Naughton Scholars 2013
Science Gallery, Trinity College
21 September 2013
Minister Quinn, Martin and Carmel Naughton and members of the Naughton family, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
I am delighted to welcome you, once again, to Science Gallery for the Naughton Scholarship Awards.
The awards were established by the Naughton Foundation in 2008 to promote the study of Science, Engineering, Technology, and Mathematics among talented young people. We applaud this emphasis on talent; on encouraging excellence, on celebrating real achievement.
Trinity has educated many talented people over the centuries – soon we will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of one of them, the founder of the Young Ireland movement, Thomas Davis. One of his most famous exhortations to his fellow countrymen was “Educate that you may be free”. And in our own time education is even more important in giving a person the freedom to make choices in life, in providing opportunities - and the Naughton scholarships allows a diverse group of young people the to avail of these opportunities.
Thank you.
* * *