An archaeologist who has pioneered work at Limerick’s Lough Gur has received an honorary doctorate from the University of Limerick (UL).
Rose Cleary was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science for her research over 40 years on the lake area.
Lough Gur is regarded as the only site in Ireland where traces of every age of humankind can be found.
Cleary, from Burncourt, Co Tipperary, has undertaken many internationally significant excavations in the lake’s region, and has found over 1,000 visible monuments across its landscape.
“With findings ranging across the full spectrum of Ireland’s history in Limerick – from mesolithic, neolithic, Bronze Age and Early Christian settlements to castles and tower houses, Rose’s research has opened a window into the lives of the earliest settlers to Ireland,” UL said.
“With Lough Gur attracting over 110,000 visitors a year, Rose has been hailed for her contribution in putting Limerick on the map as a county of exceptional archaeological, historical, and cultural importance,” it said.
“ She is also acknowledged as an important role model for women seeking gender equality in the field of archaeology, having been appointed as a senior archaeologist in University College Cork in the 1980s, a time when it was uncommon for women to hold such high positions,”it said.
Cleary and Dr Maeve Lewis, psychotherapist and chief executive director of One in Four, the Irish charity supporting survivors of childhood sexual abuse, were awarded their honorary doctorates by UL president Prof Kerstin Mey for “their outstanding contribution to society”. Mey described Cleary as a “trailblazing archaeologist”.
The two women are among 3,500 graduates being conferred at UL over five days this week.