COMEDIAN DES Bishop has been honoured alongside an academic, a businessman and a judge at the annual University College Cork alumni achievement awards.
Other UCC graduates honoured included Mr Justice Patrick J McCarthy, Intel vice-president Rory McInerney, Prof Éamonn Quigley of Cork alimentary and pharmabiotic centre and Dr Con Murphy, president of UCC Gaelic Football Club.
As well as being a stand-up comedian, Bishop has produced three RTÉ television series, most famously In Name of the Fada, derived from his Irish language learning experience when he went to the Connemara Gaeltacht for 12 months of intense study.
Mr Justice McCarthy was a barrister and senior counsel before his appointment to the High Court in May 2007.
He is also a member of the criminal law codification advisory committee established in 2006 by the Minister for Justice.
Rory McInerney, vice-president of Intel based in California, is from Limerick and leads engineering teams responsible for the design and development of microprocessors for the high-performance computing market. The work involves close to 1,000 RD engineers across the US.
Mr McInerney is a founding member of the Irish leadership technology group, established in 2007 in Silicon Valley, comprising technology leaders who are Irish or Irish-American and committed to helping Irish high-tech companies succeed globally.
Prof Quigley is a leading international expert in the field of gastroenterology. He is professor of medicine and human physiology and a principal investigator at the alimentary pharmabiotic centre at UCC. He is president of the World Gastroenterology Organisation and is the immediate past president of the American College of Gastroenterology.
Dr Murphy is the first recipient of the alumnus award for voluntary services to UCC. He combines his general practice in Cork city with his involvement in UCC GAA.