Music News of the Year: The Cranberries celebrated in Limerick

There were smiles, laughter and tears in almost equal measure in January when the University of Limerick conferred honorary doctorates on Mike and Noel Hogan and Dolores O’Riordan.

Dolores’ scroll and the robes she would have worn were accepted by her mother, Eileen who told Hot Press that, “Today is a great honour. I feel awed, really. I find it hard to comprehend and take it all in. Dolores loved Limerick. She was happier here than anyplace else. I keep telling the children how much everyone loves her. It’s very comforting to the family that people are so good.”

Noel Hogan admitted to being equally in awe of the occasion.

“It’s amazing to be back here because, in many ways, we began out in this university playing what was The Stables to a handful of people,” he reflected. “It’s come full circle as we near the end of the Cranberries’ career. It feels like the thirty years of hard work has brought us to this moment. The way to look at it is that it’s a celebration of Dolores and the band.”

Released in April, the album they were recording at the time of Dolores’ death, In The End, returned the Cranberries to top tens all over the world and earned them their first Rock Grammy nomination.

In November, street artist Aches unveiled his stunning mural of Dolores, which adorns the side of a house close to King John’s Castle in Limerick.