John Montague was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from the University of Ulster, Coleraine on 29 June 2009.Leading Irish Poet Montague Honoured University of Ulster In 2000, Montague was awarded The Vincent Buckley Poetry Prize.Digital materials for the study and appreciation of Anglo-Irish Literature. Ricorso. Retrieved on 28 April 2015. He was made Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur in 2010 and also received an honorary doctorate from the Sorbonne. In 2016, he received the Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award of the Irish Book Awards.
