The National University of Ireland, Galway, has conferred an honorary degree on Memorial University geography professor Dr. John Mannion.

Dr. Mannion received his degree June 25, along with Roy Foster, Lex Friedan and Philippe Kirsch.

Dr. Mannion has made it his life's work to document and study all aspects of the Irish migration to Newfoundland. He is a graduate of University College Dublin and University of Toronto where he completed his doctorate. His book, Irish Settlements in Eastern Canada: A Study of Cultural Transfer and Adaptation is recognised as the principal scholarly monograph on the cultural heritage of the Irish in Newfoundland.

The president of NUI Galway, Dr Iognáid Ó Muircheartaigh said each of these individuals have each made significant input to society either in the area of human rights or through their scholarly contribution to the area of humanities. NUI Galway is renowned for creating a research centre of excellence in both of these areas, through its Centre for Human Rights and Human Settlement and Historical Change.

Roy Foster is a professor of Irish history at Oxford University. Lex Friedan is the Chairman of US National Disability Council and senior Vice-President at the Institute for Rehabilitation and Research (TIRR) at Houston, Texas. Judge Philippe Kirsch is the first president of the International Criminal Court.

Dr. Mannion is a cultural and historical geographer who has been teaching at Memorial since 1969.