LIMERICK students Seoda Ní Chaoimh and Aidan Quigney have been announced as the winners of this year’s Naughton Foundation Scholarship Awards, and will receive a scholarship worth €20,000.
Supporting academic and innovative excellence in Irish students, the Naughton Foundation Scholarship Awards are an investment in the future of Ireland’s reputation as a country with outstanding graduates promoting the study of engineering, science and technology at third level.
Since its establishment in 2008, by founding patrons Dr Martin Naughton and his wife Carmel, scholarships worth over €4 million have been awarded to over 330 students.
The scheme started in three counties and has continued to expand annually to become a nationwide scheme in 2016.
There is one guaranteed scholarship (€20,000) for each participating county, with some counties awarded more than one scholarship. Each scholarship is worth €5,000 per annum for each year of a student’s three or four-year undergraduate degree.
Traditionally the awards are presented by Dr Martin Naughton and Carmel Naughton at a ceremony with the students’ schools and families in attendance. But as a result of current restrictions, this event was unfortunately deferred again for this year.
A former student of Gaelcholáiste Luimnigh, Limerick, Seoda has accepted a place in the University of Limerick studying Biological and Chemical Sciences. Aidan has received a place in University College Dublin where he will study Engineering after graduating from his former secondary school, Ardscoil Rís, Limerick.
They join 37 exceptional Irish students who were awarded third level scholarships towards their studies in the areas of engineering, science, technology and maths.
More than 200 schools have also benefited from this prize to date with some schools receiving it on more than one occasion. Both prize winners’ former secondary schools both received a prize of €1,000 towards their school’s science facilities, for their support of these students.
Speaking about the growth of the programme over the past twelve years, Dr. Martin Naughton commented:
“We have been awarding scholarships to encourage and reward students for their undergraduate studies in the STEM area since 2008. After the difficult academic year that 2021 was, we are particularly delighted to announce this year’s scholarship winners and their schools. We are both really looking forward to celebrating with them in person in the future and welcoming them to our growing community of Scholars and Alumni.”
The Naughton Foundation is continuing to support a number of programmes that promote STEM education to students of all ages in Ireland.
