TOLUWABORI AKINOLA
BSc Computer Science 2024
TOLUWABORI AKINOLA
Toluwabori (Bori) Akinola secured his first national senior 100m title at the National Senior Track and Field Championsh...
Sport
EIMEAR BREATHNACH
BComm 2001
EIMEAR BREATHNACH
Eimear Breathnach has been named a Woman of Influence in Irish Sport by Sport for Business. The two time Paralympic tabl...
JOHN CARR
BAgrSc 2022, MSc 2024
JOHN CARR
John Carr represented Ireland at the World University Equestrian Federation SRNC in Switzerland in September 2024 as a m...
LISA CLANCY
BA 1991
LISA CLANCY
Lisa Clancy has been named President of Paralympics Ireland. Clancy has served as Vice President since 2021, and takes u...
DAVID COURELL
BComm Marketing 2005, MBS International Business 2007
DAVID COURELL
The Football Association of Ireland has appointed David Courell as CEO. Courell, from Castlebar, Co. Mayo, had served as...
MARK ENGLISH
MB BCh BAO 2019
MARK ENGLISH
Middle-distance runner Mark English, Irish record holder for both indoor and outdoor over 800m, became the first Irish a...
CLARE FARRELL
BSc Human Nutrition 2018
CLARE FARRELL
Clare Farrell joined Liverpool FC as Lead Performance Nutritionist at the start of the 2024/25 season, which saw Liverpo...
LARA GILLESPIE
BSc Health and Performance Science 2022
LARA GILLESPIE
Cyclist Lara Gillespie followed her 2024 top 10 finish at the Paris Olympics with progression to the World Tour with UAE...
SARAH HAWKSHAW
MSc Food Nutrition and Health 2023
SARAH HAWKSHAW
Sarah Hawkshaw has been named captain of the Ireland Women’s hockey team. Hawkshaw earned her first cap for Ireland in...
SARAH HEALY
BCL 2023
SARAH HEALY
Runner Sarah Healy was declared the new European Women’s Indoor 3,000m champion in The Netherlands in March, becoming...
COLIN JUDGE
BAFS Actuarial and Financial Studies 2017
COLIN JUDGE
At the 2025 Irish National Closed Table Tennis Championships, Paralympian and world Class 3 No 8 Colin Judge regained hi...
SARAH LAVIN
BSc Physiotherapy 2018
SARAH LAVIN
Former UCD Ad Astra Academy Elite Sports Scholar Sarah Lavin holds the national record in 100m hurdles (12.62) and 60m h...
JOHN MENTON
BCL 1991
JOHN MENTON
John Menton has been appointed to the board of the Olympic Federation of Ireland. Menton competed in Sydney 2000 in the...
PAUL O’DONOVAN
BSc Physiotherapy 2017
PAUL O’DONOVAN
Voted Ireland’s Greatest Ever Olympian in the Sunday Independent in 2024 and RTÉ Sportsperson of the Year 2024, light...
TOLUWABORI AKINOLA
BSc Computer Science 2024
Toluwabori (Bori) Akinola secured his first national senior 100m title at the National Senior Track and Field Championships in July, and the national 60m title at the Irish Indoor Athletics in February, in a time of 6.61 seconds. The win in February, Akinola’s first senior title, ties him joint second on the Irish all-time list, behind the national record of 6.57 achieved by fellow UCD alumnus Israel Olatunde.
EIMEAR BREATHNACH
BComm 2001
Eimear Breathnach has been named a Woman of Influence in Irish Sport by Sport for Business. The two time Paralympic table tennis player served as President of Paralympics Ireland from 2021 to 2024, and led the organisation through a successful 2024 Paris Paralympic Games. She was responsible for the successful implementation of the Paralympics Ireland strategic plan and also played a key role in the reorganisation of Paralympics Ireland.
JOHN CARR
BAgrSc 2022, MSc 2024
John Carr represented Ireland at the World University Equestrian Federation SRNC in Switzerland in September 2024 as a member of the three-person team from the Irish Universities Riding Clubs Association. He placed third in the individual showjumping. Ireland came first in the team showjumping. The Irish team finished fourth in dressage. The combined title also went to Ireland, with Carr in sixth position in the individual combined.
LISA CLANCY
BA 1991
Lisa Clancy has been named President of Paralympics Ireland. Clancy has served as Vice President since 2021, and takes up the role as the organisation builds towards the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games. The former GAA Director of Communications runs a consultancy business providing strategic and communications advice to corporates and sports organisations. Clancy is recognised for launching Sport Ireland’s Women in Sport Leadership programme.
DAVID COURELL
BComm Marketing 2005, MBS International Business 2007
The Football Association of Ireland has appointed David Courell as CEO. Courell, from Castlebar, Co. Mayo, had served as COO since February 2022 and as Interim CEO since April 2024. He previously worked with the British Paralympic Association and held various roles with the English Football Association prior to moving back to Ireland.
MARK ENGLISH
MB BCh BAO 2019
Middle-distance runner Mark English, Irish record holder for both indoor and outdoor over 800m, became the first Irish athlete to break the 1:44-barrier in the 800m with a time of 1:43.92 to win the FBK Games in June. English, a former UCD Ad Astra Academy Elite Sports Scholar, won his fifth European medal in March, taking bronze at the European Indoors in Apeldoorn.
CLARE FARRELL
BSc Human Nutrition 2018
Clare Farrell joined Liverpool FC as Lead Performance Nutritionist at the start of the 2024/25 season, which saw Liverpool winning the Premier League Championship under Arne Slot. She previously spent three years as a nutritionist with Munster Rugby and a year with West Ham United Women’s FC. Farrell was a 2022 All Ireland club title winner with Longford Slashers.
LARA GILLESPIE
BSc Health and Performance Science 2022
Cyclist Lara Gillespie followed her 2024 top 10 finish at the Paris Olympics with progression to the World Tour with UAE Team ADQ and a first senior (bronze) medal at the World Track Championships, in Denmark earlier this year. In July 2025, Gillespie became the first Irish woman to take a podium place on a stage of the Tour de France Femmes.
SARAH HAWKSHAW
MSc Food Nutrition and Health 2023
Sarah Hawkshaw has been named captain of the Ireland Women’s hockey team. Hawkshaw earned her first cap for Ireland in January 2019 in a match against Chile, was part of the Irish squad that made history by qualifying for the Olympics for the first time in 2020, and competed in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Hawkshaw had a distinguished collegiate career at the University of Massachusetts from 2014 to 2017.
SARAH HEALY
BCL 2023
Runner Sarah Healy was declared the new European Women’s Indoor 3,000m champion in The Netherlands in March, becoming Ireland’s first gold medallist at the European Indoor Championships since David Gillick in 2007. She also won the 1,500m at the Diamond League meeting in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, and came second in the Diamond League meeting in Paris with a personal best of 3:57.15.
COLIN JUDGE
BAFS Actuarial and Financial Studies 2017
At the 2025 Irish National Closed Table Tennis Championships, Paralympian and world Class 3 No 8 Colin Judge regained his National Para Table Tennis title following a closely contested final against Paddy Vaughan. Judge competed at his second Paralympic Games in Paris last summer, putting in a strong effort before losing out to world number one Feng Panfeng in the round of 16.
SARAH LAVIN
BSc Physiotherapy 2018
Former UCD Ad Astra Academy Elite Sports Scholar Sarah Lavin holds the national record in 100m hurdles (12.62) and 60m hurdles (7.90). She claimed her tenth national at the 2025 Irish Championships, and just missed the podium with a fourth-place finish in the extraordinarily fast European Indoor Championships 60m final in Apeldoorn, in the Netherlands.
JOHN MENTON
BCL 1991
John Menton has been appointed to the board of the Olympic Federation of Ireland. Menton competed in Sydney 2000 in the discus event and chairs the High Performance committee of Irish Sailing. A former partner in law firm Arthur Cox, Menton is now an investor with a focus on tech and life sciences investments. He is a director of RentalMatics and an investor in Zeus Scooters.
PAUL O’DONOVAN
BSc Physiotherapy 2017
Voted Ireland’s Greatest Ever Olympian in the Sunday Independent in 2024 and RTÉ Sportsperson of the Year 2024, lightweight rower Paul O’Donovan is the only Irish athlete ever to win a medal at three Olympic Games. He won Ireland’s first Olympic rowing medal in Rio 2016 and won gold at Toyko 2020 and Paris 2024. Paul is both a physiotherapist and a doctor.