NUI Galway awards honorary doctorates to Corless and Shannon

Historian Catherine Corless and musician Sharon Shannon have been awarded honorary doctorates by NUI Galway.

Ms Corless, whose work helped uncover the secret burial of hundreds of children at the Tuam mother and baby home, was awarded a doctorate of arts on Monday.

Shannon, who is best known for her accordion playing, was awarded a doctorate of music on Tuesday. She was involved in the recording of Steve Earle's The Galway Girl in 2000 and worked with Mundy on a cover of the song in 2008.

Prof Caroline McGregor, from the NUIG School of Political Science and Sociology, said the approach Ms Corless took to her research was “meticulous and painstakingly precise”.

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“The work of Catherine Corless has opened up many doors for others to come forward to tell their stories and add weight to the call upon the Church and State to apologise for the actions of this time and takes steps to help those survivors as far as is possible in seeking truth about their own histories and/or their families and providing support to those suffering in the present due to these actions and inactions of the past,” she said.

‘Facts on truth’

Prof McGregor said Ms Corless has sought to neither sensationalise nor minimise her discovery “but rather focus on the facts on truth”.

“Catherine Corless through her advocacy work has sought to re-subjectify the children who had died and their families and relatives because in the moment of their death, they were treated more like objects to dispose of rather than subjects with right for dignity, justice and respect in life and in death. Her work is not just about a focus on those who died but also those who continue to live with the pain, trauma and hurt in the present.”

Regarding Shannon’s contribution to music and Galway, Dr Aidan Thomson, head of music at NUIG, said “few musicians have been so tireless in their advocacy of the cultural life of this city”.

“Sharon Shannon’s career is the perfect example of how traditional Irish music can be celebrated nationally and internationally; through her excellence as a performer, and through the possibilities that it offers to enrich and be enriched by other musical traditions,” he said.