Ian Robertson receives Trinity honorary degree

Posted on: 29 November 2024

Three exceptional individuals were conferred today with honorary degrees of the University of Dublin at Trinity College Dublin.   

Neuroscientist Prof. Ian Robertson (below on right), geologist John Feehan (below on left beside Provost Dr Linda Doyle) and former European Commission Secretary General Catherine Day (centre) received Trinity’s highest honour from Chancellor Dr Mary McAleese at a ceremony conducted in Latin in the historic Public Theatre. 

More on the awardees:   

Catherine Day (Doctor in Laws) 

Catherine Day has made a truly remarkable contribution to Europe and European society and to Ireland and Irish society. She joined the European Commission in 1979, working with Commissioner Richard Burke and Commissioner Peter Sutherland, before moving to work as Deputy Head of Cabinet for Commissioner Leon Brittain (first in the Directorate General (DG) for Competition and then in the DG for External Economic Affairs and Trade Policy). She served terms as Deputy Director of the DG for External Relations, where she was responsible for relations with the Balkans and Russia. As Director General of the DG for the Environment, she led the development of the REACH legislation aimed at protecting human health and the environment from chemicals and on policy for climate and renewable energy. She was deeply involved in the enlargement of the EU from 15 countries to today’s 27.  

Day chaired the Association Committees with candidate countries and was one of the architects of the pre-accession process. Most notably in 2005 she was appointed as Secretary General of the entire European Commission. This role meant that she was the top Civil Servant within the European Commission - the first woman to hold such a prestigious post – a position she held for 10 years until her retirement. Known affectionately by colleagues as “Catherine Day and Night”, she worked tirelessly on behalf of the European Union and Europe, and in the context of issues of significant difficulty and controversy including the Euro crisis and complex negotiations over the EU budget. 

On her return to Ireland, following her retirement, she took on multiple high-profile voluntary roles,  including Chair of the Governing Authority of UCC, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Chester Beatty library, Chair of the independent review group on the role of voluntary organisations in publicly funded health services in Ireland, Chair of the Expert Group on Direct Provision, and Chair of the Irish Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality. 

Her deep and on-going commitment to Europe is reflected in her current membership of the Strategic Council of the European Policy Committee, which brings together leaders and experts to provide insights and forward-looking perspectives on the major challenges facing the EU. She is also a board member of the European Movement Ireland and of the Institute of International and European Affairs, an Irish policy think-tank focused on European and international policy trends. 

Catherine Day is the recipient of multiple awards – both national and international, including the Grand officer of the Order of Leopold, the President of Ireland Distinguished Service Award, Garret FitzGerald Gold Medal for International Relations, UCD Foundation Medal, membership of the Royal Irish Academy and the Women who Make a Difference Award from the International Women’s Forum in 2022. 

Public Orator Anna Chahoud praised Catherine Day as “a woman who has inspired us, Irish and European, with her superb sense of responsibility, justice, and renewal ... Her initiative and influence, her ability to bring political vision to administrative oversight, her skills in dealing with people and problems (including the direst crisis of our generation) have made history.” 

John Feehan (Doctor in Science) 

John Feehan is one of Ireland’s leading geologists, botanists, environmental communicators, authors and broadcasters. He is particularly well known as an ‘interpreter of the Irish landscape’, a role for which he has received broadcasting awards. He actively connects with those in agriculture and industry to build appreciation and understanding of biodiversity, and to develop conservation and restoration strategies. 

He was for many years a lecturer in UCD’s school of Agriculture and Food Science and has an extraordinary record in research and teaching (and is an elected member of the Royal Irish Academy). Thus for example, during his research on the stratigraphy and paleontology of the Irish Lower Palaeozoic in the 1970s, he discovered what are still amongst the oldest known vascular plant fossils which indicated that higher plants colonised land at least 415 million years ago and the discovery extended the history of vascular plants back to the mid-Silurian period, far earlier than had previously been thought, a discovery that received international recognition. More generally, he has published multiple books in diverse areas. 

As an outworking of these insights, he has been influential in the restoration and management of peatland landscapes and has also worked on mining and quarrying sites and has been instrumental in assisting Irish extractive industries to comply with European best environmental practice.  

He is a strong advocate for community-supported agriculture and integrated mixed farming as a means of maximising the ‘natural capital’ of land and sustaining rural communities. Between 1992 and 2008 John collaborated with Bord na Móna on Ireland’s peatland heritage. He has developed principles for the restoration of the country’s post-extraction peatlands, emphasising their potential for biodiversity and as a rich amenity resource for local communities. In recent years he has devoted his attention more particularly to the interface between religion and science, reflections on nature and creation, and on human capability and our common home. In his retirement, he continues to teach and write, participating in outreach at all levels: summer schools, field courses and postgraduate programmes.He is also an award-winning environmental communicator whose work is driven by a deep commitment to the maintenance of rural biodiversity and cultural heritage, and the sustaining of rural community.  

Between 1986 and 1990 he wrote and presented the television series Exploring the Landscape and Exploring the Celtic Lands, produced by Éamon de Buitléar and directed by Paddy Breathnach, for which he received a Jacob’s Television Award in 1988.  

He has been recognised by the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management from whom he has received their Environmental Merit Award for involvement in environmental issues and his role in bringing to the attention of the public the importance of environmental heritage. He received a special award from Bord na Móna for his work in communicating environmental values. Finally, during the Covid period he began an ongoing YouTube video series about Ireland’s wildflowers (now in its fifth season) that continues to attract an ever-increasing viewership. 

Public Orator Anna Chahoud called John Feehan an “inspiring interpreter of the Irish landscape and of ‘the other book of Revelation’, Life on Earth.” She added: “He has taken us on a dazzling journey back in time to an unimaginably far distance. But his heart and his voice are firmly fixed on the future, crying for the conservation of natural heritage and the restoration of biodiversity.” 

Ian Robertson (Doctor of Medicine and Doctor in Science)  

Professor Ian H. Robertson is a world-leading neuroscientist and psychologist whose work has had extraordinary social impact and whose pre-eminence in the field of neuroscience is a testament to his relentless pursuit of knowledge and innovation. The stellar nature of his academic career is evidenced by the fact that he was the first psychologist in Ireland to be elected as a member of the Royal Irish Academy. 

Professor Robertson was formerly Professor of Psychology in Trinity College Dublin and a Visiting Professor at University College London, Bangor University, University of Wales and Visiting Scientist at the Rotman Research Institute, University of Toronto. Previously, he was a senior scientist at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at the University of Cambridge, where he was also a fellow at Hughes Hall College. His publication of over 600 books and articles in esteemed scientific journals such as Nature, Brain, Journal of Neuroscience, and Psychological Bulletin underscores the profound impact of his contributions to neuroscience and psychology. 

Professor Robertson's pioneering research and development of innovative rehabilitation strategies, including limb activation training, sustained attention training, and self-alert training, have revolutionised cognitive rehabilitation. His ground-breaking work in Goal Management Training has played a pivotal role in managing frontal lobe impairment. His theoretical approach to cognitive rehabilitation and widely used tests of attention are cornerstones of the field. His research offers invaluable insights into enhancing cognitive function, improving quality of life, and granting autonomy to individuals grappling with neurological and cognitive impairments.  

Moreover, the breadth of the impact of his work exists also in the fact that he has written books which are simultaneously scientifically rigorous and accessible to non-scientists, including The Winner Effect (2012), The Stress Test (2016) and How Confidence Works (2021). 

From the perspective of Trinity College, it is notable that as well as serving as Dean of Research, Professor Robertson was the founding director of Trinity’s Institute of Neuroscience, and the founding director of the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI).  

GBHI represents the largest philanthropic donation ever received by Trinity. This accomplishment alone underscores Professor Robertson's extraordinary ability to leverage his expertise and vision to establish institutions that significantly impact society, culture, and civil society. Indeed, in this regard it is notable that Professor Robertson has, since 2016 been the T Boone Pickens Distinguished Scientist, at the Centre for Brain health at University of Texas, Dallas. The recognition of Professor Robertson's exceptional achievements is particularly timely given the pressing issues and challenges facing healthcare, neuroscience, and cognitive rehabilitation today. In an era characterised by a growing ageing population and rising concerns about mental and brain health, his work is exceptionally relevant. His dedication to advancing knowledge and improving the lives of individuals facing cognitive challenges perfectly aligns with Trinity’s mission and values. 

Professor Robertson is simultaneously being awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Science  - to mark the scale of his achievements - and an Honorary M.D. The latter degree, while not as eminent as a Higher Doctorate, is one of Trinity’s oldest degrees, being first mentioned in the Statutes in 1614, thus there is symbolic significance in connecting Professor Robertson to this degree. 

Public Orator Anna Chahoud described Ian Robertson as “the man who taught us how to ‘tune’ our mind and brain so as to attain a healthier, happier life”. She celebrated "his character and integrity, generosity of spirit and breadth of vision, effective clinical approaches and immense impact on our community” adding that  “his expert combination of cognitive neuroscience theory and clinical practice reminds us that ‘the science of healing was originally held to be part of natural philosophy’  and, as such, is most deserving of an exceptionally dual distinction in Science and in Medicine.”
 

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