University College Dublin

The Government of Ireland has nominated UCD alum Ms Justice Caroline Costello to become the new President of the Court of Appeal.

President Michael D Higgins will be formally advised of the nomination, as judicial appointments are made by the President acting on the advice of the government.

UCD alum Ms Justice Caroline Costello to be next Court of Appeal president The Government of Ireland nominated UCD alum Ms Justice Caroline Costello to become the new President of the Court of Appeal. 

👩‍🎓✨ Royal Historical Society elects Dr Mary McAuliffe as new Fellow

🙏 Congratulations Mary McAuliffe! The UCD historian was among 221 new Fellows, Associate Fellows, Members and Postgraduate Members elevated by the Royal Historical Society.

Fellowship to the 156-year-old society is awarded to those who have made an original contribution to historical scholarship, typically through the authorship of a book, a substantial body of scholarly work, or through other efforts to spread historical research.

Dr McAuliffe is a historian at University College Dublin and is the Director of Gender Studies at the university.

She holds a PhD from the School of History and Humanities from Trinity College Dublin.

She specialises in Irish women’s history and the sexual violence of Ireland's revolutionary period, as well as gender history, gendered narratives of trauma, and the history of sexuality.

A former President of the Women's History Association of Ireland (2011-2014) and member of the National Archives of Ireland Advisory Council [2012-2017], she sits on the advisory board of the Irish Association of Professional Historians. She is also a member of the UCD Humanities Institute and the executive committee of the UCD Centre for Gender, Feminisms, and Sexualities.

The RHS is an international community of historians and includes Fellows from twelve countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and United States.

The majority of its Fellows hold academic appointments at universities, specialising in a very wide range of fields but also include museum curators, librarians, heritage specialists, history publishers, independent researchers and writers.

Its newest members have a similarly wide range of historical interests, and include individuals working in universities, culture and heritage, education, the civil service and broadcasting, together with independent and community historians and genealogists.

💙💛 ᴏʟʏᴍᴘɪᴄꜱ 2024: ʀᴇᴄᴏʀᴅ ɴᴜᴍʙᴇʀ ᴏꜰ ᴜᴄᴅ ꜱᴘᴏʀᴛꜱ ꜱᴛᴀʀꜱ ᴛᴏ ꜰʟʏ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰʟᴀɢ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛᴇᴀᴍ ɪʀᴇʟᴀɴᴅ ɪɴ ᴘᴀʀɪꜱ

🎓 Twenty-seven UCD sporting students and alumni athletes have been officially selected as part of Team Ireland to compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

This is the largest-ever cohort of University College Dublin sports stars to compete at the Olympics.

Nearly two dozen of these Olympians are past and current UCD Ad Astra Academy Elite Sports Scholars or recipients of UCD Sport scholarships.

At the 2024 Games, four current UCD students will compete – undergraduates and Ad Astra Academy fellows sailing ace Eve McMahon, who recently won her second world title, and hammer thrower Nicola Tuthill, who took silver at the European Throwing Cup and gold at the National Senior Track and Field Championships.

Targeting Olympic medals with Ireland’s Women's 7s squad will be UCD postgraduate students Claire Boles and Emily Lane.

Alongside these students, UCD will see 23 alumni compete across the three weeks in France, many of whom previously represented the University during their studies including Olympic gold medallist Paul O'Donovan, Olympic bronze medallist Eimear Lambe, and four-time European Athletics Championship medallist Ciara Mageean.

Competing across a range of events including cycling, hockey, rowing, rugby, track and field, sailing, and swimming, the athletes will begin their Olympic journey by sailing down the river Seine on the 26 July as part of the Games’ Opening Ceremony.

UCD President Professor Orla Feely: “We are very proud of all our UCD students and alumni who are travelling to Paris with Team Ireland to compete in the 2024 Olympics."

“You are truly wonderful role models for our students and our entire community.”

“Your skill, dedication, practice, and focus have brought you to the pinnacle of your sport.”

“UCD students, faculty and staff are behind you and cheering you on every step of the way. Táimid an-bhródúil asaibh,” added President Feely.

👩‍🎓🏐 "Perhaps the status quo in Irish sports writing needs to be challenged, too. Until now, after all, no history had been written on women’s Gaelic football and the LGFA. In fact, the historical position of women’s sport has largely been ignored by Irish historiography."
- Hayley Kilgallon is a PhD candidate at UCD School of History and author of Unladylike – A History of Ladies Gaelic Football.

Hayley Kilgallon on the history of ladies' GAA: 'Women were thought naturally weaker back then' Hayley Kilgallon shares her findings on the history of women in the GAA for her new book, Unladylike – A History of Ladies Gaelic Football.

🦩😊 A little Little Egret on the Secret Lake

Seven UCD researchers have been awarded funding under the latest DAFM Thematic Research Call, which announced €22.3 million for 21 new research projects.

Among the areas that this funding will support is research into climate mitigation, water quality improvement and biodiversity restoration to animal health and welfare, food safety, and food health and nutrition, amongst others.

Announcing the successful projects, Minister of State with special responsibility for Research and Development at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon TD said he was “impressed at the breadth of areas being funded”.

“I am heartened to see that the projects will involve the education and training of over 40 postgraduate students and over 60 contract researchers, thus ensuring a continuous stream of highly skilled scientific talent coming through to our industry," he added.

The UCD researchers awarded funding are:

🔹 Dr Simone Ciuti, UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science – ‘Assessing the impact of deer in Irish forest ecosystems to inform evidence-based deer management and policy’.
🔹 Associate Professor Amalia Scannell, UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science – ‘Healthy Oats: Closing the Circle: Optimising Parameters for Oat Growth, Bioctive Extraction, and Processing to Produce Sustainable Fortified Food-For-Health Products’.
🔹 Associate Professor Carl Ng, UCD School of Biology and Environmental Scienc – ‘Biostimulants for Grass Production’.
🔹 Professor David MacHugh, UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science – ‘Integrative genomics and development of next-generation tools for the control and eradication of bovine tuberculosis’.
🔹 Professor Finola Leonard, UCD School of Veterinary Medicin – ‘Transdisciplinary Interventions to Control Salmonella in Irish Pig Farms’.
🔹 Dr Tomás Russell, UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science – ‘Farming Minds: Developing evidence based interventions to enhance farmer mental health’.
🔹 Associate Professor Breige McNulty, UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science – ‘National Pre-school Nutrition Survey II’.

👩‍🔬 👨‍🔬 Eight early career researchers at University College Dublin are among those across Ireland to receive €14.6m investment through the prestigious SFI-IRC Pathway programme.

Designed to transition its postdoctoral awardees into independent research leaders, the scheme also provides additional support for postgraduates to work alongside the successfully funded projects.

💙💛 The eight UCD awardees are:

🔹 Dr Despina Bazou, UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science.
🔹 Dr Judith Evers, Ad Astra Fellow, UCD School of Veterinary Medicine.
🔹 Dr Sean Kelly, UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering.
🔹 Dr Darren O'Connell, UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science.
🔹 Dr Qian Xu, UCD School of Medicine.
🔹 Dr Chinmoy Kundu, UCD School of Electrical and Electronics Engineering.
🔹 Dr Sujit Jung Karki, UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science.
🔹 Dr Xianxian Zhao, UCD School of Electrical and Electronics Engineering.

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Patrick O'Donovan TD said the SFI-IRC Pathway programme provided a “defined journey from post-doctoral research to independent researcher”.

“Bridging this gap is a challenging but critical milestone, and the research selected for investment will address key challenges and opportunities, ranging from new therapies for Parkinsons to the development of sustainable supercapacitors.”

⛵️👩‍🎓 She did it again! Congratulations to UCD Ad Astra Academy sailing ace Eve McMahon on winningher second world title

Irish Sailor of the Year and soon-to-be Olympian Eve McMahon is now a two-time world champion.

The UCD Ad Astra Academy sailing ace has again won the ILCA6 U21 World Champion, defending her title in Viana Do Costello, Portugal.

The Howth sailor and BComm student, recently named UCD’s ‘Sportspersons of the Year’, took the women’s title ahead of Evie Saunders, Australia, and Rooss Wind, Netherlands.

Following a week of racing, McMahon quickly emerged as the tournament favourite. She maintained low scores throughout and finished first place in five of her races.

She won the championships with 33 points and finished her final race 30 points below her closest competitors. In sailing, the boat with the fewest points wins.

🚜🤝 FBD and UCD invest €14m into new agricultural research and education centre at UCD Lyons Farm

FBD Holdings plc and FBD Trust CLG have pledged a philanthropic contribution of €6 million to support the facility, and UCD is providing €8 million, bringing the combined investment in UCD Lyons Farm to €14 million.

Construction of the new centre is due to commence in 2025.

The ‘UCD FBD Agricultural Science Centre’ will enhance UCD’s ability to deliver both teaching and research to the highest international standards and will be a focal point for all users. It will provide a centre where researchers, students, innovators and industry experts can collaborate on projects to address the most pressing challenges facing modern farming and agriculture.

This significant new development will also:

🔹 Allow for an increase in the number of undergraduate and postgraduate students and UCD staff studying and researching agriculture, veterinary medicine, environmental science, and sustainable production systems.
🔹 Ensure that production agriculture remains at the core of UCD’s agricultural science programmes by providing increased opportunities for students to engage in practical, hands-on learning at Lyons Farm.
🔹 Facilitate new education programmes in the areas of animal science, animal health, crop science and sustainable food production.
🔹 Be a venue to showcase the latest research to agricultural advisers, farmer groups and the wider industry.
🔹 Be available for conferences, open days and corporate events for those engaged in agriculture and food businesses.

Commenting on the new facilities, Professor Orla Feely, President of UCD, said: “This partnership with FBD exemplifies UCD's commitment to fostering collaboration and innovation for the betterment of farming, agriculture generally, the food industry and the environment. With FBD’s generous support and collaboration, we will enhance our ability to enquire, investigate, educate and solve the agriculture problems of the future, and drive positive change for generations to come.”

Speaking at the announcement of the partnership, Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue welcomed the development: “The collaboration between FBD and UCD represents a significant investment in the future of Irish agriculture, reinforcing the country’s position as a global leader in sustainable food production.

"Through the development of the new facility at UCD Lyons Farm, both partners are poised to make meaningful contributions to the advancement of agricultural practices and the prosperity of rural communities. I commend the parties for this initiative, and in particular FBD for its long-standing support for projects in the agri-food sector that improve research capacity.”

👩‍🎓 🛰 Congratulations to UCD College of Science alumna Dr Anna Heffernan, the new waveform expert for one of Europe’s most significant ever space projects - the LISA Mission.

The LISA Mission, a pioneering € 1.75 bn project, marks the first-ever attempt at probing the entire history of the universe using gravitational waves from space. Led by the European Space Agency in partnership with NASA, this mission is set to launch in 2035, opening a new chapter in space exploration.

🎓 A graduate of the UCD School of Physics and former PhD researcher at the UCD Relativity Group, Dr Heffernan is among 20 top experts selected by the ESA to be involved in LISA.

"LISA will open a new window on our universe, there is so much science we can do," she said.

"I was absolutely delighted to be selected, helping ensure we maximise the return of such a groundbreaking mission is a privilege. I am also delighted to be part of the Irish participation in a major international scientific project.”

💙💛 UCD has seen its overall position in the European rankings sharply improve, rising 20 places since the inaugural rankings were released last year.

🇪🇺 This year, the University is ranked 51 in Europe up from 71.

UCD No. 1 in Ireland for Sustainability and Employment Outcomes in QS European University Rankings In its (opens in a new window)latest rankings of European Universities, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) has given top marks to University College Dublin, naming it number one in Ireland for Sustainability and Employment Outcomes.

🫥🕵️ ꜰᴜɴᴅɪɴɢ ʙᴏᴏꜱᴛ ꜰᴏʀ ᴜᴄᴅ ᴘᴀʀᴛɴᴇʀꜱʜɪᴘ ᴏɴ ᴘɪᴏɴᴇᴇʀɪɴɢ ʀᴇꜱᴇᴀʀᴄʜ ɪɴᴛᴏ ‘ɪɴᴠɪꜱɪʙʟᴇ’ ᴡᴏʀᴋ ᴏꜰ ᴍᴇᴅɪᴇᴠᴀʟ ᴡᴏᴍᴇɴ

An international research effort co-lead by University College Dublin unearthing the significant role women have played in historical artistic work has received a near €1.8m funding boost by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

A team of historians and archaeological scientists from UCD, University of St Andrews, and the universities of Aberdeen and Turin, will explore the role of women in the spiritual, intellectual, artistic, social, and economic landscapes of medieval and early modern society.

Led by Alison Beach, Professor of Medieval History from the School of History at St Andrews, and Co-led by Dr Anita Radini at UCD School of Archaeology, the project ‘Word of Mouth: Embodied Stories of Premodern Women at Work’ aims to push the boundaries within which archaeologists and historians can track the invisible workforce of the past.

This pioneering research focuses on the period between the eleventh and seventeenth centuries, and builds on the work of Dr Radini, who, as part of an international team working on health and diet in the Middle Ages, discovered lapis lazuli pigment in the mouth of a nun buried in medieval German monastery in 2019. Professor Beach’s historical work linked the discovery to manuscript illumination.

Lapis lazuli was one of the rarest and most expensive artistic materials in the Middle Ages, with very few highly skilled artists entrusted with its use in decorating only the most valuable religious items.

The pigment is believed to have been lodged in the woman’s teeth as she used her tongue to shape the end of a paintbrush, indicating that women played a more significant role in artistic work than had been reflected in historical records.

The extraordinary discovery by the UCD archaeologist saw her last year awarded the prestigious Dan David Prize - the largest award for history research in the world.

It also contributed to the growing volume of evidence challenging exclusionary narratives about the nature and scope of medieval and premodern women’s artistic and economic activities.

Now Professor Beach, Dr Radini and others are building on this discovery in a five-year project that will look in depth at the lives of over 300 premodern female skeletons from Germany, Italy, England, and Iberia through analysis of their skeletons.

“This project brings together a team of top historians and archaeological scientists to open new windows on the lives of medieval women who have been lost to history,” said Primary Investigator Professor Beach. “We can’t wait to get to work!”

Dr Radini, international Co-Lead, added: “I am truly delighted to be able to carry on with the work Alison and I started a few years back and to work with such a fantastic team! This project has true potential to change the way we look at the workforce in past societies, starting from women! I, too, cannot wait to start. I am also very excited to be able to continue to develop methods to track craft people from their skeletal remains, which has been a core part of my research for a number of years."

Moving between the library and laboratory, the project will integrate historical research with cutting-edge analysis of human remains, experimental archaeology, and materials analysis (the study of archaeological and historical artefacts), to provide novel and nuanced insights into these women’s lived experiences and evaluate social inequality among religious women.

Bioarchaeological analysis, which includes the physical, chemical and biomolecular examination of skeletons, will discern the physical traces left by craft and skilled artistic labour from those left by religious labour, such as extensive kneeling in prayer.

While a chemical analysis of bones and teeth will reveal the past dietary habits, and even childhood origins of the women studied.

These results will be used to produce enhanced osteobiographies, life stories of individuals as told by their skeleton, which will be synthesised with textual analysis to establish a greater understanding of the activities in which women participated, and of the impact of this participation on women’s bodies and health.

Dr Rosa Boano and Professor Beatrice Demarchi of the University of Turin, who will lead the team in search of ancient biomolecules preserved in human remains, said they are "delighted to be part of this fascinating journey of discovery of working women's lives across Europe."

“We’re so excited to get started on this project,” said Professor Kate Britton from the University of Aberdeen who, along with specialist technician Dr Orsolya Czére also at Aberdeen, will lead the isotope (chemical) research.

“Isotope analysis provides a window into the lives people led hundreds of years ago – the choices they made, and even where they came from. We’ll use different methods to understand the types of foods these women regularly consumed, and to identify individuals who may have died and been buried far away from where they grew up.”

Dr Czére, whose doctoral research focused on using isotope analysis to explore the lives of Medieval Scottish people, including friars in Aberdeen, added: “These methods allow us to examine individual diet and mobility during late childhood, the teenage years, and into adulthood. Through this, we’ll witness the life-journeys of these women and gain crucial insights into the roles they played in, and how they were perceived by, their broader societies.”

“I think we are going to get some surprises,” added Professor Britton, “Women’s stories from the past are most often told for them, portraying a very restricted view of their life-journeys. In this project we are going to let them tell their own stories.”

💙💛 UCD chosen as 2024-2025 SDG Champion

🔹 University College Dublin has been appointed one of Ireland’s latest Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Champions for 2024-2025.

One of 20 organisations from across Ireland chosen to help drive forward Ireland’s progress towards the United Nations SDGs - the 17 goals aimed at delivering sustainable development for the planet and its people – the university will contribute to this goal through its research and innovation, said Professor Tasman Crowe, UCD Vice-President for Sustainability.

“I'm delighted that UCD has been selected as an SDG Champion this year and welcome the opportunity to showcase our work on sustainability and to engage widely to promote action.

“UCD is committed to maximising its contribution to the attainment of the SDGs. We are working towards innovative but workable solutions to sustainability challenges through our research and educational programmes and through the use of our campus and operations as a living lab to help develop and exemplify best practice.”

Also cited was UCD’s commitment to wide societal and policy engagement, interdisciplinary approaches, and wider partnerships nurtured through major research centres such as BiOrbic, the UCD Earth Institute, and international networks such as the All-Island Climate and Biodiversity Network, UN Academic Impact, Una Europa, and the International Association of Universities.

“UCD's goal is to build upon and increase our existing engagement with the SDGs and maximise our contribution to their attainment at local, national and global levels,” said Patrick Paul Walsh, Full Professor of International Development Studies at UCD and Vice President of Education and Director of the SDG Academy, UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN).

“The university is currently developing its strategy to 2030 with a view to embedding sustainability at the heart of our education, research and campus activities, feeding directly into the SDGs' aim of promoting peace and prosperity for people and the planet.”

Professor Walsh, and members of the UCD Sustainability Unit, were present when Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD, announced UCD inclusion in the list of new SDG Champions for 2024-2025.

“The world is currently off track to achieve the SDGs and accelerated action is needed. However, in this decade of action for the SDGs, Ireland is determined to play a leading role in delivering on the Goals - locally, nationally and internationally,” said Minister Ryan.

“Over 90 organisations applied to take part in the programme this year, demonstrating the growing commitment of Irish society to live up to and promote the Goals which have at their heart equality, access to basic rights like clean water, clean energy, food and shelter for all, and climate justice. It is great to see such a variety of commercial organisations, academic institutions, those working with young people, and environmental organisations joining the SDG collective last year. It’s like looking at a cross section of Irish society, all with a common aim to make our collective future better.”

The application for the role of SDG Champions was led by UCD Sustainability’s Core Working Group for SDG Engagement and Impact, chaired by Enda Murphy, Professor of Planning at the School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy.

An initiative of the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, the SDG Champions Programme was developed to raise public awareness of the SDGs and to demonstrate, through the examples provided by the SDG Champions, that everyone in society can make a contribution to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

This year’s chosen organisations will help raise awareness of the importance of the SDGs as a roadmap for a safer, fairer, more prosperous and sustainable future for all, that leaves no one behind.

UCD is currently ranked number 1 for Sustainability in Ireland in the latest QS World University Rankings.

👩‍🎓🧤 UCD alumna Paula Rowan, glovemaker to the stars 💫

🗣️ “Swift’s style has evolved over her career and she uses both her lyrics and her outfits to communicate and to craft a story so I am honoured to be a part of that narrative.”

🧵 Paula, who graduated from UCD College of Arts and Humanities with a degree in history and classics, has previously designed gloves for Ridley Scott's House Of Gucci, starring Lady Gaga.

Meet Paula Rowan, the Irish designer Taylor Swift has been spotted wearing We spoke to Irish designer Paula Rowan whose beautiful gloves have been spotted on Taylor Swift during her Eras tour.

💙💛 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟑𝟎𝟎 𝐔𝐂𝐃 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬

🎓 Undergraduates and graduates celebrated their academic achievements at three ceremonies over the course of June.

586 undergraduate degrees were conferred, alongside 714 postgraduate awards, including 274 master's, 308 diplomas and certificates, and 132 research degrees.

Over 100 Doctor of Philosophy Degrees were conferred to graduates.

Among the colleges and schools that celebrated conferrings in June were UCD School of Medicine, UCD School of Veterinary Medicine, and UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems, and the UCD Colleges of Engineering & Architecture, of Science, and of Health and Agricultural Sciences.

A number of medals were awarded to students in recognition of their outstanding achievements, including the Medicine Student of the Year Award for Bassem El Saghir as voted by his peers.

At the June conferrings, the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine awarded Mike Magan an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science for his "extraordinary contribution" to the Irish dairy industry, to AHI, to UCD and to Irish society more broadly.

The former Chair of Animal Health Ireland (AHI) and a Longford dairy farmer, Dr Magan was central to establishing AHI in 2009, which fundamentally changed the animal health landscape in Ireland.

💙💛 The University extends its deepest sympathies to the family and friends of legendary broadcaster Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh, a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Commerce graduate and former UCD Foundation Day Medal winner.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

A special broadcaster who leaves us eternal memories The magic of his voice and memories he gave us will mean, in our minds, Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh will live forever, writes Marty Morrissey.

👨‍⚕️🇺🇸 Congratulations to Assistant Professor John Gilmore, who has been appointed Fulbright Association Ambassador for University College Dublin. The Fulbright Commission Ireland Campus Ambassador Programme supports Fulbright applicants and partners nationwide.

As Fulbright Ambassador for UCD, Dr Gilmore will offer guidance to UCD staff and students who wish to apply for a Fulbright Scholarship to study, research or teach in the USA.

Subject Head for Adult General Nursing and joined the UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery & Health Systems as an Assistant Professor in Nursing in the Spring of 2020, John is also a member of UCD IRIS, the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research Education and Innovation in Health Systems.

Their extensive clinical background in Intensive Care Nursing, gained from his work in various ICUs across Ireland and the UK, has equipped him with a wealth of experience. Their expertise extends to diverse fields such as learning disabilities, respiratory high dependency, emergency departments, stroke rehabilitation, and sexual health.

In 2022, John was awarded a Fulbright-HRB Health Impact Scholar award by the University of California, San Francisco. Dr Gilmore was appointed to the Fulbright Commission in Ireland’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Panel in 2024.

⛵️☘️ Officially selected! UCD Ad Astra Academy Elite Scholar Eve McMahon's countdown to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is underway 🇫🇷

🤔🕵️ Hmmm, giant cheques or tiny people holding normal-sized cheques?

👏 Congratulations to Clia and Orgo, the two (human-sized) start-ups named winners of the 2024 NovaUCD Student Enterprise Competition.

Following pitches to a judging panel, Clia, a medtech start-up, won the €3k Tech Sustainability Prize, sponsored by Terra Solar, and Orgo, an edtech start-up, received the €3k One to Watch Prize, sponsored by NovaUCD.

Using wearable health data, Clia is developing software-as-a-service, which plugs into existing cardiac rehabilitation services to improve support and treatment for people at risk of cardiac disease.

Its founders are physiotherapists Rory Lambe and Ben O’Grady, who are currently research masters students investigating wearable technology in the UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science under the supervision of (opens in a new window)Dr Cailbhe Doherty.

Founded by Zackary Musumeci, currently a Biochemistry and Molecular Biology undergraduate student in the UCD College of Science, Orgo is a mobile e-learning platform focused on Organic Chemistry that aims to help students with bite-size lessons and revision questions become comfortable with the subject.

The annual NovaUCD Student Enterprise Competition mentors and supports undergraduate and postgraduate students who want to work together to develop and grow start-up companies.

Thirteen early-stage student ventures and 26 participants completed this year’s programme.

👨‍🎓🗝️ Many congratulations to UCD graduate James Geoghegan on his election as the 356th Lord Mayor of Dublin.

🎓 James, who holds a first-class honours degree in Politics and Sociology from College of Social Sciences and Law, succeeds fellow graduate Daithí de Róiste.

👩‍🎓✨ Many congratulations to UCD MA Creative Writing alumna Jessica Traynor on winning the 2024 Field Day Tundish Award for contribution to the arts in Ireland.

The Tundish Award was established in 1999 to celebrate James Joyce's genius and honour artists across different disciplines who have made a significant contribution to the arts in Ireland.

The UCD graduate and former UCD Creative Fellow was presented the award on Bloomsday by Theo Dorgan and Stephen Rea at a ceremony in the Merrion Hotel, Dublin.

She is the author of Liffey Swim and The Quick, published by Dedalus Press, and Pit Lullabies, published by Bloodaxe Books Ltd. She was the 2023 recipient of the Lawrence O’Shaughnessy Award and a previous Hennessy New Writer of the Year Award winner.

Jessica Traynor receives the Field Day Tundish Award 2024 - Books Ireland Jessica Traynor is the recipient of the Field Day Tundish Award 2024 for her contribution to the arts.