Summer Conferrings

Summer at UCC got off to a colourful and joyful start on May 26, with 303 healthcare professionals graduating in our Medical and Dental conferrings. Campus was abuzz with excitement as graduates and their guests celebrated their achievements on what turned out to be a delightfully sunny day.

Among those being conferred on the day was Quercus Scholar and Olympic Gold medalist Paul O’Donovan, who graduated with an Honours Degree of Bachelor of Medicine. Paul, who was supported by his family – including brother Gary, opened up about his plans for the future, revealing his hopes to progress into surgery with a focus on orthopaedics.

Professor Helen Whelton, Head of the College of Medicine and Health, congratulated Paul on his achievement during the ceremony, hailing him as a ‘national treasure’:

"We celebrate and acknowledge Paul’s success as an academic today and congratulate him on the hard work he put in. It can’t have been easy to combine final year medical studies with world champion rowing."

The celebrations continued on June 23 with the final round of summer conferrings, featuring graduates from all four colleges, including Masters and PhD students.

In between heavy rain showers, graduands and visitors to campus got the opportunity to witness one of the university’s most popular ceremonial traditions: the academic procession. Led by the university macebearer, Don Murray, the procession drew plenty of attention as it made its way from the iconic clock tower arch over to the Student Centre. A moment of great pomp and ceremony!

Cowpunchers Diamond Jubilee

And it’s not only the recent graduates who were celebrating this month. Six 1963 Dairy Science graduates were welcomed back to UCC in June to mark their diamond jubilee – 60 years after graduating.

Máire Murphy (UCC Alumni and Development Office) facilitated the reunion, which was organised by classmate Denis O’Mahony. The group enjoyed a tour of the university and were hosted throughout the day by Professor Paul McSweeney, Vice-President for Learning and Teaching.

One of the group, Denis Lynch, described the reunion as a ‘hugely nostalgic’ event:

"I found it very emotional and gratifying. I trained in the dairy industry, and I worked in it all my working life. You could say it is in my DNA. To have that fact recognised by UCC was very gratifying to me. It was lovely to stroll along my old stomping ground for the day, and to be taken by the hand, so to speak, over all those areas – the Dairy Science Theatre, the Rest, the Quarry, the Quad, etc. – was nectar to me."

Visit the Alumni and Development website for more photos from the diamond jubilee.

Photography: Conferrings - Provision; Diamond Jubilee - Máire Murphy