Mr Michael Longley and Mr Douglas Gageby were among six Honorary Degree recipients conferred in Trinity College on 17 December 1999.

Those conferred were:

• Mr Aiden Cullen M.A. (recently retired member of the Library staff after forty years service to the College);
• Professor James Whitelaw Sc.D. (a recognised international authority on the application of laser techniques in Fluid Mechanics);
• Mr Michael Longley Litt.D (a poet of international renown with a writing career stretching nearly forty years);
• Mr Douglas Gageby LL.D (former editor of the Evening Press and Irish Times, who has contributed to the mutual understanding between North and South);
• Mr Lewis Glucksman LL.D. (a noted philanthropist, who founded the Ireland House at New York University and has promoted educational projects in Ireland);
• Mr Gordon Lambert LL.D. (a graduate of the University, who has combined a successful business career with public service, especially in the encouragement of the arts).