Stellar careers in business recognised at DIT graduation ceremony

At the final conferring ceremony for the DIT class of 2016 in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, two significant champions of Irish business success were conferred with Honorary Doctorates in recognition of their outstanding achievements in Ireland and internationally.

Ms Breege O’Donoghue, who is synonymous with the growth of Primark in Europe and more recently the USA, and Ms Louise Phelan, Vice President of PayPal who has spear-headed the growth of that company’s presence in Ireland, were both conferred with the honour by President of DIT, Professor Brian Norton. 

Dr. Breege O’Donoghue and Dr. Louise Phelan sign the DIT Roll of Honour at their conferring in St. Patrick’s Cathedral with the award of Doctor of Philosophy, honoris causa

Referring to their stellar business careers, Professor Norton said ‘They are both formidable business leaders. Breege O’Donoghue has been instrumental in growing the Penneys Primark business empire from a national success to a powerful international brand; and Louise Phelan has steered a multi-national company to expand its base and deepen its roots in Ireland, creating significant employment while building the success of the business. They are flagbearers for our graduates here today who are starting out on their own careers”

Over 4000 DIT graduates have been conferred during the series of DIT conferring ceremonies this autumn.  At this final ceremony, graduates of Marketing, Management, Retail Services and International Business Development received their parchments.