Twenty-nine NUIG students have received sports scholarships this year.
The recipients join the existing 19 scholarship holders where NUI Galway supports high performing athletes in a wide range of sports through its sports sholarship programme.
Recipients this year include six of the Clare u-21 hurling panel who won the county’s first All-Ireland title this summer - Domhnall and Cormac O’ Donovan (twins ), Patrick Kelly, Caimin Morey, Donal Touhy, and John Conlon (existing scholarship holder ).
Niall Burke and Joseph Cooney, members of the Galway All-Ireland minor hurling winning team, are presented with the hurling scholarships, while another All-Ireland winner, Offaly’s Michela Morkan, receives the camogie scholarship.
Martin Conneely of Mervue United and NUI Galway Soccer clubs follows sibling and Irish u-21 international Seamus Conneely as a sports scholar. Also receiving a soccer scholarship is Donegal native Liam Grant, who was nominated for the 2008 FAI intermediate player of the year.
European junior athletics finalist in 2009, Eilish Fitzpatrick of Cork and Gneveeguilla Club, is awarded the athletics scholarship, while Galway’s Aisling Harris and Cliona Hurst are the rowing scholarship recipients.
Mens and women’s Gaelic football scholarships to to Elanna Hackett (Monaghan ), Niamh Hegarty (Donegal ), Sean Armstrong (Galway ), John Connellan, David Duffy (Westmeath ), and Shane Nally (Mayo ).
Moycullen’s Dylan Cunningham and Oranmore Maree’s captain Darren Callanan are the recipients of the new basketball scholarships, while Shane Casey and Conor Murphy take the rugby honours. The cycling scholarship is awarded to Charles Prendergast from Mayo.
Irish internationals, Katie Gallagher (golf ) and Carol Staunton (rugby ) from Mayo, Galway’s Jessica Burke (showjumping ) and Katie McAvena (windsurfing ), as well as promising Westmeath boxer Daniel Foster, will receive support from the scheme in the coming year.
Scholarship benefits include a subsistence grant, coaching, medical and physiotherapy support, performance nutrition, and performance psychology, strength and conditioning, as well as performance planning and mentoring. Each scholarship is built around the individual’s needs and his/her chosen sport.
To assist these sportspeople in the pursuit of their twin sporting and academic goals, NUI Galway has recently appointed an elite sports development officer, former Olympic sprinter Gary Ryan.
“We are developing our scholarship scheme to the highest international standards to give outstanding talent the opportunity to develop,” says Ryan. “The scholarship and high performance sports programme will create a performance environment for sport and study that encourages, challenges and supports each individual to reach their maximum potential.”
Also receiving Gaelic football scholarships, sponsored by Cadbury’s, for outstanding u-21 footballers as part of its sponsorship of the u-21Football Championship are Mayo’s Jason Doherty and Conor Doherty of Tuam, Co Galway.
The 29 students were presented with their awards at a special ceremony in the university this week by president, Dr James J Browne.
The Scholarship programme has been developed by the university to reward the students’ ability and previous performances, and also to assist young athletes develop their sporting prowess hand-in-hand with their academic progress by putting in place the necessary supports.
