More than 40 students and academics at NUI Galway have been honoured at the annual National University of Ireland awards, with Lauren McMahon receiving the Pierce Malone Scholarship in Engineering. 

Front row: Wei Yang Lim, Sinéad McKenna, Caoileann McDhonncha, Brianna Reilly, and Rebekah Sartini Back row: Róisín Thornton, Dr Rosemary Geoghegan, director of the undergraduate medicine programme, Thomas Butler, Prof Lawrence Egan, head of the School of Medicine, and Dominic Butler. Image: Aengus McMahon

NUI Galway awardees were commended for exceptional achievement in academic endeavour and span the wide range of learning at the University, from history, the Irish language and modern languages, to literature, medicine, education and engineering.

Among the awardees were 28 from NUI Galway’s College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, including students honoured with the Dr Henry Hutchinson Stewart Medical Scholarships, one among the oldest awards to be offered by the National University of Ireland.

President of NUI Galway Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh said: “This clearly highlights the high calibre of students studying at NUI Galway. We respect their academic excellence.

“I congratulate everyone on their achievements and I would also like to pay tribute to the teachers and educators and other support staff for their work with our students and in helping them to achieve such high standards.”

Dr Patrick O’Leary, former head of chemistry at NUI Galway and began his term as registrar of NUI this month, said: “The NUI Awards reward exceptional achievement in academic endeavour but also seek to resource some of our brightest minds to continue their academic careers.

"Today we make awards in a wide variety of areas and the work spans studies of the early medieval era to the NUI Dr H H Stewart Medical Scholarships and Prizes, highlighting the importance of medicine and healthcare during Covid-19.  Congratulations to all the awardees.”