31 New Fulbright Ireland-USA Awardees Conferred at Ceremony
Thursday 10 June 2021: Minister Simon Coveney T.D. announced the 2021 cohort of Fulbright Irish Awardees at an online celebration today via a pre-recorded message.
The enduring Fulbright Programme will support thirty-one remarkable academics, professionals and students from Ireland to go to the USA and collaborate with their U.S. counterparts.
Looking to the future, Irish awardees will shine a light on urgent international research issues from advances in cancer research, to cyber security and human rights. They will also represent, share and promote Irish culture, particularly through the Irish language teaching programme. Award recipients are due to travel from September 2021, with a majority going from January 2022.
The resilient Fulbright programme has served to strengthen international relations throughout turbulent times for over seventy years. Founded in 1946, it has enabled academic and cultural exchanges between more than 2,500 Irish and American citizens since 1957.
With an emphasis on cultural immersion and building long-term academic and professional connections, the Fulbright programme selects excellent candidates from all over Ireland to work with top U.S. Institutions across all disciplines ranging from science, technology and business, to the arts and culture.
AWARDESS
As a Fulbright TechImpact Scholar, Dr Caroline McGroary (Dublin City University Business School ) will be part of the Cybersecurity Policy and Governance Masters programme at Boston College and will conduct research exploring the extent to which organisations and individuals understand the cyber risks which they are exposed to, and whether they are adequately protected against these risks. It is intended that this research will help in the development of cybersecurity education programmes for non-experts. These are just a few examples of the scope of the thirty-one Fulbright Irish Awardees for 2021-2022.
As a Fulbright Irish Scholar in 2021-2022, Prof. Paul Rouse will be based at the Public Space Research Group at The Graduate Center at CUNY and will be researching a project entitled: “Recreation in Dublin’s Phoenix Park and New York’s Central Park, 1850-1950”. The project will examine how public parks are central to modern cities. By studying the contrasting origins and development of two of the world’s great urban spaces – Central Park in New York and the Phoenix Park in Dublin – this project will assess the role of public parks in urban life, with a specific focus on the historical development of ideas about recreation in both Ireland and the United States. Ultimately, the project will explore how the evolution of parks reflects, but also shapes, the cities they serve, producing valuable new scholarship in the history of leisure, recreation, sport, immigration and public space on both sides of the Atlantic.
The next round of applications for Fulbright Irish Awards will open on 31st August 2021; interested candidates should visit www.fulbright.ie for more information.
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney T.D: “The role of Fulbright Awardees in driving international research and keeping global channels of communications open is more important than ever as the world is reinvigorated over the coming years. Fulbright has always propelled collaboration between the brightest minds. I wish this year’s awardees every success for their time in the United States.”
Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, Alexandra McKnight: “The Fulbright program plays a crucial role in strengthening the unique relationship between the United States and Ireland. People are at the heart of this extraordinary relationship, and the Fulbright Commission has an unrivalled record in selecting the very best as Fulbrighters.”
Ambassador of Ireland to the United States of America, Daniel Mulhall: “I am delighted to extend my warmest congratulations to the Irish Fulbright Awardees for 2021 – 2022. Exchanges like the Fulbright programme play an important role in strengthening the unique relationship that Ireland and the United States share. I look forward to welcoming them when they arrive here.”
Chair of the Board of the Fulbright Commission in Ireland Professor Diane Negra: “The Commission Board congratulates the Awardees travelling to the U.S. in the coming year. It is exciting to consider the role they will play in the resumption and reinvigoration of academic and cultural activities.”
Executive Director of the Fulbright Commission in Ireland Dr Dara FitzGerald: “The Fulbright program is really about people; the resilience of our Fulbright awardees and alumni this year has been wonderful. The impacts of our partners’ and sponsors’ support, flexibility and vision are heartening, especially in challenging times as the world recovers from a difficult year. We thank our partners, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Embassy in Dublin, the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Irish Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.”
The following sponsors recognise the competitive nature of the awards and the prowess and tenacity displayed by all of this year’s awardees. Thank you to the Health Research Board, Enterprise Ireland, the Environmental Protection Agency, Geological Survey Ireland, National University of Ireland, Teagasc, the Creative Ireland Programme, Science Foundation Ireland, the National Lottery and such notable U.S. Institutions as the Exploratorium Science Museum, the Smithsonian Institution, the Harry Ransom Center, Boston College and Georgetown University. We also enjoy tremendous support from Irish institutions including University of Limerick, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, University College Cork, University College Dublin, Dublin City University, National University of Ireland Galway, Maynooth University, Technological University Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, Letterkenny Institute of Technology, The AMBER SFI Centre, Dublin Institute of Advances Studies and the Dublin City Gallery the Hugh Lane.”
ENDS
Note to the Editor:
The Fulbright Commission in Ireland
The Fulbright Programme in Ireland was established in 1946. It annually awards grants for Irish citizens to study, research, or teach in the U.S. and for Americans to do the same here. Since it reached Ireland in 1957, over 2,500 postgraduate students, scholars, professionals, and teachers across all disciplines have participated in the program between the two countries. The Commission is supported by the U.S. Department of State and the Irish Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and many Irish and U.S. higher education institutions and organisations. It is also a registered charity.
For further information, profiles, interviews, and images etc. please contact:
Rowan Gallagher, Fulbright Commission
rowan.gallagher@fulbright.ie