Film director Danny Boyle presented with James Joyce award

30 June 2025

^{Danny Boyle being presented with the James Joyce Award by UCD L&H Society auditor Noah Mullen Clarke Credit: Brian McEvoy}

English film director and producer Danny Boyle has been honoured by (opens in a new window)UCD’s Literary and Historical (L&H) Society with the James Joyce Award, in recognition of a career spanning more than 30 years.

Boyle is best known for his work on films including Trainspotting, The Beach, 28 Days Later and Slumdog Millionaire, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2009. He also directed the opening ceremony for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. 

His latest film, 28 Years Later – the second sequel to 28 Days Later – was released on 20 June.

Considered among the highest honours that any student body in Ireland can bestow, the James Joyce Award is named after UCD’s best-known alumnus, the author of Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses and Finnegans Wake.

Joyce was actively involved in L&H during his time at UCD, and first addressed the Society in 1899.

The James Joyce Award is given by the L&H Society to public figures who have achieved outstanding success in their given field.

“Over the years, [Boyle has] built up a reputation as one of this generation’s greatest filmmakers through his vibrant and visceral direction,” said Noah Mullen Clarke, auditor of the L&H Society, presenting the award.

“He describes himself as ‘just a storyteller’. I’m sure you’ll all agree he is that and much, much more.”

Mullen Clarke hosted a conversation with Boyle in which they spoke about his path into filmmaking, his Irish heritage and the political messaging in 28 Years Later.

Boyle also offered advice for young people looking to pursue a similar career in film.

“It’s crucial […] not to pay too much attention to people like me,” he said. 

“Cinema is a vampire for young ideas. You’re the only people who go to the cinema. And what you want when you go is to see something new, that reflects not what you’ve been told by your mum and dad, or your teachers, or anything like that. You want to see what you think. And the only way to get that through is for you to do it.”

Recipients of the James Joyce Award have ranged from lauded political figures and skilled actors to sportspeople and writers.

Previous awardees include Nobel Laureate poet Seamus Heaney, actor Will Ferrell, and former speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.

By: Rebecca Hastings, Digital Journalist, UCD University Relations

To contact the UCD News & Content Team, email: newsdesk@ucd.ie