"People of the Year" for "her pioneering, courageous and long-standing service to Irish society". In November 2012, she won the 'Irish Tatler Hall of Fame Award' In addition to her judicial career, McGuinness has served on the Employment Equality Agency, Kilkenny Incest Investigation, the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation, the National Council of the Forum on End of Life in Ireland, and the Irish Universities Quality Board. In June 2011, she became patron of the Irish Refugee Council. In November 2011, she was appointed Chairperson of the "Campaign for Children" She has received honorary doctorates from the University of Ulster, the National University of Ireland, the University of Dublin, the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. In February 2013, McGuinness accepted the Honorary Presidency of Trinity College Dublin's Free Legal Advice Centre. In January 2014, she was appointed by Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte to chair the expert panel to oversee the preparation of reports on the best underground route options to compare with the Grid Link and Grid West high voltage power lines in Ireland. In March 2015, she received an Alumni Award from Trinity College Dublin. In July 2022 a portrait of her by Miseon Lee was unveiled at the National Gallery of Ireland. The portrait was presented to the Gallery by Tara Doyle, Chair of Matheson (law firm) Catherine McGuinness Fellowship on Children's Rights and Child Law In November 2014, the Children's Rights Alliance established the Catherine McGuinness Fellowship on Children's Rights and Child Law, a one-year Fellowship Programme for newly qualified barristers to work as part of their Legal and Policy Team on law and policy reform for children in the area of children's rights and child law in the Irish context. The Programme was developed in partnership with the Bar Council of Ireland and with the support of the Family Lawyers Association of Ireland. The Fellowship was launched by the Chief Justice of Ireland, Susan Denham who described McGuinness as "an advocate at heart" and a "patriot, in the true sense of the word" who "stands up for the rights of others, particularly those who are marginalised and vulnerable in our society." References 1934 births Living people 21st-century Irish women Members of the 14th Seanad Members of the 15th Seanad Members of the 17th Seanad 20th-century women members of Seanad Éireann Lawyers