Moya Brennan and Dómhnal Slattery receive honorary doctorates from Dublin City University

Today (Thursday May 26th) Dublin City University conferred the award of Doctor of Philosophy (Honoris Causa) on Irish folk musician Moya Brennan and Avolon chief executive Dómhnal Slattery.

They join noted figures from politics, sport, literature and industry in receiving this award from DCU. They include Jim Gavin, Paula Meehan, Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh, Sonia O'Sullivan, Bill Clinton, Seamus Mallon and David Trimble.

Delivering the citation for Moya Brennan, Dr. Síle Denvir DCU’s Scoil na Gaeilge, said: 

“Moya has an innate ability to find the heart of music, to reach the essence of a song or a tune, and to make the ordinary extraordinary. Her many accolades, including a Grammy and an Emmy, are testament to this. Moya has played on the greatest stages in the world with many, many famous singers and musicians, but her generosity of spirit and grounded connection with her roots always bring her back home to the stage her father carved out for her and for her siblings in Tábhairne Leo in Mín na Leice.”

Moya Brennan said:

“I’m so thrilled and humbled to receive an honour such as this from an amazing university. Not in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be conferred with a Doctor of Philosophy. Singing and playing music for over 50 years makes this Honorary Doctorate something very special and I hope I can continue to use my talent to reach other frontiers and spread good will. It is especially wonderful that Dublin City University have set such importance on valuing, preserving and protecting the Irish language having, myself, collected and recorded Gaeilge songs from my area over many years.”

Delivering the citation for Dómhnal Slattery, Dr Cathal Guiomard, Assistant Professor in Aviation Management at DCU’s Business School, said:

“Dómhnal Slattery has been the recipient of many honours, among them the Lewis L Glucksman Award for Ethical Leadership for his contribution to aviation, entrepreneurship and to the arts. He has been vocal on the need for the aviation firms like Avolon to be positive corporate citizens. He put words into action in the early days of the pandemic, when Avolon chartered three aircraft to fly millions of pieces of PPE from China to Ireland, an initiative carried out in conjunction with U2 and the aircraft leasing community in Ireland.”

Dómhnal Slattery said:

“I am proud to accept this honour from Dublin City University and delighted to be recognised by a university prized for its innovation and entrepreneurial spirit. The conferring of an Honorary Doctorate is a privilege but with it travels a responsibility. For me, that responsibility is to ensure the next generation of Irish entrepreneurs has all the supports to make their mark around the world - not just in business but in science, technology, the arts and the humanities. Ireland can be a centre for excellence for innovation on the global stage and I am committed to playing a role to support our future entrepreneurs and leaders.”

Prof. Daire Keogh, President of Dublin City University said:

“Moya and Dómhnal are genuine trailblazers in their respective fields of music and aviation. They have both shown a lifelong commitment to the pursuit of excellence, always striving to develop, to learn, to get to the next level. They have also demonstrated the importance of giving back, by supporting the development of the next generation of talent, and sharing their time and experience for the benefit of our wider society.”