Class Acts 2020

Tony Holohan

MB BCh BAO 1991, Dip Child Health 1993, MPH 1996

Ireland’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Tony Holohan was the Government’s key adviser in spearheading the battle against Covid-19, until he stepped aside in early July for family reasons. His outstanding leadership during the pandemic, with daily televised briefings that were measured and reassuring, convinced the nation that if public health guidelines were followed and advice taken, the curve would be flattened and challenges overcome. Taoiseach Micheál Martin paid tribute to Dr Holohan’s work during the public health emergency. “As a country we owe him and his family a great debt of gratitude.” Dr Holohan is a 1991 medical graduate of UCD. He trained initially in general practice and subsequently in public health medicine. Appointed as Deputy CMO at the Department of Health and Children in Ireland in 2001, he was appointed CMO in 2008.

Dr Holohan’s responsibilities include the provision of strategic leadership, evidence- based analysis and expert medical advice as well as the development of policy and legislation with regard to patient safety and quality in healthcare. Dr Holohan also leads the development and coordination of health and wellbeing policy, including policy to address communicable diseases such as Covid-19, rare diseases, non-communicable diseases, obesity, smoking, alcohol misuse and bioethical issues.

The announcement that Dr Holohan was stepping aside from his job to spend time with his wife Emer, who was in palliative care, and their two children, brought an outpouring of praise and sympathy.

As the baton was passed to Acting CMO and fellow UCD alumnus, Dr Ronan Glynn, Dr Holohan said: “A plan has been put in train for others to take over responsibility for my role.”

Michael Ryan

MPH 1992

Former trauma surgeon and epidemiologist, Dr Michael Ryan, Executive Director, World Health Organization Emergencies (WHO), leads the team responsible for the international containment and treatment of Covid-19. At the forefront of managing acute risks to global health for nearly 25 years, he has also worked to fight epidemics in many conflict-hit countries.

In 1990, Dr Ryan moved to Iraq with his girlfriend, later his wife, to train Iraqi doctors. After the invasion of Kuwait, he worked under captivity for a time. He then moved into the field of public health.

Dr Ryan joined WHO in 1996 when it established a unit to respond to emerging epidemic disease threats. He led response teams to Ebola, meningitis, cholera, measles, bacillary dysentery, Crimean- Congo haemorrhagic fever, Rift Valley fever and relapsing fever. From November 2014 to February 2015, he was Senior Adviser to UNMEER in West Africa, spending most of his mission in the field in the three worst affected countries (Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea).

He was a Senior Adviser on Polio Eradication for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative from 2013 to 2017, deploying to countries in the Middle East including Syria and Iraq. With technical partners such as WHO, UNICEF, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and others, the response reached 25 million children. This was achieved in the context of terrible conflict that collapsed health infrastructures and drove millions from their homes. He served as Assistant Director-General for Emergency Preparedness and Response in WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme from 2017 to 2019.

Dr Ryan completed medical training at NUI Galway, and took a masters in Public Health at UCD, as well as specialist training in communicable disease control.

Colm Henry

MB BCh BAO 1988

Consultant geriatrician at Mercy University Hospital Cork and Chief Clinical Officer at the HSE, Dr Colm Henry has been a key figure in NPHET, and a familiar face in the media, as the public awaited updates on the nation’s response to the pandemic. Key to many of his briefings were the number of tests being carried out. In the early stages of lockdown, Dr Henry led the conversation on the possible catastrophic impact of the coronavirus on acute hospitals and explained how Ireland was following WHO advice to “test, test, test”, deemed best practice, alongside physical distancing and contact tracing, for dealing with the virus.

Ronan Glynn

BSc Physiotherapy 2002, MPH 2015

Dr Ronan Glynn graduated from UCD with a Bachelor of Science in Physiotherapy, then qualified as a doctor, later receiving a PhD in surgical oncology. In 2015, Dr Glynn completed his masters in Public Health at UCD. As Deputy CMO at the Department of Health, he participated in the Covid-19 press briefings alongside CMO Dr Tony Holohan until July of this year when, as Acting CMO, he stepped into Dr Holohan’s role. Dr Glynn also took over the role of chair of the national Public Health Emergency team (NPHET). He has garnered praise for his concise explanations of the rationale behind recent NPHET recommendations, clarifying the key features and calling for solidarity: “We are all on this journey together.”

Yvonne Doyle

MB BCh BAO 1981, Dip Child Health 1983, MPH 1985, MD 2008

Familiar to those who watched daily Covid-19 briefings on UK television, Professor Doyle appeared alongside Matt Hancock, Britain’s Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and was praised for her clear communication style. She became Medical Director and Director of Health Protection for Public Health England in May 2019. Professor Doyle was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 2016 for services to public health in the UK. She provides support on European Healthy Cities to the WHO and advises the World Economic Forum, the EU and the World Bank on public health and ageing.

Killian Mac Donald

BBLS 1997, MSc Marketing Practice 1999

Killian MacDonald is director of commercial operations at Gilead Sciences, the biopharmaceutical company responsible for the antiviral medication Remdesivir. MacDonald has worked for more than 15 years in the pharmaceutical industry, in Ireland and internationally. Gilead’s €9.5m facility in Carrigtwohill manufactures drugs for the treatment of HIV and hepatitis B and C, the first company to launch a single-tablet regimen for HIV treatment, transforming the quality of life of those with the condition. The EU signed a deal with Gilead to ensure treatment doses of Remdesivir for 30,000 patients.

Ciarán Devane

BE Chemical Engineering 1984

Sir Ciarán Devane, chief executive, British Council and chair of the HSE, is a graduate of biochemical engineering. He began his career as an engineer, then became a management consultant and expert in complex change programmes. He has a Doctor of Science honoris causa from UCD, and a masters in International Policy and Practice. A transforming chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support from 2007- 2014, the expectation is that his governing role at the HSE will be effective and visionary.

Ronan Cahill

MB BCh BAO 1997

Professor of Surgery at UCD and the Mater Hospital, Professor Cahill was made director of the Digital Surgery Unit at the Mater in July 2019, a position that would become central to the continuation of vital surgeries during Ireland’s experience of the global Covid-19 pandemic. Professor Cahill was also instrumental in the conduct of research into the physics of the behaviour of the virus, creating a video using Schlieren technology, a physics principle which uses light to show the density of fluids and gases, to illustrate how air moves when people breathe, cough and sneeze, emphasising the importance of social distancing.

Teresa Lambe

BSc 1997

Dr Teresa Lambe, a pharmacology graduate, is a member of the small team of scientists at the Jenner Institute at Oxford University who have created the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine, now in phase three trials. The team began tracking the virus in late December and by early January had received its genetic sequence, the starting point for designing the vaccine. The European front-runner in the race to bring a vaccine to market, Oxford has partnered with Astra Zeneca on global production: the company has committed to making two billion doses in twelve months.

Alistair Nichol

PhD Medicine 2008

Professor Alistair Nichol is chair and Professor of Critical Care Medicine at UCD and director of the Irish Critical Care Clinical Trials Network. He led the Irish contribution to an international clinical trial with Covid-19 patients in intensive care, as part of a global research effort. Professor Nichol is Honorary Visiting Fellow in Tropical Medicine at Oxford University and Honorary Intensivist at Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, Australia.

Niamh Donnelly

MSc Computer Science 2018

Niamh Donnelly co- founded the AI start-up Akara Robotics which uses robotics and ultra-violet light to clean hospital wards, in February 2019. A graduate of the MSc in Computer Science, Donnelly won the “Best Application of AI in a Student Project” at the Irish 2018 AI Awards. Akara is an example of how computer science graduates use deep technical expertise to assist in combating challenging social issues like Covid-19.

George Lee

BA Politics and Economics 1985

Journalist, television and radio presenter and former Fine Gael politician, George Lee has been at the forefront of RTÉ’s reporting on the Covid-19 outbreak, reporting from the Department of Health. Lee has worked for RTÉ since 1992. After a brief political career hiatus he returned to RTÉ in 2014 and was appointed Agriculture and Environment correspondent. In 2019, he became Environment and Science Correspondent.

Rita Doyle

MB BCh BAO 1973, DipCH 1976

Dr Rita Doyle is the first female, and the first full-time GP, to be elected President of the Medical Council of Ireland. Early in the Covid-19 crisis, she wrote to doctors to express the Council’s support and appreciation. With her remit to ensure high standards of professional conduct and professional education and competence among doctors, she also established a committee to support doctors with mental or physical health problems.

Brendan Loftus

 PhD 1996, ProfDip 2014, ProfDip 2018

A team at the UCD Conway Institute Genomics Core worked in collaboration with the NVRL at UCD to obtain the genomes of the SARS-CoV-2 virus from the first Covid-19 patient samples in Ireland. The team, which included Alison Murphy and Caitriona Moss, was led by Professor Loftus, director of UCD Conway Genomics Core, Fellow at UCD Conway Institute and Professor of Comparative Genomics at UCD School of Medicine.

Knut Moe

 MBA 2019

General practitioner and co-founder of UCD Smurfit Healthcare Leadership Network, Dr Knut Moe, a Dublin GP, developed Screening Form, an online Covid-19 checklist that can be sent to a patient with suspected Covid-19 symptoms. The form is said to cut the time spent on phone consultations in half and allows GPs to quickly assess the patient’s condition and potential need for testing. Dr Moe completed an MBA at UCD Smurfit Graduate School of Business in 2019.

Gary Brown

 BA Economics and Computer Science 2004

Former Leinster Rugby player Gary Brown co-founded Impact Gumshields in 2013. The company has responded to the threat of Covid-19 by utilising its 3D printers – originally designed to create gumshields – to produce hands-free door openers for GP surgeries, pharmacies, nursing homes and other healthcare settings. Brown’s approach demonstrated how an agile company can challenge itself to pivot and present practical solutions in a time of crisis.

Cecily Kelleher

 MB BCh BAO 1980, MSc Public Health 1986

Professor Cecily Kelleher, Principal of UCD College of Health and Agricultural Sciences, is one of Ireland’s most eminent and influential public health researchers. Professor Kelleher chairs the NPHET Covid-19 nursing home panel and during her career has made significant contributions to the development of national public health policy. She was elected to the Royal Irish Academy, in a virtual ceremony, in May 2020.

Oliver O’Connor

BA Philosophy and History 1982

Oliver O’Connor,  chief executive of the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA) since 2015, and a former special advisor to the Government, has led the IPHA through a time of great change, including  preparing for the continuity of supply of essential medicines to Ireland throughout the Brexit process. The IPHA is supporting the Irish pharmaceutical industry to meet demand for medicines, as well as global efforts to discover vaccines and treatments for Covid-19.

Karina Butler- O’Connell

MB BCh BAO 1978

When NPHET was first established in March 2020, Professor Butler-O’Connell, UCD Professor of Clinical Paediatrics & Infectious Disease, was elected chair of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee as part of the Expert Advisory Group. Professor Butler-O’Connell had received the inaugural Kathleen Lynn medal from the Royal College of Physicians Ireland in 2018 for her work on HIV and immunisation in children and congenital infection.

Ann-Marie Jennings

 BSc 2003, PhD 2008

Covid-19 laboratory manager and Head of Clinical Laboratory Services at Randox in Northern Ireland, Dr Ann-Marie Jennings led the development of multiple Covid-19 related products. Randox recently announced a £30m investment into a Covid-19 testing laboratory. Dr Jennings earned a PhD in biochemistry at the Conway Institute at UCD after her BSc in Science in 2003. She also completed a certificate in Business Management.

Siobhán Killeen

 BSc Radiography 2016

Former soccer international Siobhán Killeen is at the frontline in her work as a radiographer at the Mater Hospital. She tested positive for the virus and her willingness to speak openly about how it affected a young, fit athlete, was an important turning point for public awareness. Killeen was a member of the Irish team who were UEFA Women’s Under-17 Championship runners-up, and FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup quarter-finalists, in 2010.

Seán Mac Fhearraigh

 PhD 2011

One of the first Covid-19 testing kits to provide results in just 15 minutes was the Reagent Assay Genie test, created by co-founder and chief technology officer of Assay Genie, Seán Mac Fhearraigh. The innovative test uses colloidal gold immunochromatography, using just one drop of blood. MacFhearraigh was a PhD student at UCD, where he carried out cancer research, focusing on the dissection of molecular signalling pathways.

Colin Barry

MBA 2011

As the owner of Galway- based Brite Mobility, an electric bike and scooter company, Colin Barry recognised the concerns of essential healthcare workers about sharing vehicles with family and using public transport when travelling to work in hospitals and nursing homes. He provided free bikes and scooters to Galway’s health workers and has set up a GoFundMe page to continue the scheme for as long as possible.

Niall McGrath

BBLS 1998, MSc Marketing Practice 1999

Famous for its heathy food products, Cali Cali Foods was co-founded by alumnus Niall McGrath who also co-founded Fulfil Nutrition, before exiting the company last year. McGrath and his business partner Tom Gannon recognised there was a way the company could support time-pressed frontline workers during Covid-19, by helping #FuelTheFrontline with deliveries of their healthy crisps to staff in hospitals.

Ronan Quinlan and Dermot O’Shea

BComm 1997 and BSc Physics and Mathematics 1996

Quinlan and O’Shea are co-founders of Irish company Taoglas, whose platform, Crowd Insights monitors social distancing using wifi hotspot data to track people congregating in certain areas. The company made the technology available to healthcare providers to monitor the number, flow and dwell times of people in public areas. It sets an alarm if intervention is necessary.

Cian Farrell and Nev Flynn

BComm International 2017 and BE Mechanical Engineering 2017

Cian Farrell and Nev Flynn developed the app Vouch For, which allowed consumers to purchase digital gift vouchers from bars, cafés and restaurants which had to close temporarily. The vouchers kept small businesses afloat during lockdown and were redeemed in stores when they reopened. The pair’s original enterprise, tech company Recroot, provides hiring services to the hospitality sector.

Patryk Szafranski

MSc Digital Innovation 2013

Co-founder and managing director of creative marketing agency, Kobba, Patryk Szafranski diversified his business, designing and selling protective screens and face shields for retail and health workers. Prior to this rethink of Kobba’s output, the creative agency offered services in branding, digital marketing, 3D design and production of marketing props, video production and event production. He was also named in the Irish Independent’s “30 Under 30” list.

John Ryan

MBA 2016

Founder and chief executive of Gigable John Ryan was a captain in the Irish army, then worked in fintech at Goodbody Stockbrokers before establishing the tech platform. During the pandemic, Gigable, became a useful global marketplace, facilitating freelancers to find work. Companies and gig workers, from delivery couriers to management consultants, were able to connect with users to do business and automate payments.

Colin Keogh, Irene Villafañe and Ross Lawless

BE 2011, ME 2012, PhD 2020, MSc 2017, Research Engineer, Conway Institute 2017-18

As the demand for PPE increased, manufacturers pivoted. Wicklow-based CALT Dynamics, founded by Ross Lawless, Colin Keogh and Irene Villafane developed a reusable face shield that can be produced rapidly using 3D printing. They continue to offer their services to the HSE and to business owners who require protective face shields for their staff.

Ciara Close

BE Electronic Engineering 2004, PhD 2012, MBA 2019

Comfort4Covid was set up by a team of Vascular Sales Specialist at PEI Surgical, Dubliners (three of whom are UCD alumni) fellow co-founder SUZANNE STEWART to raise funds to supply e-tablets to hospitals contributes to the Comfort4Covid team as a and long-term care facilities all over Ireland. medical devices specialist. Stewart also had Having originally hoped to fund 100 tablets, firsthand experience of Covid-19, during the they funded more than 1,000. The tablets hospitalisation of her partner, an ICU doctor, offered crucial comfort to patients and their with the virus. families, allowing for video conferencing and Co-founder EMMA FARRELL is an contact between family members from locked- entrepreneur who met Close and Stewart down hospitals and nursing homes. while all were studying for an MBA at UCD Co-founder of Comfort4Covid, CIARA Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School. CLOSE is an electronic engineer and board CEO of EF Creative Studios Talent Agency, member of The Umbrella Foundation, a non- she lends her entrepreneurial flair and business profit NGO. acumen to the organisation.

Suzanne Stewart

MVB 2007, MBA 2019

Comfort4Covid was set up by a team of Vascular Sales Specialist at PEI Surgical, Dubliners (three of whom are UCD alumni) fellow co-founder SUZANNE STEWART to raise funds to supply e-tablets to hospitals contributes to the Comfort4Covid team as a and long-term care facilities all over Ireland. medical devices specialist. Stewart also had Having originally hoped to fund 100 tablets, firsthand experience of Covid-19, during the they funded more than 1,000. The tablets hospitalisation of her partner, an ICU doctor, offered crucial comfort to patients and their with the virus. families, allowing for video conferencing and Co-founder EMMA FARRELL is an contact between family members from locked- entrepreneur who met Close and Stewart down hospitals and nursing homes. while all were studying for an MBA at UCD Co-founder of Comfort4Covid, CIARA Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School. CLOSE is an electronic engineer and board CEO of EF Creative Studios Talent Agency, member of The Umbrella Foundation, a non- she lends her entrepreneurial flair and business profit NGO. acumen to the organisation.

Emma Farrell

MBA 2019

Comfort4Covid was set up by a team of Vascular Sales Specialist at PEI Surgical, Dubliners (three of whom are UCD alumni) fellow co-founder SUZANNE STEWART to raise funds to supply e-tablets to hospitals contributes to the Comfort4Covid team as a and long-term care facilities all over Ireland. medical devices specialist. Stewart also had Having originally hoped to fund 100 tablets, firsthand experience of Covid-19, during the they funded more than 1,000. The tablets hospitalisation of her partner, an ICU doctor, offered crucial comfort to patients and their with the virus. families, allowing for video conferencing and Co-founder EMMA FARRELL is an contact between family members from locked- entrepreneur who met Close and Stewart down hospitals and nursing homes. while all were studying for an MBA at UCD Co-founder of Comfort4Covid, CIARA Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School. CLOSE is an electronic engineer and board CEO of EF Creative Studios Talent Agency, member of The Umbrella Foundation, a non- she lends her entrepreneurial flair and business profit NGO. acumen to the organisation.

Gerry O’Connor

BA 1967

Gerry O’Connor, chair at Fiera Closed-End Funds Independent Review and committee board member of Volunteer Toronto, was named Ireland Canada Chamber of Commerce Irish Person of the Year 2020, in recognition of his support of Irish immigrants at the Eamonn O’Loghlin Irish Canadian Immigration Center. He was also recently awarded the Governor General of Canada Sovereign Medal for volunteer work in the Philippines.

Salome Mbugua

MEqualS 2001

Salome Mbugua is an equality activist, human rights advocate and founder of AkiDwA, The Migrant Women’s Network. Mbugua also helped develop Wezesha, an organisation for women and children affected by conflict and poverty in Africa. A member of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, in February 2020 she criticised the refusal of the State to issue learner driver permits to asylum seekers.

David Farrell

BA Politics 1981, MA 1983

Professor Farrell, Head of the School of Politics and International Relations, received the Impact Award 2019 from the Irish Research Council for a significant contribution to research on electoral systems and the politics of representation in democracies. He is chair of the Finance Sub-Committee of the European Consortium for Political Research, a member of the RIA and also a board member of the Electoral Integrity and Making Electoral Democracy Work projects.

Paul O’Hara

MSc Marketing 2000

Founder and CEO of social entrepreneurship platform ChangeX, Paul O’Hara connects people with proven ideas for building communities with investors who have the resources to fund them. Projects range from green schools and repair cafés to tech workshops and pop-up museums. In 2019, ChangeX signed with the UN to create projects in line with the UN’s sustainability development goals. ChangeX is in the process of raising $3m to further develop the platform.

Tiernan Brady

BA Economics and Politics 1994

Tiernan Brady was appointed Global Director of Diversity and Inclusion for global law firm Clifford Chance LLP in March 2019. Formerly he was executive director of The Equality Campaign, the Yes Campaign in Australia, political director of the marriage equality campaign in Ireland, a director of The Irish Gay and Lesbian Equality Network and campaign director of Equal Future, which addresses challenges facing LGBT children.

Yemi Adenuga

Dip Business Studies 2008, BBS 2010, GradCert 2016

Yemi Adenuga is Ireland’s first black female councillor, elected to Meath County Council in 2019. She described her election as “a victory for all women and ethnic minorities”. Adenuga is also a member of the board of Cultúr, a community organisation for migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, promoting an inter-cultural Co Meath and chief executive of the African Women Development Initiative, a network body for migrant women in Ireland.

Maeve O’Rourke

BCL International 2009

A member of research group, Justice for Magdalenes, Dr Maeve O’Rourke submitted research and analysis on the promotion of truth, justice, reparations and guarantees of non-recurrence in respect of Ireland’s memorialisation of the Magdalene laundries, to the UN Special Rapporteur in February 2020. While seeking justice for victims, O’Rourke lectures in Human Rights Law at NUI Galway, where she is programme director of the BCL in Law and Human Rights.

Michelle Norris

MSocSc 1995

In May 2020, the Head of UCD School for Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice, Dr Michelle Norris was appointed expert adviser to Housing 2030, run by the UN Economic Commission for Europe, UN Habitat and 56 national governments. Via Housing Europe, which represents 43,000 affordable housing providers, the aim is to expand the capacity of national and local governments to improve housing affordability and sustainability.

Niall O’Higgins

 MB BCh BAO 1965, BSc 1967, MCh 1974

In July 2019, Professor Niall O’Higgins was appointed chair of the National Cancer Screening Advisory Committee by former Minister for Health, Simon Harris. Previously, Professor O’Higgins held the Chair of Surgery at UCD and has been a consultant general surgeon at St Vincent’s University Hospital since 1977, with a special interest in breast cancer. He has been involved in over 300 publications, chiefly on breast cancer research.

Niamh Brennan

BSc 1976, Postgrad Diploma 2019, Postgrad Diploma 2020

Professor Niamh Brennan, Professor of Management at UCD and Founder/Academic Director of the UCD Centre for Corporate Governance, was elected to the Royal Irish Academy in May 2020. She has published extensively on corporate governance and accounting, and is the first academic outside the UK to receive the British Accounting and Finance Association Distinguished Academic Award.

Catherine Day

BA Economics and Politics 1974, MA 1975

Dr Catherine Day, former Secretary General of the European Commission, the first woman to hold the post, was appointed in 2019 to chair the Citizen’s Assembly on Gender Equality and she was appointed chair of the Expert Group on Direct Provision. During Dr Day’s stellar career at the European Commission, she worked in the cabinets of Richard Burke, Sir Peter Sutherland and Sir Leon Brittan, whom she served as deputy Chef de Cabinet. She also served as Director General for Environment, and more recently as Special Adviser to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. She was awarded the UCD Foundation Day Medal in 2015.

Teresa Pilkington

BA 1981, LLM 1997

Ms Justice Teresa Pilkington was nominated by the Government to the Court of Appeal in August 2020 to fill a vacancy after the retirement of Mr Justice Brian McGovern. She had been appointed to the High Court in 2018 and heard cases involving defamation, contractual disputes, procurement law, injunctions, bankruptcy, insolvency, company law and judicial review. She oversaw the bankruptcy proceedings of Seán Dunne. She was formerly a member of the Property Registration Authority, a member of the Irish Financial Services Appeals Tribunal, tribunal chair of the Mental Health Commission and a member of the Chartered Accountants Regulation Board. She was called to the Bar in 1986, and became a Senior Counsel in 2012. Her practice focused on property law and probate, construction law, guardianship and charities law.

Sharon Daly

BComm 1987

Sharon Daly, partner in commercial litigation and insurance at Matheson, was appointed head of the firm’s London office in 2019. Daly has 25 years’ experience in insurance litigation and dispute resolution, with particular expertise in advising financial institutions. Head of Matheson’s Brexit Advisory Group, she was recently named Lawyer of the Year at the Benchmark Litigation 2019 Europe Awards and one of the Top Ten Most Innovative Lawyers in Europe by The Financial Times.

Caoilfhionn Gallagher

BCL 1999

Caoilfhionn Gallagher QC received a UCD Alumni Award in 2017. Acting in cases concerning children of extraditees, at risk of warfare or trafficking, she is a consultant to the UN on child soldiers and Boko Haram, and has acted for survivors of the 7/7 London bombings and the Hillsborough disaster. She and fellow Doughty Street Chambers barrister Amal Clooney condemned the recent silencing of journalist Maria Ressa, convicted of cyberlibel in the Philippines.

Richard Kennedy

BAgrSc 1989

Richard Kennedy, chief executive of Irish agri-tech business Devenish, was a finalist in the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 which took place in June, having won the Irish award in 2019. The award is an extremely prestigious one which recognises unstoppable entrepreneurs who create long-term value. Devenish’s turnover has increased from £5m to £250m, and from 23 employees in 1997 to more than 500 and now trades in more than 40 countries.

Liam Dunne

BE Chemical Engineering 1994

Liam Dunne was appointed vice-president of science and technology at Merck in Philadelphia, US, in December 2019. Now leading a team of 800 all over the world, he is responsible for the pharmaceutical giant’s product technical support groups, centres of excellence and technical operations in pharmaceutical sites all over the world, as well as late- stage development of small- molecule drug substance, drug product and packaging.

Michael Beary

BSocSc 1990

Michael Beary was appointed director of human resources for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Amazon Web Services in 2019. Beary formerly held the role of director of human resources at Amazon Marketplace for almost five years, and the role of country manager, AWS Ireland and director of human resources at Amazon Dublin for three. AWS employs 25,000 people all over the world, with almost 1,000 employed in Ireland.

Hugh McNally

BE 1989, MEngSc 1994

Hugh McNally was owner and CEO of Windhoist, which was acquired by private equity firm Star Capital Partnership in August 2019. Windhoist is a wind turbine installation group, established in 1958, originally with a focus on agricultural contracting and rail decommissioning. Under McNally’s leadership, in 1999 Windhoist carried out its first wind turbine installation and is now one of the world’s leading wind turbine installation businesses.

Paul Gillen

MSc Computer Science 2005

Cybercrime expert Paul Gillen is Chief Information Security Officer, Barclays Europe and Group Head of Cyber Security Operations and Head of Barclays suite of Joint Security Operations Centres in the US, UK and India. He was previously Head of Cyber Operations at the European Cybercrime Centre, Europol. Gillen specialises in identifying threats, tracking adversaries, gathering intelligence and assisting organisations to predict, detect and respond to cyber threats.

Nubi Kay

MSc iBusiness-Innovation Through ICT 2014

Nubi Kay is operations programme manager at wonder- business Stripe which recently announced its launch in five new countries, in an operation spearheaded by the Dublin office and Kay’s team. Stripe’s technology output has revolutionised electronic payments, its software removing financial complexity for users worldwide. Kay is also president of African Professional Network Ireland and the co-founder of Nigerian takeaway portal Easy Appetite, allowing users to order, experience and recommend meals from various restaurants while allowing restaurant proprietors to increase reach and sales via consumer feedback.

Máire Ní Annracháin

BA 1975, MA 1978, PhD 1988

Professor of Modern Irish Language and Literature at UCD School of Irish, Celtic Stories and Folklore since 2009, Professor Ní Annracháin was elected to the Royal Irish Academy in May 2020 for her contribution to Irish literary traditions and education. Her work has helped develop a theoretical framework and literary-critical vocabulary for the study of Gaelic languages. She has edited many academic publications which have brought a critical perspective to modern Celtic Studies.

Jessica Traynor

MA 2008

Jessica Traynor edited Correspondences: An Anthology to Call for an End to Direct Provision, launched at the 2019 Dublin Book Festival, with Stephen Rea and fellow alumnus Bulelani Mfaco. The anthology gathers writing, photography and visual art by those in direct provision, with proceeds going to Migrants and Asylum Seekers Ireland. Traynor is the 2020 Carlow Writer-in- Residence. Her debut poetry collection, Liffey Swim, was published to acclaim in 2015.

Eamonn Ceannt

BA Psychology 1974

Eamonn Ceannt is founding chair of the Museum of Literature Ireland (MoLI) at Newman House, which opened its doors last September after four years in development. The Museum, now central to Dublin’s list of cultural attractions, has received praise for its design and collection and is a source of pride for UCD alumni and students alike. Ceannt, a trustee of the Alfred Beit Foundation, is also a sculptor, with work in private collections and public spaces.

Annie Atkins

MA 2008

Annie Atkins’ talents were revealed in Wes Anderson’s 2014 film, The Grand Budapest Hotel, for which she created the visual identity of a fictional nation – flags, banknotes, postage stamps and newspapers. Fake Love Letters, Forged Telegrams & Prison Escape Maps, published by Phaidon in February 2020, reveals how she created the now- iconic aesthetic. Atkins is now working on Stephen’s Spielberg’s West Side Story remake.

Jean-luc Uddoh

BA Politics and International Relations 2019

The Irish-Nigerian rapper and activist, AKA JyellowL, released his album Tek Time in 2019. His single “Ozone” was included on FIFA 20’s soundtrack. His collaboration with Aaron Unknown, “Oh Lawd”, featured on the soundtrack of BBC series Normal People. In a speech at the Black Lives Matter protest at the US Embassy in June, Oddoh emphasised the importance of the movement and praised the peaceful nature of the protest.

Estelle Birdy

BCL 1991, MA Creative Writing 2019

UCD Creative Writing graduate, Estelle Birdy’s debut novel, Ravelling, was acquired by Lilliput Press after the 2020 Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair. Birdy has had short stories and poems published in Squawk Back, Sonder Midwest, The Heartland Anthology and the Verve Poetry Festival Anthology. Her work has been commended and shortlisted in the Dalkey Creates Short Story Competition. Dublin- based Birdy also works as a yoga, meditation and mindfulness teacher.

Malachy Browne

BE Electronic Engineering 1997

In May 2020, New York Times journalist Malachy Browne won a Pulitzer Prize (the highest honour in journalism) for International Reporting, as part of an investigations team working on a series of stories about Russian president Vladimir Putin’s regime. The Limerick native’s reporting focused on a Russian bombing campaign in Syria. The Pulitzer Prize panel described the series as “enthralling stories, reported at great risk, exposing the predations of Putin’s regime”.

Peter Cunningham

BA 1967

A member of Aosdána, previous nominee for the Irish Fiction Laureate and renowned for his historical novels, Peter Cunningham was long-listed for the Dublin International Literary Award 2019, for his novel, Acts of Allegiance. His 2019 novel Consequences of the Heart was launched at the Pordenonelegge Literary Festival in northern Italy. His new novel, Freedom is a Land I Cannot See, published in June 2020, tells the story of the War of Independence.

Declan Walsh

BComm International 1995

Journalist Declan Walsh was named New York Times chief Africa correspondent in April 2020. This is the first time that the highly influential media company has appointed a chief Africa correspondent, and it did so to “elevate our coverage and deepen our commitment to the continent”, according to its editor. Walsh has previously been Cairo bureau chief and Pakistan bureau chief for the New York Times and has been shortlisted for several journalism awards.

Emma Donoghue

BA English and French 1990

Donoghue’s new novel, The Pull of the Stars, was inspired by the centenary of the Great Flu of 1918 and set in a Dublin hospital. The story was deemed so timely in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, it was rushed to publication in July, having originally been pencilled in for spring 2021. Donoghue’s 2010 Man-Booker-listed novel Room was an international bestseller, winning the Orange Prize, the WH Smith Paperback of the Year Award and the Commonwealth Prize, among other awards. The daughter of the literary critic and UCD professor Denis Donoghue, she now lives in London, Ontario with her family.

David Freyne

BA English and Philosophy 2003, MA Film Studies 2004

David Freyne wrote and directed Dating Amber, a new coming-of-age movie which debuted on Amazon Prime in June to excellent reviews, and was hailed as the comedy drama to watch. The series follows young LGBT teenagers growing up in rural Kildare, and has received praise for its clever writing and brilliant representation of LGBT characters. Freyne has been making short films and music videos for over a decade.

Isabel Garvey

BComm 1998

Managing director at Abbey Road Studios, the most famous recording studios in the world, Isabel Garvey featured in Fast Company’s 2019 list of the Most Creative People in Business. She presided over Abbey Road’s transformation, the launch of new studios, the creation of Abbey Road Red, Europe’s first music technology incubator, as well as the opening of the Abbey Road Institute, developing the next generation of studio talent.

Chiamaka Enyi Amadi

BA English and Philosophy 2018 MA 2020

Poet and writer Chiamaka Enyi Amadi co-edited Writing Home: The ‘New Irish’ Poets, an anthology that celebrates the writing of those whose roots lie outside Ireland, published in October 2019. Born in Nigeria and raised in Galway and Dublin, her work has been published in Poetry Ireland and The Irish Times. She was the 2019 recipient of the Poetry Ireland Access Cúirt Bursary.

Marian Keyes

BCL 1984

One of the most successful Irish novelists of all time, Marian Keyes has been writing fiction for over 20 years. Her most recent book Grown Ups was the Sunday Times number one bestseller in February 2020. Set largely in Ireland, the story is told from seven perspectives, including those of four men across several generations. Keyes’ 16 novels, beginning with her 1995 bestseller Watermelon, have sold over 35m copies worldwide.

Seamus Fagan

BA History and English 1978, HDE 1979

Professor Seamus Fagan was appointed by the Governor General of Australia as a Member of the Order of Australia in June 2020, for his service to English language teaching. He is currently director of the University of Newcastle’s English Language and Foundation Studies Centre. Fagan has also played a key role in the establishment of the National Association of Enabling Educators of Australia.

Nigel Brunton

BSc 1995, MSc(Agr) 1997, PhD 2002

In February 2020, UCD agriculture and food science researcher and Associate Professor Nigel Brunton was named among the one per cent most cited researchers in the world in 2019, according to the annual Highly Cited Researchers report, compiled by Clarivate Analytics. Specialising in the recovery of valuable, reusable compounds from food waste, the prolific researcher has to date secured over €10m in funding for his research.

Jiaying Zhao

MA 2007

Dr Zhao is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at the University of British Columbia in Canada. Dr Zhao focuses on how cognitive science can contribute to sustainability, and designs behavioural solutions. Her recently published paper showed how financial scarcity reduces sustainable choices and motivations while natural resource scarcity increases them.

Aoife Corcoran and Philip Crowe

PhD 2017, PhD 2017

Philip Crowe and Aoife Corcoran are directors of Space Engagers, a research and design collective of architects, social scientists and urban planners working to make towns and cities more resilient. Space Engagers is part of the Limerick-based EU-funded project for 2020, +CityxChange. In cities all over Europe, projects will promote engagement with local issues and encourage change.

Tadhg Bourke

 MBS 2004

Tadhg Bourke is head of people and places at self- driving vehicle company Nuro, named in Fast Company’s 2020 list of World Changing Ideas for Transportation. Nuro’s vehicles are purpose- built to provide an accessible, sustainable delivery service to communities. At the Silicon Valley Global Awards in March 2020, Bourke was inducted into the Silicon Valley Irish Technology Leadership Group Hall of Fame.

Donal Finegan

BE 2013

Donal Finegan is a scientist at the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory Center for Integrated Mobility Systems where his work focuses on understanding degradation and failure mechanisms of lithium-ion batteries and improving the performance and safety of cells and battery systems. He received the European Synchrotron 2020 Young Scientist Award for his groundbreaking work at its radiation facility.

Catherine Godson

BSc 1984, PhD 1988

The International Congress of Inflammation, the world’s largest inflammation research institute, named Professor Catherine Godson as the recipient of its 2019 Women in Science Award, in recognition of “outstanding research and leadership contributions”. Catherine Godson is Professor of Molecular Medicine at UCD and Director of the UCD Diabetes Complications Research Centre and a member of the Royal Irish Academy.

Mark Foley

BE 1982, MIE 1989

Newly appointed CEO of energy company EirGrid, Mark Foley aims to transform the energy system, placing Eirgrid at the centre of Ireland’s Climate Action Plan, an ambitious policy framework which seeks to deliver an average of 70 per cent renewables generation by 2030. EirGrid will spend €1.2bn up to 2025, with a separate €1bn spend on the Celtic Interconnector which links Ireland to Europe’s energy grids via a sub-sea cable from Cork to Brittany.

John Kenevey

BSocSc 1993, MEconSc 1994

John Kenevey is chief security officer at RStor, a computer software company. He is also an advisor to Sylabs Inc, another computer software company. In 2019, he was named as one of Silicon Republic’s “Top 50 Irish Tech Executives”. At the Silicon Valley Global Awards in March 2020, Kenevey was inducted into the Irish Technology Leadership Group Hall of Fame, whose members are recipients of at least three ITLG Silicon Valley 50 Global Awards.

Andrew Keane and Paul Manning

HDipBS 2004, MBA 2010, BE 2003, PhD 2007

Professor Andrew Keane and Paul Manning are co- founders and CTO and CCO respectively of NovoGrid, winner of the 2020 Irish Wind Energy Award for Best Original Technology. NovoGrid helps utilities deliver energy more efficiently to customers and already has installations in Ireland, the UK and Germany. Having recently completed an investment round, it plans to continue its rapid global expansion.

James Whelan

BSc 1986, PhD Science 1990

Professor James Whelan was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science for his outstanding contribution to plant biology in 2019. He heads a laboratory based at the internationally recognised AgriBio Centre for Agricultural Bioscience facility within La Trobe’s Melbourne Campus. His extensive career highlights include more than 7,000 citations for hundreds of published articles, focused on his research on plant energy metabolism.

Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara

BArch 1974, BArch 1974

This year, Farrell and McNamara, principals of international architecture practice, Grafton Architects, received the Pritzker Prize, the highest honour in the architectural profession. Grafton Architects were also awarded the Royal Gold Medal, the Royal Institute of British Architects’ highest honour, the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland (RIAI) Gandon Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Architecture in 2020, and the RIAI Gold Medal for Bocconi University in Milan in 2019. A project for UTEC in Lima received the inaugural RIBA International Prize in 2016. In 2008 the project for Bocconi University was awarded the inaugural World Building of the Year award at the World Architecture Festival.

Eoghan Riordan Fernandez and Declan Cooney

BSc Landscape Architecture 2013

Having met at UCD, Riordan Fernandez and Cooney together founded Sequoia Design. In May 2020, they showcased their talents and teamwork as contestants on Netflix reality series The Big Flower Fight. Riordan Fernandez trained at UNESCO World Heritage site La Alhambra in Granada, Spain. Cooney has a diploma in project management.

Eamon Ryan

BComm 1984

Green Party leader and current Minister for Climate Action, Communications Networks and Transport, Eamon Ryan was TD for Dublin South from 2002 to 2011 and has been TD for Dublin Bay South since 2016. After he graduated from UCD with a Bachelor of Commerce degree, Ryan became manager of the UCD Marketing Development Programme from 1985 to 1986, before founding Cycling Safaris, a travel company. He first became involved in politics in 1998, replacing former party leader John Gormley on Dublin City Council. In 2020, under his leadership, the Green Party had its best result in its history in the general election, with the party increasing its representation to twelve TDs and Ryan retaining his position as leader.

Stephen Donnelly

BE 1997

Fianna Fáil politician Stephen Donnelly TD was appointed Minister for Health by Taoiseach Micheál Martin in the coalition government of the 33rd Dáil on 27 June 2020. Donnelly is a member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and is part of the Irish delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the EU Organisation for Security and Co-operation. After his UCD degree in Engineering, he went on to study at MIT.

Sharon Cunningham

MBA 2015

Sharon Cunningham is co- founder of Shorla Pharma, a pharmaceutical company which develops innovative oncology medicines for women’s and paediatric cancers. Cunningham was the winner of the MBA Entrepreneurial Venture Award 2020 at the AMBA Excellence Awards. She was also named one of Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneurs for 2019, and included on an Irish Times list of people to watch in 2020. Since May 2019, she has also been a director of Irish Rule of Law International.

Peter Cahill

PhD 2008

Peter Cahill founded the AI company Voysis in 2012, having previously spent 15 years researching speech technology and conducting neural network research. The company develops technology to help digital voice assistants understand natural language better. In April 2020, Apple acquired Voysis for an undisclosed amount, in order to help improve Apple’s virtual assistant, Siri. Cahill had been appointed manager of Siri at Apple the previous month.

Dean Minnock

BSc Sport and Exercise 2011

Dean Minnock is the newly appointed CEO of Innovation Zed, a medical technology company headquartered at NovaUCD, where projects include technology for diabetes control and treatment. A multi-million dollar partnership with A Menarini Diagnostics was forged in January 2020. Minnock completed his PhD on physiology and molecular medicine at the School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science.

Caroline Rocks

BE 2006, MEngSc 2010

Caroline Rocks was appointed senior programme manager with AbbVie, a US biopharmaceutical company, in November 2019. She was honoured as the Young Engineering Professional of the Year at the 2019 Lincoln Irish Early Career Awards which celebrate the achievements of young professionals in the US. She is a member of the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology, ISPE, the International Board of Directors, and an industry lecturer at UCD.

Marie Byrne

BSc 1998

Marie Byrne is founder and commercial director of Chinnery Spirits Limited. She is an adjunct lecturer on the BSc course in Brewing and Distilling at the Technological University Dublin and is an independent drinks industry consultant. In May 2020, Byrne became a member of the Advisory Board of the Single Malt Fund, a fund which provides investors with the opportunity to indirectly own a small part of a large collection of rare and limited- edition whiskies.

Mark Barrett

BE 2005, PhD 2008

Dr Mark Barrett is adjunct professor at the Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering School at UCD and co-founder of the Applied Process Company (APC) a pharmaceutical research company. APC recently partnered with Australian biotech firm Vaxine Pty Ltd to accelerate the development of a vaccine for Covid-19, using innovative technology and bioprocessing. Dr Barrett lectures at UCD on industry links, pharmaceuticals and biotech research strategy and support.

Martin O’Reilly

GradCert 2016, PhD 2018

Dr Martin O’Reilly is co- founder of Output Sports, a UCD spin-out which develops wearable technology for athletes. He was winner of the Best Business Idea Award in Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur 2019 competition. Dr O’Reilly was selected for Scholarship to The UCD Smurfit School Senior Executive Leadership Programme 2019. In February 2020, a €1.3m seed funding round included investment by Leinster Rugby players Adam Byrne and Dan Leavy.

Brendan and Michael Crosse

BSc 2014, BAgrSc 2011, MAgrSc 2014

Brothers Brendan and Michael Crosse created Sheep Milk Ireland in 2016, supplying artisan food producers with sheep’s milk. Since then, the flock has grown sevenfold; the company now supplies the makers of award-winning Cashel Farmhouse Cheese and has begun to develop a milk powder product. In November 2019, the brothers featured in Independent.ie’s “30 under 30: Ireland’s Rising Business Stars.”

Shane Ryan

GradCert in Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Enterprise 2016

Shane Ryan is the founder of Fiid, a plant-based ready-meals line, stocked in 60 locations in Ireland and listed on online- only supermarket Ocado in the UK. The company has set its sights on raising €500,000 from investors by September 2020 to fund further expansion. Ryan is also a project volunteer at Food Cloud, a non-profit social enterprise that connects businesses with too much food with charities who can distribute or use it.

Cindy Murphy

MSc 2011

Cindy Murphy is president and founder of Tetra Defense, formerly Gillware Digital Forensics, an incident response and cyber risk management firm which helps clients recover from incidents like ransomware and wire transfer fraud. In January 2020, Gillware Digital Forensics announced its rebrand to Tetra Defense and the close of a $3m series A investment round. The investment raised will help the company expand.

Patricia Scanlon

PhD 2005

Patricia Scanlon is founder and CEO of SoapBox Labs, a company that applies artificial intelligence to develop voice and speech recognition applications specifically tuned to children’s voices. It builds language learning appliances for reading and speech therapy and modules for toys, gaming, voice control, AR, virtual reality, robotics, and the Internet of things. Scanlon was named Digital Hero 2019 at the Spider Awards. In 2020, SoapBox Labs raised €5.8m in investment.

Michael Mc Laughlin

BE Electronic Engineering 1982, MEngSc 1992

The 2019 recipient of the Parsons Medal, awarded by the Irish Academy of Engineering for excellence in engineering, was Michael McLaughlin, founder, president and CTO of Decawave Ltd, a company which develops integrated circuit products (chips) capable of identifying the specific location of any object or person with incredible accuracy. Decawave was sold to Apple for approximately $400m in January 2020. McLaughlin was also appointed Senior Fellow at Qorvo Inc, an Apple supplier, in February 2020. Decawave was co-founded with two other UCD alumni, William McFadden (BE 1984, MSc Technology Management 2006) and Gerry O’Grady (BE 1985, ProfDip 2016).

Eoin Casey and Eoin Syron

BE 1994, PhD 1999 EOIN SYRON BE 2003, PhD 2007

Eoin Casey and Eoin Syron are founders of Oxymem, a successful UCD spin- out cleantech company, acquired by US chemical giant DuPont in January 2020. OxyMem develops and produces Membrane Aerated Biofilm Reactor (MABR) technology for the treatment and purification of municipal and industrial wastewater. OxyMem MABR provides energy for water utility companies with savings of up to 75 per cent and is seen as a solution that helps move wastewater treatment closer to carbon neutrality. Casey and Syron are Professor and Associate Professor respectively, at UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering.

Ciara Mageean

BSc Physiotherapy 2017

Runner Ciara Mageean was named Athlete of the Year at the Irish Life Health National Athletics Awards in November 2019. Mageean, who represented Ireland at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, also won bronze at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in 2019. She recently set two new national women’s records – in the 800m with a time of 1.59.69 and in the 1,000m with a time of 2.31.06, more than three-and-a- half seconds faster than the time set by Sonia O’Sullivan in 1993.

Cliona O’Leary

MSc Sports Management 2018

In 2020, Cliona O’Leary was appointed chair of the European Broadcasting Union Committee on Women in Sport. Deputy head of TV Sport at RTÉ, O’Leary has worked in sports broadcasting at RTÉ for 24 years and was responsible for RTÉ’s broadcasts from the Beijing and Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in 2012 and 2016 respectively. She is also chair of the RTÉ 20X20 Steering Group, a group committed to achieving gender balance in the coverage of sport in media

Colin Judge

BAFS Actuarial and Financial Studies 2017

Paralympian table tennis player Colin Judge won double gold in the 2020 ITTF Para Polish Open, in Wladyslawowo, in February 2020. He previously won the 2017 European Championships in Lasko, Slovenia, has held the title of Irish National Champion five times and was ranked number one in the world in his class. He is focused on qualifying for the postponed Paralympic Games in Tokyo, now set to take place in 2021.

Noel Mc Grath

BA History and Geography 2013

Noel McGrath is a member of the Tipperary hurling team which won the All- Ireland Championship in 2019. Diagnosed with testicular cancer in early 2019, he underwent surgery and chemotherapy before returning to the team in the autumn. In an effort to make more men aware of the symptoms of testicular cancer, McGrath shared his experience of illness and recovery. At UCD, he captained the senior hurling team for two years.

Sinéad Goldrick

BSocSc 2011

Dublin senior ladies football Sinéad Goldrick was a member of the Dublin teams that won the All-Ireland Senior Ladies’ Football Championship in 2017, 2018 and 2019. In November 2019 she won her seventh All Star award. In late 2019 it was announced that Goldrick, formerly a PR executive with Vodafone, had signed with Aussie Rules Melbourne Football Club, home of the Melbourne Demons, and joined the team in February 2020.

Martha Byrne

BSc 2016

Martha Byrne, a medical writer, was also a member of the Dublin senior ladies football team who won the All-Ireland championships for the third time in a row in September 2019, beating Galway. Alongside fellow UCD alumni Sinead Goldrick and Noelle Healy, Byrne, who plays club football for Cuala, has contributed to the success of the Dublin team over the past three years. At just 23, she has many more years of football ahead of her.

Katie Mullan

BSc 2017, ME 2018

Kate Mullan captained the Ireland hockey team to qualify for the Toyko 2020 Olympics. The qualification was a first for the Irish women’s team. Mullan famously led her country to an historic sporting achievement in August 2018, captaining the first ever Ireland team in any sport to reach a World Cup Final and achieving a silver medal finish. Mullan has won Irish Senior Cup and Women’s Irish Hockey League titles with UCD.

Mark English

MB BCh BAO 2019

Olympian Mark English secured his third European athletics medal, winning bronze in the 800m final at the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow in 2019, during the final weeks of his Medicine degree. In August 2019, he won the 800m at the Birmingham 2019 Diamond League event. After he graduated, English put his medical career on hold to train for qualification for the now- postponed Tokyo Olympics, which will take place in 2021.

Louise Quinn

BSc 2011

International footballer Louise Quinn was recently named FAI Senior International Player of the Year for the second time, having previously won the award in 2013. The defender has signed for Italian side Fiorentina on a one-year contract after three years at Arsenal where her team won a Women’s Soccer League title and a Conti Cup. Quinn will also play a crucial role on the Irish team under manager Vera Pauw, in the Euro 2021 qualifiers later this year.

Noelle Healy

MB BCh BAO 2015

Noelle Healy is a four-time All-Ireland Senior Ladies Football champion and a member of the Dublin team who claimed a three-in-a-row All-Ireland Senior Football Championship victory. In November 2019, Dr Healy also secured an All- Ireland Senior Ladies Club Championship win with Mourneabbey while in Cork for her clinical specialty training. She is now training in anaesthesiology at Temple Street Children’s Hospital.

Jack Mc Caffrey

MB BCh BAO 2018

When Dublin beat Kerry at Croke Park in September 2019 (marking five wins in a row for the Dublin team) no fewer than six players were proud UCD alumni (and former UCD footballers). Jack Mc Caffrey (MB BCh BAO 2018), UCD Alumni Award winner for 2020, already has six Leinster titles to his name. He plays club football with Clontarf and is a doctor, specialising in paediatric medicine.

Michael Fitzsimons

BSc Physiotherapy 2011, MB BCh BAO 2019

When Dublin beat Kerry at Croke Park in September 2019 (marking five wins in a row for the Dublin team) no fewer than six players were proud UCD alumni (and former UCD footballers). Michael Fitzsimons has nine Leinster titles and seven All-Ireland titles. He graduated with his second UCD degree, in Medicine, in June, completing his internship at the Mater Hospital at the frontline of Covid-19.

Brian Fenton

BSc Physiotherapy 2015

When Dublin beat Kerry at Croke Park in September 2019 (marking five wins in a row for the Dublin team) no fewer than six players were proud UCD alumni (and former UCD footballers). Midfielder Brian Fenton was a key player in the campaign to win five Sam Maguires in a row, spending more time on the field of play than any other Dublin player, starting 35 of the 37 matches in the championship.

Con O’Callaghan

BComm 2019

When Dublin beat Kerry at Croke Park in September 2019 (marking five wins in a row for the Dublin team) no fewer than six players were proud UCD alumni (and former UCD footballers). As well as playing for Dublin, forward Con O’Callaghan is a dual player for Cuala.

Paul Mannion

BComm 2016, MSc 2017

When Dublin beat Kerry at Croke Park in September 2019 (marking five wins in a row for the Dublin team) no fewer than six players were proud UCD alumni (and former UCD footballers). Corner-forward Paul Mannion plays club football with Kilmacud Crokes.

Cian O’Sullivan

BBLS 2010, MAcc 2011

When Dublin beat Kerry at Croke Park in September 2019 (marking five wins in a row for the Dublin team) no fewer than six players were proud UCD alumni (and former UCD footballers). Centre back Cian O’Sullivan has nine Leinster titles and plays club football with Kilmacud Crokes.