News
UCC English BA graduates recognised at Global Undergraduate Awards
- Hannah Fitzgerald named Ireland’s top literature essayist.
- Morpheas Hadjigeorgiou receives Highly Commended Award.
- Global Undergraduate Awards celebrate the best undergraduate work worldwide, with entries reviewed by international experts.
Two UCC English graduates have received international recognition at the Global Undergraduate Awards 2025, the world’s leading undergraduate awards programme.
Hannah Fitzgerald, now enrolled in the MA English: Modernities at UCC, has been named the Global Undergraduate Awards prize-winner for best literature essay in Ireland. Her winning essay, ‘On Ethics and Aesthetics: The Poetic Justice of Kimberly Campanello’s MOTHERBABYHOME’, was submitted as part of Dr Adam Hanna’s third-year seminar module, Irish Poetry Since Yeats.
Morpheas Hadjigeorgiou, also a graduate of the BA in English, received a Highly Commended Award for his essay ‘Silent Voices’, adapted from his BA dissertation under the supervision of Dr Heather Laird.
Both graduates were honoured at the All-Ireland Undergraduate Awards Ceremony, which took place on 9 October at the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin.
Dr Clíona Ó Gallchoir, Head of English at the School of English and Digital Humanities, said: “We warmly congratulate both Hannah and Morpheus on their outstanding achievements in the Global Undergraduate Awards. It is wonderful to see the excellent work of our undergraduate students being recognised at an international level.”
Reflecting on her award, Hannah Fitzgerald said: “I was really pleased to be awarded the regional prize in literature at this year’s Global Undergraduate Awards for my essay on contemporary poet Kimberly Campanello’s poetry installation, MOTHERBABYHOME. Having grown up accommodated by the Sisters of Mercy, my time within the College of Arts at UCC has equipped and empowered me with the language and critical perception to engage with artistic and cultural works of personal and social significance, and I was especially grateful to mediate in the poetic margins and call attention to Campanello’s deeply dignified and dignifying work.”
“Written for a seminar entitled ‘Irish Poetry Since Yeats’, it was a powerful occasion to align a contemporary and radical female poet as the successor of canonical national voices. Though this recognition came at the apotheosis of my BAint degree, and reflects the quality of teaching and mentorship I received within the College, the quieter and more enduring award has been the lifelong formation and enrichment gleaned from cumulative classes and opportunities opened to me by UCC,” Hannah said.
The Global Undergraduate Awards is the world’s leading pan-disciplinary awards programme, recognising outstanding undergraduate research and original academic work. Each year, thousands of students from more than 48 countries submit essays and projects for independent review by international academics and industry experts.
By celebrating emerging talent across every major field, the Awards highlight the potential of student research to address global challenges and shape a better future.