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November 2013 NUI Galway Award 26 new Sports Scholarships

NUI Galway Award 26 new Sports Scholarships

Pictured are the 26 new NUI Galway Sports Scholarship recipients with (front row, l-r): NUI Galway Elite Sports Officer, Gary Ryan; Registrar and Deputy President, Professor Nollaig Mac Congáil; and Vice-President for the Student Experience, Dr Pat Morgan.

Nov 12 2013 Posted: 14:47 GMT

NUI Galway Vice President for the Student Experience presented 26 outstanding athletes with NUI Galway student Sports Scholarships last night (Monday 11^th). The new recipients bring to 60 athletes in 15 different sports that are supported by the NUI Galway scheme.

In recent years the scheme has been extremely successful in supporting some of the finest young talent in Ireland. Twelve of the Clare Hurling panel that won and the All-Ireland in September were current or former recipients of scholarships from the University, as were several of the Galway All-Ireland Camogie team. In recent years NUI Galway has seen world medalists in sports as diverse as Rowing, Handball, Athletics and Kickboxing.

The support that the students receive from the Scholarships are designed to maintain their academic and sporting progress and are managed by a former Olympian, NUI Galway Elite Sports Officer Gary Ryan who said about the success of the scheme, “It is very exciting to see young athletes develop not just while they are in University but to continue to progress after they have left and we are hopeful that the tools and support that we give them while students gives them the platform for success into the future.”

This year’s recipients represent some of the finest young talents in Irish sport today. Boxing Scholarship recipients Sally Carrig and Niamh Folan have already started to follow in the footsteps of Irish Olympic hero Katie Taylor with both winning European Youth Bronze medals in Boxing.

NUI Galway has had its own World class Athletes in recent years in Olive Loughnane and Paul Hession and this year the recipients include a walker Alisha Boylan and Sprinter Cormac Lynch, who have already been National underage champions, while the pool of world-class rowers will grow with the addition of Patrick Higgins, Luis Simo. Keville Neville and Manta Pukelis to the finest rowing program in the country.

The long association between NUI Galway and top level Rugby in Ireland is boosted by the fact that Irish U19 International’s Ultan Dillane and Sean O’ Hagan have been awarded scholarships. One of the newer associations that of the Swim Ireland Connacht Performance centre based on the NUI Galway campus has attracted one the finest young swimmers in the country Cian Duffy, to study at the University.

Hurlers such as Shane Cooney, Cathal Mannion and John Hanbury will want to follow up All-Ireland underage success with Galway with senior honours, while Robert Duggan will be aiming for a spot on the Clare senior panel for the coming season. All-Ireland U21 winner Adrian Varley and former Roscommon minor captain John McManus were just two of the Gaelic Footballers who will be hoping to win the Sigerson Cup for NUI Galway this season.

Two up and coming Irish Rugby Internationals were also added to the scheme. Connacht’s Ultan Dillane and Sean O’Hagan have played at u18 and U19 level for Ireland and are making big impressions in the Connacht academy this season.

At the award ceremony Vice-President for the Student Experience, Dr Pat Morgan, said: “I would like to congratulated the recipients of this year’s awards and remind them of the honour of representing the University and the opportunity they had to become great sporting successes like the recent scholarship holders in Hurling, Camogie, Rowing Kickboxing and Athletics that had all reached the pinnacle of their sports.”

NUI Galway Sports Scholarships awardees: