UL presents actress Ruth Negga and artist Rhiannon Giddens with honorary doctorates

Rhiannon Giddens and Ruth Negga were conferred with the institution’s highest award at a ceremony today, Monday, in UL’s Irish World Academy of Music and Dance. Picture: Sean Curtin.

Actress Ruth Negga and Grammy Award-winning artist Rhiannon Giddens were described as "extraordinary artists" to inspire the next generation of what is achievable, as they were presented with honorary doctorates at the University of Limerick (UL).

The pair were conferred with the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters at a ceremony in UL’s Irish World Academy of Music and Dance.

In his conferring address, acting UL President, Professor Shane Kilcommins, hailed them as “extraordinary artists whose contributions to music, film, theatre, and culture have resonated across Ireland and the world”.

Mr Kilcommins said artists like them “do more than inspire admiration” and expand the horizon of what is possible for Limerick students.

“Rhiannon’s residency at the Irish World Academy over the past four years has enlivened our campus, shaped curricula, and supported students in profound ways. Her recent support for a scholarship fundraising concert further demonstrates the generosity she extends to the next generation of musicians and creatives.

“Ruth, through her global success, shows our students, especially those from Limerick, that their stories, their talent, and their heritage have a place on the world stage. Her career models artistic discipline, integrity, and ambition in equal measure,” Mr Kilcommins said.

Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to an Irish mother and Ethiopian father, Ruth Negga moved to Limerick at the age of four and later studied acting at Trinity College Dublin.

Her breakthrough came in 2005 in Neil Jordan's Breakfast on Pluto. She then became known for her role as Rosie in RTÉ’s Love/Hate and went on to appear in Channel 4’s Misfits, while also portraying Welsh singer Dame Shirley Bassey in the BBC biopic Shirley. In 2015, she was cast as Tulip O'Hare in the series Preacher, for which her performance won her new admirers in the US.

In 2021, her performance in the period drama Passing earned 35 nominations and 12 wins. In 2022, she was nominated for a Tony Award for her Broadway debut in Macbeth.

Now living in Limerick, Californian Rhiannon Giddens is a two-time Grammy award-winning singer and multi-instrumentalist, Pulitzer Prize Winner and composer of opera, ballet and film. For the past four years, she has served as artist-in-residence at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance.

Named as one of the 25 Most Influential Women Musicians of the 21st Century, she has dedicated her career to amplifying voices that have been erased from the historical record.

Recently, she made headlines by playing banjo on Beyoncé’s chart-topping country hit Texas Hold ’Em. She also contributed to the original soundtrack of the movie Sinners, starring Michael B Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld and Jack O’Connell.