Conor Bates | Sports Editor
Eighteen students were recipients of annual DUCAC scholarships, awarded on the 27th of November. The scholarships acknowledge outstanding achievement in sport, and aim to nurture the development of sport in Trinity. The ceremony was held on campus, and saw awards go to athletes in thirteen different sporting disciplines. The awards were presented by Jane Ohlmeyer, Vice President for Global Relations.
In her introduction, Head of Sport, Michelle Tanner, noted that “significant momentum was created as a legacy of the London Olympics.” As such, it is notable that one of the marquee scholarships went to Scott Flanigan, who represented Ireland at the 2012 Olympics, in the 470 sailing class. This is his second scholarship award, and he noted that “the programme has provided fantastic benefits to [his] training regime.” Similarly, in noting the diverse Olympic tradition of Trinity, JF computer science student Prakash Vijayanath has his sights set on the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The South African badminton player has excelled in the South African, and All African, Championships this year, and his award is an acknowledgement of these outstanding achievements.
The programme has been very effective in developing talented sports students, who have generated great wins for the college in recent times. Ladies Gaelic football captain, Jacinta Brady, was a part of the Lynch Cup winning team in 2013, and the Longford footballer received her second scholarship on the night. She was joined by clubmate and Wicklow Ladies captain, Lucy Mulhall. Offaly inter-county footballer, Paul McPadden, received a scholarship for the men’s game, while SF student, and Waterford U21 hurler, Paul Coughlan rounded off the GAA awards for the night, with his second scholarship.
Ciarán McGahon, of JF BESS, picked up an award for the soccer team; his exploits on the pitch for Trinity and Drogheda United did more than enough to earn him the scholarship. PhD student, Victoria Mullin, received her second scholarship for her proficiency in air pistol shooting; as the top ranked Great Britain athlete in the sport, her second award was hardly ever in doubt. Mullin notes that her goal is to appear at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, but perhaps an Olympic appearance isn’t too far off either. Following a sterling performance at a recent Student Riders Nations Cup event, three-day-eventer Melanie Young received the only equestrian scholarship, while ladies harrier’s captain, and national intermediate cross country champion, Maria O’Sullivan, picked up her first award for athletics.
Men’s hockey captain, Stephen Ludgate, received his second award, while SF students Anna-May Whelan and Avril Dooley-O’Carroll picked up awards for their involvement in the ladies side of the sport. On the receipt of his award, Ludgate was very grateful: “the scholarship programme give us the opportunity to focus fully on our training and our academics. I’m very thankful for all their help.” International standard kayakers Iomhar MacGiolla Phádraig and Tom Brennan picked up their second consecutive scholarship awards, with JS engineer Aisling Smith completing the trio of kayak recognitions. The final two awards were also given out for competition in water-sports, with Hannah McCarthy and Sinéad Dolan receiving two scholarships for rowing.
With Pinks to be awarded later in the year, Tanner commented on the vitality and calibre of sport in Trinity: “The rigours of competing at the top level in sport requires support from the College. The talents we are recognising via the Sports Scholarship Programme continue to surpass expectations year-on-year and we must keep pace with the demands of the students and the competitiveness of Trinity in this arena.”
