2020
Bursary established at UCC in memory of Louise Clancy
Louise Clancy was a former UCC School of English student who died tragically in a road traffic accident in 2015. Louise is remembered fondly by UCC staff and the Louise Clancy Memorial Prize was established by the School of English in 2018.
Now Louise’s family has endowed a bursary for the Prize to support enthusiastic young scholars like Louise. €1,000 will be awarded to the best dissertation written in the final year of UCC’s BA in English for the next 22 years. The Clancy family has also requested that €1,000 be rewarded to the previous three winners of the Louise Clancy Memorial Prize.
Louise Clancy is remembered fondly by UCC staff
“She was interested, she was engaged, and she always had something to say. She was the student every lecturer wants to have in their class,” said Professor Lee Jenkins who taught Louise at UCC.In class and in her extra-curricular activities, Louise clearly relished every moment of being at university. However, according to Dr Heather Laird of the School of English, the prize is named in memory of Louise “not only because of what she got out of being at UCC, but because of what she gave back—to her teachers, her fellow-students, and her friends.”
“Winning the award encouraged me to not give up on the Arts— to keep reading, writing, and connecting with literature. It validated my opinions, criticisms, and ability to write an academic thesis. Louise Clancy wrote with authenticity and confidence; she was unafraid to voice her beliefs, and this award is the perfect vehicle to continue her legacy,” commented Molly Twomey, a previous winner of the Louise Clancy Memorial Prize in 2018.
“Louise's legacy is one of integrity, passion and creativity. To be honoured with an award in her name as an aspiring young writer is like a vote of confidence, as well as an encouragement to embrace my own creativity with the same dedication and spirit she demonstrated throughout her writing career,” commented Fiona Murphy who won the award in 2019.
“I am greatly honoured to have been awarded The Louise Clancy Memorial Prize for the academic year 2019/20. I think the award is fantastic as it commemorates Louise for her contribution to the arts during her time at UCC,” commented Robyn McAuliffe who was a recipient of the prize in 2020.
We were honoured in 2018 when UCC launched the Louise Clancy Memorial Prize in her memory and were delighted to attend the first awarding of the Prize. We are now pleased to establish a bursary for the Prize. We believe it’s a fitting tribute to Louise’s memory and her love of being a UCC student. We thank all in the School of English for their kindness, help and support and for continuing to keep Louise’s spirit alive in UCC' commented the Clancy Family
Applicants for the Louise Clancy Memorial Prize must be a current UCC Student of the BA in English. UCC’s BA in English is for students who love literature and who wish to explore the subject, English, in its fullest sense. Students read literature from across the centuries and have the option of studying creative writing, film and digital literacy. The dissertation, for which the Louise Clancy Memorial Prize is awarded, gives students the opportunity to write at length and in detail on a topic of their own choosing within the subject area of English Literature, enabling them to extend their knowledge and ideas through research and self-directed reading.