James Joyce Award

The James Joyce Award, also known as the Honorary Fellowship of the Society, is an award given by the Literary and Historical Society (L&H) of University College Dublin (UCD) for those who have achieved outstanding success in their given field. Recipients have ranged from respected academics, lauded political figures, skilled actors and, like James Joyce himself, writers. It is the highest award that an Irish University society can give. It is named after one of the society's most distinguished alumni, James Joyce, the author of Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses and Finnegans Wake.

Joyce was a student at University College, the predecessor of UCD, from 1898 to 1903, where he studied modern languages. In 1900, he presented a paper "Drama and Life" to the society. He also ran for the top position of auditor, but failed to be elected.



Actors

 * Rory Bremner – British satirist
 * Aaron Eckhart – Actor
 * Will Ferrell – Comedian and actor
 * Ralph Fiennes – Actor
 * Neil Flynn – Actor
 * Martin Freeman – Actor
 * Tom Felton - Actor and musician
 * Barry Humphries – Actor and comedian
 * Eddie Izzard – Comedian
 * Shappi Khorsandi – Comedian
 * Sam Lloyd – Actor
 * Michael Palin – Monty Python member
 * Alan Rickman – Actor
 * Robert Sheehan – Actor
 * Michael Sheen – Actor
 * Erik Per Sullivan – Actor
 * Kristian Nairn – Actor
 * Jane Lynch - Actress
 * Patrick J. Adams - Actor

Musicians

 * Alt-J – English indie rock band
 * Roger Daltrey – Lead singer of British rock band The Who
 * George Martin – Producer of The Beatles
 * Emeli Sandé – Scottish recording artist and songwriter
 * Jack White – American recording artist and songwriter, and member of The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather
 * Picture This – Irish pop rock band
 * Imogen Heap – British electropop musician

Political figures

 * Hans Blix – Former Chief UN Weapons inspector
 * Robin Cook – British politician
 * F.W. de Klerk – Former South African President
 * John Howard – Former Australian Prime Minister
 * John Hume – Nobel Laureate and Northern Irish politician
 * Jesse Jackson – US Civil Rights Advocate
 * Alastair Campbell – Journalist and Director of Communications and Strategy for Tony Blair
 * Patrick Leahy – Former U.S. Senator
 * Alaa Murabit – UN High-Level Commissioner and Sustainable Development Goals Advocate
 * David Norris – Former Senator and gay rights advocate
 * Rory O'Neill – Drag queen and gay rights activist
 * John Bercow – Former Speaker of the House of Commons
 * Brian Schweitzer – Former Governor of Montana
 * Desmond Tutu – Social rights activist
 * Nancy Pelosi - Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
 * Al Sharpton - Minister and civil rights activist
 * Martin Dempsey - Former U.S. Army General and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
 * Eamon Ryan - Former leader of The Green Party and Government Minister
 * Eamon Ryan - Former leader of The Green Party and Government Minister

Scientists and academics

 * Noam Chomsky – Academic and theorist
 * Robert Gallo – Biomedical researcher
 * Paul Krugman – Economist
 * John Nash – Nobel Laureate and mathematician
 * Johan Norberg – Swedish historian and writer
 * Richard Swinburne – British philosopher
 * Kip Thorne – Theoretical Physicist
 * Gabriele Veneziano – Physicist
 * Steven Weinberg – Physicist

Sportspeople

 * Gary Lineker – Television host and former England soccer captain
 * Niall Quinn – Irish international football player and Sunderland FC Chairman
 * Tony Hawk – Skateboarder
 * Alex Ferguson – Manchester United manager
 * Ken Doherty – World Snooker Champion
 * Lawrie Sanchez – Northern Ireland manager
 * Pádraig Harrington – Irish golfer

Writers

 * Bill Bryson – Writer
 * JK Rowling – Writer of the Harry Potter series
 * Neil Gaiman – Writer of the Sandman series, Coraline, American Gods
 * DBC Pierre – Writer and Booker Prize winner
 * Salman Rushdie – Writer and Booker Prize winner
 * Sue Townsend – Writer
 * Yu Hua – Writer
 * Seamus Heaney – Poet and Nobel Laureate
 * Roddy Doyle – Author
 * Liz Nugent – Writer

Other

 * Jenna Mourey – YouTube celebrity
 * Brandon Stanton – Street photographer, Humans of New York
 * Laura Ricciardi – Filmmaker
 * Steve Schapiro – Photographer
 * Moira Demos – Filmmaker
 * Joe Randazzo – Former editor-in-chief of the Onion
 * Grace Beverley – Founder & CEO of fitness brands Tala and Shreddy
 * Vincent Browne - Journalist