County
Dublin
Educational Institution
Trinity College Dublin
Course
Physics
Graduation year
Class of 2008

When I found out that I had won the All Ireland Scholarship, I could hardly believe it. I was amazed that such a generous scholarship existed, but even so, I don’t think that I realised at the time how much of a difference it would make to me. I studied physics at Trinity College; the All Ireland Scholarship gave me the financial security necessary to concentrate on my studies. I am graduating with first class honours and a gold medal. Had it not been for the scholarship, I’m sure that the stress of worrying about bills and working during term time would have prevented me from doing so well.

Studying science at college strengthened my lifelong passion for the subject and allowed me to discover particular interests in a number of areas of physics. One of them was nuclear physics; it has such a fusion of challenging intellectual questions and the capacity to improve human civilisation. It is for this reason that I intend to pursue it as a career. Soon, I am moving to England to do an MSc in nuclear physics at the University of Birmingham. I hope that this will start me on the path to a future of contributing to the provision of mankind’s ever increasing energy needs.

The freedom provided by the All Ireland Scholarship also gave me the time to take up other enriching activities while at college. I started running long distances in 2010 and have since run the Dublin marathon twice.

I owe a great debt of gratitude to JP McManus.

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