Unique honour for ‘very special’ Feeney

One of the greatest yet relatively unknown of modern philanthropists has become the first person to be conferred with an honorary degree by all universities of Ireland.

Charles F “Chuck” Feeney, founder of Atlantic Philanthropies, received the honour at a ceremony in Dublin Castle in recognition of his multimillion-euro contributions to the higher education sector over the past 23 years.

It is estimated that the 81-year-old billionaire, who advocates a “giving while living” philosophy, has donated almost €800m to universities on both sides of the border since 1989.