54 Scholarships Awarded at a Celebration of Memorial and Endowed Scholarships at DCU

On Wednesday 19th November, 54 students received scholarship awards at a Celebration of Memorial and Endowed Scholarships on DCU’s Glasnevin Campus.

A highlight in the DCU calendar, this annual event honours past students, staff and friends of the University who are remembered through memorial scholarships. It also celebrates those whose generosity in the form of endowed scholarships supports future generations of students and advances doctoral research with impact.

This year, 32 students received a memorial scholarship created in memory of some of the University’s much-missed past students, staff and friends, while 16 students were awarded DCU’s endowed scholarships and ICON scholarships.

A total of six new doctoral scholarships were presented to talented PhD students. This valuable support enables them to pursue important research across fields including psychology, decent work, digital inclusion in rural communities, and AI in education.

The Pino Harris Memorial Scholarship was established this year in memory of the late Robert ‘Pino’ Harris. Founder of The Harris Group, Robert is remembered as a business leader who revolutionised the Irish transportation industry, and for his philanthropy. The scholarship recipient, Laura Przygoda is in the second year of her Biomedical Engineering degree at DCU.

Also in its inaugural year is the Rhona O’Connor Endowed Access Scholarship. Established thanks to the generosity of Rhona O’Connor, this scholarship fund supports DCU Access students to pursue a degree in STEM. Scholarship recipient Alexander Abramov is studying Computer Science at DCU.

This year’s scholarship recipients were selected based on a number of criteria, as specified by the scholarships’ creators. They include students who are excelling academically and in sporting pursuits, undergraduates supported by the DCU Access programme and PhD students who are undertaking impactful research that will improve lives and society.

Speaking at the event, Deirdre Hannigan, Chair of DCU Educational Trust, commented:

“This event is an opportunity to look back on the remarkable lives of those we remember through our memorial scholarships, and acknowledge the impact we can achieve when our friends, supporters and students come together.

By creating opportunities for impactful doctoral research and supporting scholarships that enable talented students to overcome barriers, our supporters are enabling young people to reach their potential and make a real impact on society.”

The DCU Memorial Scholarship recipients for 2025/26 are:

• The Orla Benson Memorial Scholarship – Toby Segasby
• The Ray Comiskey Memorial Scholarship in Jazz – Irvinas Karkauskas
• The Colm Delves Memorial Scholarship – Helen Howlett
• The James Downey Memorial Prize – Ester Pyykko
• The Frank Durkan Memorial Scholarship – Georgina Padden
• The Hough and Lydon Family Memorial Scholarship – Samira Traoré
• The Veronica Guerin Memorial Scholarship – Ella Anderson and Derry Lenehan
• The Pino Harris Endowed Access Scholarship – Laura Przygoda
• The Charles J Haughey Memorial Scholarship – Abi Deans and Sophie Derham
• The Aidan P McDonnell Memorial Scholarship – Cadhla O’Grady
• The Ger McDonnell Memorial Scholarship – Ezekiel Ilor
• The Stephen Moran Music Memorial Scholarship – Jenna Donovan
• The Volkswagen Stephen Moran Memorial Scholarship – Alice Hughes
• The Paddy Moriarty Memorial Scholarship – Saoirse McGarrigle
• The TJ O’Driscoll Memorial Scholarship – Benedicta Fordjour, Nathaniel Gyamfi, Leah Kerrigan Joyce, Karl Ormsby, Mohammad Zaher
• Maureen O’Farrell Memorial Scholarship – Joseph Abaya
• The Feargal Quinn Memorial Scholarship – Daniel Jenkinson
• The John Thompson Memorial Scholarship – Nini Dzidziguri
• The Teresa Twohill Memorial Scholarship – Hannah Barnes
• The Paddy J Wright Memorial – Sean Baker, Aaron Dignam, Nathan Dolan, Chloe Halpin, Sean McGrath Hempenstall
  and Chloe McAuley
• The Paddy J Wright Sport Memorial Scholarship – Niamh Donlon and Ethan Dunne

The DCU Endowed Scholarship recipients for 2025/26 are:

• The Endowed Alumni Scholarship Fund – David Duru
• The Endowed Deloitte Access Scholarship Fund – Jiba Ansary and Patrick Fagan
• The Endowed Colm and Paula Delves Access Scholarship – Ben Riordan
• The Endowed Irish Public Bodies Access Scholarship Fund – Kasey McKenna
• The Endowed Frank Keane BMW Access Scholarship Fund – Aun Syed
• The Endowed Paul Kerley Access Scholarship Fund – Robyn Whelan
• The Endowed Leo Mohan Access Scholarship Fund – Natasha Martin
• The Rhona O’Connor Endowed Access Scholarship – Alexander Abramov
• The Endowed Marianna O’Dwyer Access Scholarship Fund – Sofia Tyrell
• The Endowed Larry and Pauline Quinn Access Scholarship Fund – Mehreen Arshad and Lee Heery
• The Sinéad Strain Goldman Sachs STEM Scholarship – Jessica O’Mahony

ICON Access Scholarships were awarded to:

• Erin Daly
• Kacper Kaczykowski

Doctoral scholarship recipients for 2025/26 are: 

• The Deloitte Access PhD Scholarship – Austin Ackim Phiri
• The Deloitte-CTYI PhD Scholarship – Mark Brady
• The Fujitsu PhD Scholarship – Sharanya Nair
• The Susan and Harry Hartford Access PhD Scholarship – Anne Leung
• The Microsoft PhD Scholarship – Seval Kemal and Elizabeth Comiskey