Trinity Students Recognised at 2010 Undergraduate Awards

Nov 03, 2010

The Undergraduate Awards of Ireland saw eight Trinity College students presented with gold medals by guest of honour, Mary Robinson, founder of the Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice, at a recent awards ceremony in the Royal Irish Academy.  The awards, which are open to undergraduate students from Irish universities, are designed to inspire, support and celebrate the ideas of undergraduate students.

At the awards ceremony Trinity College students prevailed in the fields of astronomy and space sciences, business, economics, English language and literature, environmental and geosciences, law, mathematical studies, and philosophical studies.  The winners were selected through an academic review process where their work was rated by external and international judging panels.  Speaking at the event Mary Robinson said: “The Undergraduate Awards aim to identify and reward innovators at a crucial stage of their development, encouraging them to become pioneers in their chosen path.” 

Trinity College Dublin winners included Aidan O'Flannagain, Donncha Conway, John Murtagh, Daniel P Bowman, Barry O'Donovan, Fionnuala Barrett and Siobhan Moriarty.

Out of 173 students who were shortlisted, 26 received the overall Undergraduate Award in their category.  Fifty students from TCD were highly commended and shortlisted, making up 29% of the shortlisted candidates.  The TCD winners were: Aidan O'Flannagain, from Clonsilla, Dublin, who won the Astronomy and Astrophysics category.  Aidan was always interested in astrophysics, so it was an easy decision to study it. He was very lucky to be sent for an internship at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre for his last summer as an undergraduate.  From this he developed his interest in solar physics.

Daniel Philbin Bowman, from Ballsbridge, Dublin, won the Business Category.  Daniel studies BESS, which he chose as it provides business students the chance to engage with less career-focused subjects that are of intellectual interest.  Daniel is currently in his final year.

Barry O'Donovan, from Dalkey, Dublin, won the Economics category. Barry chose to study at Trinity because of its reputation abroad and excellent lecturers. “Trinity encourages you to think critically as opposed to rote learning”, Barry said. Barry is currently living and working in London.

Fionnuala Barrett, from Rathfarnham, Dublin, won the English Language & Literature category. Fionnuala enjoys writing and was recently awarded first place in the international Emory Elliott Memorial Prize.  Fionnuala is currently in her final year.

John Murtagh, from Navan, Co Meath, won the Environmental & Geosciences category.  He studied Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering.  After graduating, John was offered a scholarship to be in one of the founding classes of the newly constructed King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia.  John is currently finishing up his research for a Master’s in Environmental Engineering.

Donncha Conway, from Tramore, Waterford, won the Law category.  Donnacha said: “I chose to study at Trinity because of its good international reputation and its elusive, yet plentiful, sources of craic”.  Donncha chose to study law because he considered a knowledge of law to be an essential tool for anyone who wants to change, for the better, the way society works.  Donncha is in his final year of law.

Chris Blair, from Rathfarnham, Dublin, won the Mathematical Studies Category.  He is now studying for Part III of the Mathematical Tripos in the University of Cambridge, taking advanced courses in theoretical physics, and is a member of St John's College.

Siobhan Moriarty, from Rathfarmhan, Dublin, won the Philosophical Studies category. Siobhan studied philosophy and Latin for her degree, and graduates this November.

The undergraduate awards offer students recognition and an opportunity to connect and network with large organisations through various events held throughout the calendar year.  Established in 2008 by two TCD students, Oisin Hanrahan and Paddy Cosgrave, the Undergraduate Awards is an award programme designed to inspire, support and celebrate the ideas of undergraduates.  Submissions for the 2011 Undergraduate Awards are now open and corrected coursework of 2.1 standard or higher can be entered on the website: www.undergraduateawards.com.