proud" to receive the award in the university where he once taught. "For me this is a very special kind of homecoming. I worked here when this was formerly the National Institute for Higher Education. It is a wonderful honour, the highest honour that a great university can give and I feel very proud to be home in Limerick," he said.
The late art historian and founding director of the Hunt Museum, John Hunt, was awarded a posthumous honorary Doctorate of Letters in recognition of his contribution to the contemporary arts and for his role in spearheading the establishment of the Hunt Museum.
The Hunt Collection, which was donated to the State by the Hunt family, is worth an estimated €70 million and is one of the world's largest private collections of art and artefacts.
Mr Hunt died last August aged 47 and his wife, Patricia, accepted the honorary doctorate yesterday on behalf of her late husband.
Gordon Holmes, chairman of Limerick law firm Holmes O'Malley Sexton, received a Doctorate of Laws acknowledging his 11 years as state solicitor for the city.
John Ryan, chief executive of US-based computer firm Macrovision Corporation, received a doctorate recognising his services to technology.