Mr Cooper, a founding member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) who led the anti-internment march that developed into Bloody Sunday, was made an Honorary Doctor Of Laws at a Summer graduation ceremony in the Millennium Forum, Derry.

Speaking after the award, Mr Cooper told Belfast Live: “While I recognise that the recent cycle of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland has been broken, I feel it is important that lessons are learned and that, as a society, we do not sleepwalk into a future, darker than the past from which we have emerged. The ongoing decade of centenaries is a timely reminder that peace is as costly as it is fragile.”

Dr James Nesbitt, Chancellor of Ulster University, said he was “absolutely thrilled” to present Mr Cooper with the degree.

Dr Nesbitt, an accomplished actor, previously portrayed Mr Cooper in the 2002 film Bloody Sunday.

He said: “Ivan is a very important man in the history of this city of Derry. Without the work he was involved in and without the personal sacrifices he and others made in the 70s and 80s Northern Ireland may not be where it is today.

“He has had a tremendous and positive impact on me and on my career.”