Irish rugby legend Brian O'Driscoll and former cycling world No 1 Sean Kelly were conferred with doctorates at Dublin City University this afternoon (Photo courtesy of DCU)
He may have had to give up his education while at national school to work on the family farm after his father fell ill, but today Irish cycling great Sean Kelly was decked out in the cap and gown of a graduate.
The 1988 Vuelta winner and former world No 1 was bestowed with an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy by Dublin City University this afternoon in honour of his accomplishments on the bike and for Irish sport in general.
Kelly was honoured at the university on the north side of the city along with two other Irish sporting greats; Olympic boxing gold medallist Katie Taylor and rugby legend Brian O’Driscoll.
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Training commitments ahead of two upcoming bouts unfortunately kept Taylor away from the ceremony, though she was honoured in her absence.
That left O’Driscoll and Kelly to take the applause of the massive crowd in attendance and keep the photographers happy at an event with significant media interest.
The Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy is the highest honour the college can confer.
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Kelly was described in his citation as an “unsung hero and ambassador for Irish cycling” and “a true sportsman, a complete professional and a gentleman”.
He said he was delighted with the honour, with his wife Linda and children Nigel and Stacey there to witness the event.
"I was okay in school but I ran into my first blip when I was in national school,” Kelly said today.
“My father got sick so I had to stay at home and look after the farm. That was the first blip and after that I lost it altogether.”
He said he never had a reason to go back to education, though it was something he considered when he retired.
"I thought of going back to education when I retired from cycling in 1994 but then I got pulled into other things like TV commentary. When I retired there was a difficult period, as it is for so many sports people. If you are in your chosen sport for 15 plus years, it’s difficult to adapt to normal life.”
"It's a great honour to be here. I never thought I'd be here. It's something I didn't get in my earlier days.”
They didn't spare the pomp and ceremony for Sean Kelly and Brian O'Driscoll (both front left of photo) at DCU today (Photo courtesy DCU)
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