The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland conferred four new Honorary Fellows at a ceremony which took place at the College on St Stephen's Green on Friday night.

The fellowships were awarded to Professor Derek Alderson, Professor Stanley Goldberg, Professor Trevor McGill and Mr Roddy Doyle. Honorary fellowship is the highest distinction the College bestows, recognising outstanding achievement in surgery and other areas.

Professor Derek Alderson is Emeritus Professor of Surgery at the University of Birmingham and immediate Past-President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He has more than 250 publications and has been the sole or major supervisor for 21 research fellows, 15 of whom have been awarded higher degrees. Founding Editor-in-Chief of BJS Open from 2017-2021, Professor Alderson also participated in a Charter Meeting symposium on academic publishing earlier that day. The Honorary Fellowship citation was delivered at the ceremony by Professor Kevin Conlon, RCSI Council Member, who noted Professor Alderson’s many achievements as a surgeon, educator, mentor, and scholar.

Professor Stanely Goldberg is Clinical Professor of Surgery at the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery at the University of Minnesota Medical School and a Senior Surgical Consultant at the Minneapolis Veterans Administration Medical Center. Professor Goldberg is a prolific author, researcher and surgical trainer, having delivered named lectures all over the globe, including the Abraham Colles Lecture at RCSI in 2003. Delivering the citation, Professor Debbie McNamara, RCSI Council Member, highlighted Professor Goldberg’s many distinctions including the important role he has played in developing and supporting younger colleagues in coloproctology.

Professor Trevor McGill has been Professor of Otology and Laryngology at Harvard Medical School and a senior associate in Otolaryngology at Boston Children's Hospital. At Boston Children’s Hospital, Doctor McGill initiated one of the first paediatric otolaryngology training programmes, setting a template for similar training programs throughout the world. Since then, he has been training residents and fellows, including many of today’s world authorities. The citation was delivered by Professor Laura Viani, RCSI Vice President, who acknowledged Professor McGill’s "medical odyssey", saying he "leaves an unmatched legacy of clinical, scientific, and educational accomplishments".

Roddy Doyle joined the ranks of other non-surgeon RCSI Honorary Fellows, a list which includes Joe Schmidt, Padraig Harrington and the late Seamus Heaney. A novelist, playwright, short story writer, children’s author, biographer and screenwriter, Mr Doyle has written 11 novels for adults, eight books for children, seven plays and screenplays, and dozens of short stories. Several of his books have been made into films, beginning with The Commitments in 1991, for which he won a BAFTA award; and he won the Booker Prize in 1993 for Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha. The citation was given by Mr David Moore, RCSI Council Member, in recognition of Mr Doyle’s significant contributions to Irish literature, culture, history and society, including establishing a creative writing centre, Fighting Words, in Dublin in January 2009.

RCSI President Professor P. Ronan O’Connell commented: "It gives me great pleasure to award Honorary Fellowships to four individuals who have made significant contributions to the science and practice of surgery and society as a whole, Roddy Doyle, Professor Derek Alderson, Professor Trevor McGill and Professor Stanley Goldberg."