University of Limerick bestows honorary doctorates on Hollywood star and Grammy-award winning artist

ONE of Ireland’s most acclaimed actresses and a two-time Grammy Award winning artist have been awarded honorary doctorates by University of Limerick.

Ruth Negga and Rhiannon Giddens were conferred with the institution’s highest award at a ceremony on Monday, in UL’s Irish World Academy of Music and Dance.

They were conferred with the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters by UL’s Chancellor Professor Brigid Laffan at an event attended by their family, friends and invited guests.

In his conferring address, Acting UL President Professor Shane Kilcommins hailed “two extraordinary artists whose contributions to music, film, theatre, and culture have resonated across Ireland and the world."

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“Today, we recognise not just the excellence of their craft, but the spirit, bravery, and integrity with which they practice it."

“Artists such as Rhiannon and Ruth do more than inspire admiration; they expand the horizon of what is possible for our students. Rhiannon’s residency at the Irish World Academy over the past four years has enlivened our campus, shaped curricula, and supported students in profound ways. Her recent support for a scholarship fundraising concert further demonstrates the generosity she extends to the next generation of musicians and creatives."

“Ruth, through her global success, shows our students, especially those from Limerick, that their stories, their talent, and their heritage have a place on the world stage. Her career models artistic discipline, integrity, and ambition in equal measure."

“These are not abstract benefits. They change lives. They shape dreams. They expand opportunity."

“The honorary doctorate is among the highest distinctions a university can bestow. In awarding it, we are not only recognising the exceptional achievements of two remarkable individuals, but we are also recognising the broader contribution of the arts."

“Today, we honour their achievements. But we also honour what they represent: the transformative power of artistic practice to advance knowledge, deepen understanding, and inspire the world,” added Professor Kilcommins.

Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to an Irish mother and Ethiopian father, Ruth Negga moved to Limerick at the age of four and later studied acting at Trinity College Dublin.

Ruth has said in the past that acting is a genuine calling for her – a way of finding and telling stories that would otherwise go untold.

After graduating in 2002, Ruth Negga steadily built an acclaimed acting career. Her breakthrough came in 2005 in Neil Jordan's Breakfast on Pluto.

She became a household name in Ireland in 2011 for her role as Rosie in RTÉ’s Love/Hate and went on to appear in Channel 4’s Misfits and portray Welsh singer Dame Shirley Bassey in the BBC biopic Shirley. In 2015, Ruth was cast as Tulip O'Hare in the series Preacher, for which her performance won her new admirers in the US.

She received multiple accolades for her performance in the 2016 film Loving, including a nomination for Best Actress at the Academy Awards.

In 2021, her performance in the period drama Passing earned 35 nominations and 12 wins. In 2022, she was nominated for a Tony Award for her Broadway debut in Macbeth.

Born in North Carolina, now living in Limerick, Rhiannon Giddens is a two-time Grammy award-winning singer and multi-instrumentalist, Pulitzer Prize Winner and composer of opera, ballet and film. For the past four years, she has served as artist-in-residence at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance.

Named as one of the 25 Most Influential Women Musicians of the 21st Century, Rhiannon has dedicated her career to amplifying voices that have been erased from the historical record. Discovering the legacy of African American string bands as a young musician changed her life and set her on a path to challenge dominant narratives and introduce audiences to the Black banjoists and fiddlers who shaped American music.

In 2020, Rhiannon became Artistic Director of the Silkroad Ensemble, an internationally acclaimed collective with a mission of creating music that sparks cultural collaboration and promotes arts education.

Recently, Rhiannon made headlines by playing banjo on Beyoncé’s chart-topping country hit Texas Hold ’Em, a collaboration that bridges genres and challenges boundaries.