IN the absence of a national honours system in Ireland, the Royal Dublin Society does bestow honorary life memberships and these are not given lightly. Indeed they reflect great credit on the recipients who include two Nobel Prize winners.

In 1981, to mark the 250th anniversary of its founding, the RDS instituted the award for ‘persons of distinction who had made a significant contribution to Ireland, over and above their normal employment’. The latest to be honoured are Fr Peter McVerry, the social justice campaigner, and the classic-winning trainer Jim Bolger. Both were cited for having made a significant impact on Irish society.