DCU Memorial Scholarships Ceremony takes place online for 2021

Memorial scholarships are an important part of how the DCU community remembers our past students, staff and friends who played an important role in the life of the university.

Each year, DCU Educational Trust honours those remembered through memorial scholarships by celebrating their life and legacy at DCU Educational Trust’s annual Service of Remembrance and Memorial Scholarships Presentation Ceremony. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, this year’s event was held online on Wednesday 10th March.

At the event, 22 students received a Memorial Scholarship created in memory of some of the University’s most cherished past students, staff and friends. This year, two new memorial scholarships were created in memory of Stephen Moran and James Downey:

• Stephen Moran was a talented DCU business graduate who went on to enjoy a promising career in industry before his untimely passing. The Stephen Moran Music Memorial Scholarship was created in 2020 in keeping with Stephen’s enjoyment of music.
• The late James Downey was a well-known national newspaper journalist and columnist who worked for many years with the Irish Times and then with the Irish Independent. The James Downey Memorial Prize was created to recognise a student from DCU’s MA in Journalism programme who produces the best work of political analysis and reporting while completing the master’s course.

The 22 students receiving this year’s scholarships were selected based on different criteria, depending on the wishes of those who created the scholarship and include undergraduate students supported by DCU’s Access Programme, postgraduate students in the fields of Law, Biotechnology, Marketing and Journalism, and students who have achieved outstanding results in DCU’s BA in Jazz and Contemporary Music Performance.

One scholarship, the Paddy Wright Memorial Scholarship, also supports a Senior Dublin Gaelic Footballer. This year’s recipient, Jennifer Dunne, has been a member of Dublin’s Senior Women’s Football team since 2018, and has won a Lidl National League Division One title, two Leinster and three All-Ireland medals with the Senior Dublin Ladies Football team.

Speaking at this year’s Memorial Scholarship Presentation Ceremony, Joe Quinsey, CEO of DCU Educational Trust, commented:

“On behalf of DCU Educational Trust, I would like to thank the families and donors who created these scholarships in memory of cherished friends and family, whose legacy now lives on through the talented students chosen as scholarship recipients each year. Our supporters make this special occasion possible every year and their belief in our students will make it possible for them to achieve great things across their respective fields in the future.”

 

Fatimah Guetar, the recipient of the Nicola Radford Memorial Scholarship for 2020/21, described what receiving the scholarship meant to her:

“I am extremely proud of myself for being the first in my family to go to university, something which I would not have been able to do without the support from the DCU Access Programme and the Nicola Radford Memorial Scholarship. This support has allowed me to pursue my dream of studying International Relations at DCU without any financial worries, and for that I am forever grateful.”

 

The full list of Memorial Scholarship recipients for 2020/21 includes:

• The Orla Benson Memorial Scholarship: Niamh Bookey
• The James Downey Memorial Prize: Fergal McAlinden
• The Frank Durkan Memorial Scholarship: Niamh O’Neill
• The Charles J Haughey Memorial Scholarships: Shane Dixon and Kelly Carty
• The Dr Tim Mahony Memorial Scholarship: Michael McCarthy
• The Aidan McDonnell Memorial Scholarship: Katelyn O’Donnell
• The Ger McDonnell Memorial Scholarship: Darragh Cunningham
• The Stephen Moran Music Memorial Scholarship: Elizabeta Jornea
• The Volkswagen Group Ireland – Stephen Moran Memorial Scholarship: Myah Murray
• The Paddy Moriarty Memorial Scholarship – Annelieke Mooij
• The TJ O’Driscoll Memorial Scholarship – Maksims Andrijanovs
• The Nicola Radford Memorial Scholarship – Fatimah Guetar
• The Paddy J Wright Memorial Scholarship – Adam Daly, Jennifer Dunne, Rachel Lawlor, Shane Melaugh, Nathan Murphy, Lottanna Ogbozor and Destiny Okonkwo
• The Teresa Twohill Memorial Scholarship: Oyindamola Otubanjo
• The John Thompson Memorial Scholarship: Kate Minogue