Katie Taylor has received an honorary degree in legal studies from Trinity College Dublin.
The university said the boxer and former footballer has legitimate claims “to be Ireland’s greatest ever sporting champion … and one of the most important ever figures in the history of women’s sport globally”.
TCD described her the world and Olympic champion as “a beacon for women’s sport in Ireland” and “will go down in history as one of the most important women athletes of all time”.
The university also honoured musician Sharon Sharon, writer Colm Tóibín, barrister Helena Kennedy and Sister Helen Prejean, an advocate for the abolition of the death penalty.
The recipients of honorary degrees pictured with TCD Chancellor Dr Mary McAleese
TCD said that it was “impossible to overstate the contribution” that Ms Shannon has made to Irish cultural life and traditional music.
Mr Tóibín was described as “one of Ireland’s most important and prolific writers of the 21st Century” and “remains a central figure in Ireland’s intellectual and cultural life”.
Both were made Doctors of Literature.
Katie Taylor and her mother, Bridget
The university said that Ms Kennedy “has had a quite extraordinary impact on law, politics and policy in the UK and beyond … who dealt with many of the most prominent criminal and human rights cases in the UK in the last 50 years”.
The barrister, from Scotland, is also a broadcaster and a member of the House of Lords.
TCD said that Sr Prejean “works tirelessly, giving talks across the USA and beyond, teaching classes, strategising and coordinating with human rights organisations, visiting people on death row and writing”.
The American nun wrote ‘Dead Man Walking’ – based on her experiences with two death row prisoners.
The book was adapted into a film in 1995, with Susan Sarandon playing the part of Sr Prejean, winning an Oscar for her performance.
Both Ms Kennedy and Sr Prejean received honorary degrees in legal studies