Film Studies student wins Undergraduate Award

October 2009

A student of Film Studies in Trinity, Ciara Barrett, was awarded one of just 41 gold medals at the first 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.  Of the 41 gold medals, 13 were awarded to Trinity sstudents.

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 course work during each academic year.  In addition to receiving a gold medal for their submissions, each student's winning essay 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 Undergraduate Awards of Ireland was 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.

Ciara graduated in 2009 and is currently pursuing post-graduate studies at TCD, studying for a Ph.D degree in Texts, Contexts & Cultures at the Long Room Hub research centre.