Trinity Undergraduate Students Prevail at First Undergraduate Awards of Ireland

Posted on: 30 October 2009

Trinity College undergraduate students received 13 of the 41 gold medals at the Undergraduate Awards of Ireland presented by President McAleese recently (20th October).  The awards, which are open to undergraduates from Irish universities, aim to recognise and reward Ireland’s most innovative young minds.

The winners were selected through an academic review process by 33 separate panels made up of leading figures from across Irish academia, the public, private and citizen sector.  This year over 1,600 submissions were received made up of papers, essays and dissertations produced as part of normal coursework during each academic year.  In addition to receiving a gold medal for their submissions, each students winning essays will be published in an annual journal.

During her presentation, President McAleese said: “These awards encourage our top undergraduates to believe in the validity of their work and in their entitlement to a public place of respect within scholarly discourse.”  President McAleese also acknowledged the role played by undergraduates in advancing Ireland’s ambition to be not just a smart economy but a just, decent and sophisticated society.

The 13 TCD winners were: Emer Walshe, Dental Science; Ciara Barrett, Drama. Film & Music; Michael Curran, Economics; Tim McInerney, English; Darren Fitzpatrick, Genetics; Thomas Morris, Philosophy; Clíodhna O’Connor, Psychology; Eimhin Walsh, Religion; Anne Byrne, Business; Grainne Conroy, Business; Megan Huxhold, Business; Erika Dowling, Linguistics and Melanie Hayes, Classics.

The Undergraduate Awards of Ireland were established on 29th October 2008 and in its inaugural year it received submissions from disciplines as diverse as chemistry, economics, linguistics, drama and business to name but a few.  The winners included 13 students from TCD, 11 from UCD, six from NUI Galway, five from UCC, three from UL, two from NUI Maynooth and one from QUB.  They were each commended for their achievement at an award ceremony in the Royal Irish Academy.