Table Tennis Ireland is delighted to report the news that it’s Life Honorary Member, Joe Veselsky, has been honoured at a ceremony in Trinity College, Dublin.
The 97 year old was awarded an awarded an Honorary Master of Arts Degree.
The tribute paid by the University read as follows.
At 97, Joe Veselsky is Trinity’s oldest student and was awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree. He has taken extra-mural courses in the School of Histories and Humanities every year since 2010.
He is an inspiring example of lifelong learning. His parents and elder brother were killed in Auschwitz. Having joined the Resistance, he was later decorated with the Order of the Slovak National Uprising.
Post-war his passion was table tennis in which he ranked seventh nationally and captained the Czechoslovak team, with his wife, Katarina, he escaped the Prague coup of 1948 and came to Ireland where he established his own jewellery business.
He made an abiding contribution to Irish life through sport: as captain of the Irish table tennis team for over twenty years.
He was made a Commander of the Slovak Order of the White Double Cross for outstanding achievement in sport and for his contribution to the development and maintenance of diplomatic relations between Slovakia and Ireland.
Joe’s accolade has also attracted the attention of the ITTF, as the world governing body of Table Tennis paid tribute to the achievements of the great man.
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