2013 Press Releases
Prize giving acknowledges efforts of students
The annual School of History prize-giving ceremony took place recently, celebrating the achievements of students at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.
The event provides an opportunity for the staff of the School of History to acknowledge publicly and pay appropriate tribute to the inspiring work of those students. Head of School, Professor Geoff Roberts spoke of the individual efforts of the successful candidates across the various categories. Prizes categories included History Student of the Year (Years 1-3), MA Student of the Year and Evening Arts Student of the Year, on the basis of work completed in the last academic year. Prizes were similarly awarded to European Studies students for achievement at undergraduate level.
The event also provides an opportunity to acknowledge the generosity of the donors of the various other awards made, including the John A. Murphy Prize in Irish History, the John B. O’Brien Annual Prize in History, the Leonora Hanrahan Prize in History and the James and Mary Hogan Prize in History. A new award was inaugurated in honour of Professor Joe Lee, former Head of History at UCC. The J.J. Lee History Prize will be awarded on an occasional basis for an outstanding performance by a single-honours History student. Amhairgín Ní Laoi, daughter of J.J. Lee, presented this prize to student Aisling McCarthy. All of these prizes carry considerable prestige, as well as providing financial assistance to History students.
The ceremony concluded with a presentation by Jesse Harrington, who was in the past awarded the Student of the Year prize for each of his three years as an undergraduate student. Mr Harrington, who won a national Undergraduate Award in 2012 and is now a postgraduate student at the University of Cambridge, spoke warmly of his experiences as a History student in UCC and of the value of studying history.