Broadcaster John Bowman to be made Honorary Corkman; Tom Cavanagh to be inducted into Hall of Fame

Historian and broadcaster John Bowman is to be made an Honorary Corkman while businessman and philanthropist Tom Cavanagh will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at next month's Cork Person of the Year awards.

Mr Bowman is to be made an Honorary Corkman at the annual awards lunch which will take place at the Rochestown Park Hotel on Jan 17.

He will follow in the footsteps of previous Honorary Corkmen Joe Schmidt, Michael Flatley, Jeremy Irons and David and Patsy Puttnam.

John Bowman

Mr Bowman is a very respected political and current affairs broadcaster, with a career spanning many decades, anchoring such TV and radio programmes as Day by Day, Today Tonight and Questions & Answers.

He currently broadcasts every week on RTÉ Radio 1 Bowman: Sunday bringing his selected recordings from the RTÉ archives.

He also recently did the TV commentary for the Gay Byrne's funeral.

Mr Cavanagh will become only the third Corkman to enter the Hall of Fame. The other past inductees were Ted Crosbie and Fergal Keane. Despite Mr Cavanagh’s great success in business, he has spent much of his life working for social responsibility and equality.

Tom Cavanagh

He has promoted the importance of education and UCC thanked him for his many decades of contribution by naming a bridge in his family's name on the grounds of the university.

In the 1980s he also established The Tomar Trust, which earned him the lifetime achievement in philanthropy award in recognition of his contribution to communities in Munster and the rest of Ireland. It provides support and resources to community groups. He also established Irish Business Against Litter.