Awardees Archive - Page 7 of 12

Dr Gráinne Healy

As a long-standing feminist activist Dr Gráinne Healy is a celebrated leader in gender equality and social justice. Working in activism for the past 40 years, Gráinne was instrumental in helping to turn Ireland into a nation of equals in May 2015 as co-head of the Yes Equality Campaign, the campaign which led and won the marriage equality referendum.

She is founder and chairperson of Marriage Equality Ireland since 2004 and is a published author. Dr Healy’s global impact is also notable in the areas of violence against women, migrant rights and sex trafficking. She is Chairwoman of the European Women’s Lobby’s Observatory on Violence against Women and is a former Chairwoman of the National Women’s Council of Ireland.

Dr Michael Byrne

A physicist who used theoretical knowledge from his degree to invent a new technology which he has turned into a global business. Dr Michael Byrne graduated with a BSc in Physics and went on to complete a PhD in Atmospheric and Aerosol Physics in 1976.

From his involvement in the development of the basic ionisation smoke alarm, in 1988 he and his colleagues were part of a management buyout, following which Ei Electronics was established in Shannon which employs over 700 people. It is the leader in residential fire products, and the originator of innovative products including smoke detectors, carbon monoxide sensors, unique electronic circuits, RF technology and sounders. It holds over 25 patents in these technologies.

Dr Julie McEnery

An astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Julie McEnery received her PhD in Physics from UCD in 1997. She has worked for over ten years in the field of high energy gamma-ray astrophysics, working with all elements of the mission as the Project Scientist for the Fermi gamma-ray Space Telescope.

A curious child, Julie was interested in the fundamental questions and is now directly involved in opening up new ways of looking at the universe, discovering exciting new things and posing new questions. Alongside her work in NASA she is Adjunct Professor of Physics at the University of Maryland and at the George Washington University. In 2011, she was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society.

Vincent Keaveny

Vincent Keaveny is a partner at international law firm, DLA Piper LLP, and a highly regarded practitioner having had a stellar career advising banks and companies throughout the UK and Europe on banking, finance and capital markets matters. He is an outstanding role model for UCD Law students and is supportive of their learning, while his firm is most accommodating with internships and student visits.

Vincent was one of the City of London’s 25 Alderman in 2013 and was recently elected as one of two City of London Sheriffs for 2018-2019, a title dating back to the 14th century. Vincent is passionate about Music and Theatre and is a trustee of the music ensemble Exaudi, the Actors Theatre Company and is on the board of the Sir John Soane Museum.

DR SHEILA WILLIS

Previously Director General of Forensic Science Ireland, Dr Willis’s career has focused on how science can be used to investigate crime and assist the administration of justice. She was director of the laboratory from 2002 to 2016 and took the organisation to the highest international standard. Willis pioneered the introduction of DNA profiling to our legal system and recruited an expert team of molecular biologists to set up the national DNA Database System in 2015. The success of the database has far exceeded expectations: the lab now has a one-in-five chance of matching an unsolved crime to someone on the database. She has played a leading role in the European Forensic Science organisation and has made a major contribution to the Irish State.

CAOILFHIONN GALLAGHER QC

London-based human rights lawyer Caoilfhionn Gallagher was made Queen’s Counsel in 2017 in recognition of her exceptional international work, acting for journalists and peaceful protestors who have been arbitrarily detained all over the world. She led the legal team for Ibrahim Halawa, the Irish national who, at 17, was detained in Egypt in 2013. Caoilfhionn combines legal skills with humanity, exemplified by her sensitive handling of inquests for victims of bombings in London and Hillsborough, and challenging the benefits cap for the severely disabled, securing protection for victims of domestic violence and safeguarding vulnerable young people in custody. She is a most generous mentor and an inspirational social justice advocate.

EMILY LOGAN

Emily Logan is the first Chief Commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, appointed by President Michael D Higgins in 2014. In this role, Emily leads the IHREC in driving Ireland’s human rights agenda to place Ireland on a global stage. Prior to this, Emily Logan served as Ireland’s first Ombudsman for Children and in 2008 was appointed by her peers to the position of President of the European Network of Ombudsmen for Children. Emily’s contribution to the welfare of the children of Ireland, in particular those children without parental guardianship, those children in the care of the State, or those deprived of their liberty, is widely acknowledged.

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PAUL O’DONOVAN

Our youngest Alumni Award winner ever, Paul, 23, is a world-class sportsman and the only Irishman to win both World Championship and Olympic medals in the same year. With his brother Gary, he won silver in the Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the first rowing medal won by Ireland at the Olympics. Two weeks later, he became World Champion in the Men’s Lightweight Single Sculls at Rotterdam. A UCD Ad Astra Sports Scholar from the age of 18 and throughout his undergraduate degree, Paul’s work ethic and ability to balance a demanding degree with an even more demanding rowing schedule is an inspiration.

MICHAEL MCGLYNN

Michael McGlynn is a composer and Artistic Director of the vocal ensemble Anúna which he founded in 1987. Ireland has no indigenous history of choral music, and he created Anúna with the intent of developing a uniquely Irish form of ensemble singing that wove convincing connections between the ancient singing traditions of this country and the literature of his homeland.

Today Anúna is regarded as one of the finest vocal groups in the world and Michael’s compositions are performed by some of the art forms best-known exponents including Grammy winning ensembles the Phoenix Chorale, Kansas City Chorale and Chanticleer.

Michael McGlynn has lectured and workshopped his music all over the world and was Eminent Scholar at Florida Atlantic University between 2011 and 2013. This year he directed and scored the Noh Theatre/Anúna collaboration of “Takahime”, a Japanese reworking of Yeats’ “At the Hawk’s Well” in Tokyo’s Orchard Hall.

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MARY SUTTON

Mary Sutton completed a Bachelor of Social Science degree in University College Dublin in 1974 followed by a Master’s degree in Economics at McMaster University in Canada. For most of her career, she worked in international development, initially as a researcher with the Irish Commission for Justice and Peace in Dublin and then with the Overseas Development Institute in London. She then spent twenty years with Trócaire initially in a research capacity before filling a variety of management roles including Deputy Director.

Moving from the NGO sector to the civil service and continuing her engagement with global development, in 2002, she moved to the Department of Foreign Affairs as Principal Development Specialist with the Advisory Board of Irish Aid. This was a time of rapid growth in Ireland’s programme of Official Development Assistance and the Board was tasked with advising the Minister on the strategic direction of the programme.

Switching focus to domestic socio-economic issues and the contribution of private philanthropy to addressing them, in 2008, Mary Sutton joined The Atlantic Philanthropies becoming Country Director for the Republic of Ireland in 2011. Now in her tenth year with Atlantic, she is overseeing the conclusion of its work in Ireland in line with Chuck Feeney’s “limited life” and “giving while living” philosophy.

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Professor Andrew J Deeks, Mary Sutton, Professor Colin Scott