Trinity Sport has today announced 66 sports scholarships for the 2016/17 year. Athletes from 20 different sports have been awarded the exclusive scholarships, with the benefits including specialised strength and conditioning training, a dedicated medical care pathway, and financial support.
This year 28 scholarships have been awarded to Dublin University Football Club (DUFC), Trinity’s rugby team, after the first team were promoted to the premier All-Ireland League last year, where they currently sit seventh in the table. Among the 28 rugby scholars are Colm Hogan, a member of the Munster A team and Jack Kelly, both members of the Irish under-20 rugby team. In a first for the club, DUFC Women’s Rugby were also the beneficiaries of two scholarships for their provincial representatives, Captain Niamh Byrne, of Leinster and scrumhalf Kathryn Dane of Ulster. The pair faced off on Saturday in a 46-0 win for Leinster in which Byrne scored a try.
Included in the new list of sports scholars is Ellen Ince, a first-year European studies student, who is a two-time world and European champion in taekwondo. Áine Haberlin, Aisling Reynolds and Michelle Peel, who are all senior inter-county Gaelic football players, have been awarded scholarships, while Commonwealth Games athlete for air pistol Victoria Mullin and fencer Philip Cripwell represent two of the more alternative sports in the latest crop of Trinity sports scholars.
Notably for Dublin University Ladies Hockey Club (DULHC), who received four scholarships in total, scholarships were awarded to sisters Ailish and Jenny Long, students in second year Bess and fourth-year engineering respectively. The team have had a strong season so far, with Jenny Long enjoying a match-winning performance against Avoca in the team’s recent game in Division 1 of the Leinster League.
In a press statement, Matthew Dossett, the Deputy Head of Sport and Recreation, said: “We are delighted to see such a strong and diverse complement of athletes as part of the programme for 2016/17. Our team has worked very hard over the summer to continue enhancing college’s offer in attracting and supporting ambitious and high-achieving athletes who we can work with to support reaching their goals for the future.”
Dosset noted that the process was “very competitive”. “We have a great range of new scholars coming on board to work with us this year, along with a good balance of returning athletes”, he said.
Heather McArdle from Bank of Ireland, a sponsor of Trinity Sport who according to Trinity Sport’s 2014/15 annual report gave €1.5m to the college as part of a five-year sponsorship deal, said in a press statement that “sport is an essential part of mental and psychological well-being while developing life-enriching skills. These scholarships open a high-performance pathway in developing ambassadors and future leaders.”
An event to formally celebrate the announcement of this year’s sport scholars will be held in the Dining Hall on January 19th.
Correction: 12.01, December 14th, 2016
Due to initially inaccurate information on Trinity Sport’s website, an earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that 19 different sports and 67 athletes had received scholarships. In fact, 66 athletes and 20 different sports received scholarships.
