Bank of Ireland has announced that it has awarded 87 new scholarships for third level education. Valued at over €1m, these scholarships allow students who face economic, social, or physical barriers an opportunity to access third level education. This year’s successful applicants included two talented Mayo students — Stephen Smyth, Ballina and Mairead McGowan, Newport — who received their awards from Richie Boucher, group chief executive, Bank of Ireland.
Stephen Smyth is studying at NUI Maynooth for a bachelor of science (hons ) in theoretical physics and mathematics. Mairead McGowan, nominated by Sacred Heart Secondary School, is a student of nursing at University College Dublin.
“It is an honour for Bank of Ireland to enable these hundreds of men and women change their lives through a decade of educational opportunity,” Mr Boucher said at a ceremony to present this year’s 87 scholarships. “All of these students have experienced significant obstacles such as social disadvantage, financial hardship, or serious disability. However what they all have in common is the belief that education will provide them with the opportunity to move beyond their current circumstances and create opportunities that were previously only a dream.”
