 In 2005, Smurfit was appointed to be a Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) in HM The Queen's Birthday Honours List 2005, published in June 2005.The postgraduate business school of University College Dublin, the Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business, is named after him as a result of his financial support.In 1996, he received the Cross of Merit from the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, for his support for Christians in the Holy Land.