This year marks the 12th anniversary of the UCD Alumni Awards – an annual celebration of the extraordinary accomplishments of our alumni community. Since their inception in 2014, the Awards have recognised individuals who exemplify excellence and embody the values of UCD through their work and contributions to society. Each year, these honours spotlight alumni who have made a significant impact across a wide range of fields – including business, industry, healthcare, science, culture, sport, and the arts. With a global alumni network of over 334,000 in 184 countries, awardees are selected from a highly competitive pool, chosen for their ambition, innovation, and global influence. The UCD Alumni Awards not only pay tribute to the achievements of our most distinguished graduates but also serve to inspire the next generation – highlighting the enduring legacy and global reach of the UCD community.
BUSINESS AWARD
AIMEE CONNOLLY
BComm International 2015
Aimee Connolly is one of Ireland’s most recognisable and loved beauty entrepreneurs. Before founding her awardwinning beauty brand, Sculpted by Aimee, at the age of 23, she gained invaluable experience working in the beauty industry, crafting her trade whilst completing a first-class honours BComm International degree in UCD.
Sculpted by Aimee is now one of the fastest growing Irish beauty brands in the market. The business is rooted in great quality products that make make-up easy, and its community feel amazing. The company currently employs more than 100 people and is well on its way to becoming a globally recognised brand, with major expansions happening across the UK market at pace. Sculpted by Aimee now has stores in Dublin, Kildare, Belfast and London.
Aimee has won numerous awards, including IMAGE PwC Businesswoman of the Year 2025, a Business & Finance Elevation Award 2024, and an EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2021. She now sits on the EY Entrepreneur of the Year judging panel. Sculpted by Aimee was named as one of the BeautyMatter Future50 brands shaping the face of global beauty.
SOCIAL SCIENCES AWARD
PAUL O’BRIEN
BA Philosophy and Economics 1989
In April 2021 Paul O’Brien was appointed Executive Director of Amnesty International USA, a human rights organisation of 240,000 members and 125 staff. He had previously co-led Oxfam’s worldwide advocacy efforts during the Covid pandemic and led Oxfam America’s advocacy work with the US government and US corporations.
Over his career, Paul has worked on human rights research and advocacy in more than 50 countries, including most recently Mexico, Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. He lived in Africa for 10 years, working for local and international organisations, and spent five years in Afghanistan. He was previously an advisor to the President of Afghanistan, the Africa Policy Advisor for CARE, an organiser in Nairobi’s informal urban settlements, and President of Echoing Green, a global non-profit that uses venture philanthropy principles to support social entrepreneurs. Paul holds a Juris Doctor (JD) from Harvard Law School and previously worked as a litigator in New York for Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP. His book, Power Switch: How We Can Reverse Extreme Inequality, was published in 2020.
HEALTH AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES AWARD
DR PETER J. TIMONEY
MVB 1964
Through his visionary leadership and pioneering research, Dr Peter J. Timoney has had a profound global impact on equine veterinary science. He is an internationally acclaimed expert in equine infectious diseases and has made significant contributions to improving global practices in equine health and disease management. He has published extensively in the field, including on equine viral arteritis, contagious equine metritis, equine herpesviruses and equine encephalomyelitis. He is past president of the World Equine Veterinary Association, currently serves on the World Organisation for Animal Health International Horse Sports Confederation Technical Committee, and held research and academic appointments at the Irish Department of Agriculture Veterinary Research Laboratory, the Irish Equine Centre, and Cornell University, before joining the faculty in the Department of Veterinary Science at the University of Kentucky in 1983. He was appointed Director of the Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Centre in 1989 and held the Frederick Van Lennep Endowed Chair in Equine Veterinary Science from 1988 until his retirement in 2022. Peter was inducted into the University of Kentucky Gluck Equine Research Hall of Fame in 2009, and in 2022 he was awarded the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his service and steadfast commitment to equine health.
LAW
AWARD SARAH KEANE
BCL 1995, LLM 1996
As the first Chief Executive Officer of Swim Ireland, a position she has held since 2004, Sarah Keane has played a pivotal role in the modernisation of the organisation and the development of swimming, water polo, diving and other aquatic disciplines in Ireland. In 2017 she became the first female President of the Olympic Federation of Ireland (OFI), and was reappointed in 2020. She stepped down from the role in December 2024 after leading the OFI to Ireland’s most successful Olympic Games ever in Paris 2024.
Sarah is actively involved in global and national sports governance and sits on the government-appointed Leadership Group for the implementation of the National Sports Policy. She is a committed advocate for Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and is currently Chair of the first European Aquatics DEI Committee.
A qualified solicitor with a degree in law, a masters in commercial law and diplomas in corporate and financial management, Sarah was an Associate Partner in Matheson law firm. She was appointed to the Central Bank of Ireland Commission in 2020 and continues in that role today.
ARTS AND HUMANITIES AWARD
DR EMILY O’REILLY BA 1979, Honorary Doctorate of Laws 2014
Dr Emily O’Reilly was the Ombudsman and Information Commissioner for Ireland from 2003 to 2013. Her outstanding success in this role was reflected in her election to the post of European Ombudsman by the European Parliament in 2013, and she completed her third and final term in office in early 2025. She has made an extraordinary impact as a defender of human rights and a fearless advocate for transparency and accountability in public bodies and government agencies. She has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to protecting the rights of individuals, increasing public access to information, and upholding the values of the EU.
Emily began her career as a political journalist and has won multiple awards for both her journalism and advocacy work. She has held senior positions with The Irish Press and The Sunday Tribune as well as serving as a political columnist at The Sunday Times and as the Political Editor of the Sunday Business Post. She was awarded a prestigious Nieman Fellowship in Journalism from Harvard University in 1987. She is the author of three books: Candidate: The Truth Behind the Presidential Campaign (1991), Masterminds of the Right (1992), and Veronica Guerin (1998).
ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE AWARD
NIALL MC LAUGHLIN BArch 1984
Award-winning architect Niall McLaughlin is Professor of Architectural Practice at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. After graduating from UCD he worked with Scott Tallon Walker, before establishing his own practice in London in 1990. He designs buildings for education, culture, health, religious worship and housing.
Niall won Young British Architect of the Year in 1998 and received the RIBA Charles Jencks Award for Simultaneous Contribution to Theory and Practice in 2016. He exhibited in the Venice Biennale in 2016 and 2018 and won the RIBA Stirling Prize in 2022 for The New Library, Magdalene College, having previously been shortlisted for the prize in 2013, 2015 and 2018. Other significant projects include West Court Jesus College (Cambridge 2017), Auckland Tower & Faith Museum (Bishop Auckland 2020) and the International Rugby Experience (Limerick 2022). Niall was elected an Aosdána Member for Outstanding Contribution to the Arts in Ireland and as a Royal Academician in the Category of Architecture in 2019. In 2020 he was awarded an Honorary MBE for Services to Architecture. Niall was a visiting professor at the University of California Los Angeles in 2012- 2013 and was appointed Lord Norman Foster Visiting Professor of Architecture at Yale for 2014-2015.
SPORTS AWARD
LOUISE QUINN BSc 2011
Louise Quinn is the former vice-captain of the Republic of Ireland women’s national football team. In her 17-year career playing at international level, she earned 121 caps playing for Ireland and gained a reputation as a brilliant defender, an outstanding leader and an excellent ambassador for women’s football. She joined the Dublin club Peamount United in 2004 and became the club captain at 16 years old. The club won the FAI Women’s Cup final in 2010 and the 2011-2012 Women’s National League under her captaincy. Louise is one of four players to score a European hat-trick in the UEFA Women’s Champions League. She moved to Swedish club Eskilstuna in 2013 and later played for Notts County, Arsenal, ACF Fiorentina and Birmingham City. Louise was awarded a Football Association of Ireland scholarship to UCD and graduated in 2011 with a degree in Sports and Exercise Management. She was named the FAI Senior Women’s International Player of the Year in 2013 and again in 2019. She played the full 90 minutes in all three games at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and is currently fourth on the WNT All-Time Top Scorer List with 16 goals, 15 of which were headers. Louise announced her retirement from professional football earlier this year.
RESEARCH, INNOVATION AND IMPACT AWARD
DR SHOURJYA SANYAL
GradCert Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Enterprise 2013, PhD 2017
A physicist turned innovation strategist, Dr Shourjya Sanyal is at the forefront of AI-driven transformation for the benefit of business and society. He has spent over 15 years bridging deep tech, healthcare innovation, and enterprise AI across the US and Europe, earning a string of awards, including the European C-Voucher for Circular Economy and the Luminate Award in New York.
Shourjya is the founder of Think Biosolution, a Dublin-based digital health company, and Voice Health, an AI-powered virtual medical receptionist platform, now serving clinics across the US. He is currently Head of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning at UNUM Ireland, a Fortune 250 insurance provider, where he drives strategic AI initiatives delivering over $100 million in enterprise value.
Shourjya has served as an advisor to the World Health Organization’s Digital Health Board and is a member of the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council. A committed voice for responsible AI and innovation equity, he believes that the true challenge lies not just in deploying intelligent systems, but in aligning them with regulatory, ethical and human values. His work continues to shape how businesses leverage AI to improve access, accuracy and agility across sectors like healthcare, insurance and education.
SCIENCE AWARD
DR ÚNA MCCARTHY-FAKHRY BSc 1998
Dr Úna McCarthy-Fakhry is an international STEM education specialist and a passionate advocate for women and girls in STEM. She has worked in diverse roles in research, public administration, and international development. Currently based at UNESCO in Paris, Úna leads global efforts to strengthen girls’ participation, learning, and retention in STEM.
Her work spans Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and centres on ensuring all learners, regardless of gender or background, can build STEM literacy and thrive in an increasingly digital world.
A core principle of Úna’s work is her human-centred approach, reflected in national and regional initiatives that advance equity and inclusion. In Cambodia, she led the Annual Cambodia STEM Festival, founded STEM Sisters Cambodia, and supported the Cambodian government in developing a national STEM education strategy through her work with the Asian Development Bank. In Africa, she contributed to World Bank research, evaluated gender-responsive teacher training programmes, and is currently supporting a project focused on closing the digital divide through inclusive digital education. Úna received the Girls in STEM Award 2020 from Juniper Networks and was named in the 2021 Leading Lights Asia Pacific Kindness and Leadership Awards.