TCH director among figures to receive honorary degrees

A DIRECTOR of Thomas Crosbie Holdings —which includes the Irish Examiner— is one of five key figures in the worlds of education, literature, business and philanthropy to be awarded honorary degrees at University College Cork next month.

Ted Crosbie was the fourth generation of Crosbies to run the paper, along with his cousins, George and Donal. Two members of the fifth generation — his son Tom and George's son, Alan — are represented on the board of Examiner Publications.

Mr Crosbie oversaw the introduction of state-of-the-art print technology to the Cork Examiner (as it was then) and Evening Echo in the mid-1970s.

The National University of Ireland doctorates are designed to honour people who have distinguished themselves through scholarship, creativity, public service or contribution to social, cultural or economic life. The five recipients will be honoured at a ceremony on June 8.

Mr Crosbie said yesterday: “I am delighted to be awarded the doctorate. It is a tribute to the five generations of my family who have kept the company going through thick and thin. It’s also a tribute to the staff who have come along with us.”

The 76-year-old UCC science graduate is a director of Thomas Crosbie Holdings Ltd, named after his great-grandfather who took over the Cork Examiner newspaper in 1872.

Another Munster man being honoured is retired school principal Bertie Kelliher, a native of Gneeveguilla in Kerry. He was involved in evaluating submissions to the Ireland Fund and commissions for the Department of Education.

Ted Murphy, one of the country’s leading wine experts, is being honoured for a life in the wine trade. His book, A Kingdom of Wine — published two years ago — is a history and tribute to the Irish missionaries in Europe and their contribution to the development of wine culture from the sixth century.

Also being honoured next month is Irish-American philanthropist Loreta Brennan Glucksman, who along with her late husband, Lewis, has made generous financial contributions to Irish third level education. She has served on the board of the IDA and on other boards representing UCC, Trinity College Dublin and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

An honorary degree is also being presented to American novelist and Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Ford. He won the coveted literary award in 1995 for his novel Independence Day.