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UCC Announces Sports Scholars 2025

17 Oct 2025
John O’Halloran President of UCC, Erin O’Brien (Soccer), Austin Murphy (Gaelic Football), Rory Buckley (Rowing), Katie Bergin (Athletics), Sarah O’Brien (Camogie), Shane Curtin and Ronan O’Driscoll Bank of Ireland.

UCC has officially announced its Sports Scholarship Recipients for the 2025/26 academic year.

This year’s programme highlights talented student athletes across a diverse range of sports, including athletics, basketball, hockey, rowing, rugby, soccer, swimming, GAA, and golf. There were 103 students awarded.

The scholarship recipients hail from ten counties—Cork, Dublin, Kilkenny, Kerry, Mayo, Laois, Waterford, Tipperary, Limerick, and Offaly—and are recognised for their outstanding athletic ability and unwavering commitment to sport.

Sponsored Support

The scholarship programme is supported by Bank of Ireland, Macron, UCC GAA Alumni, MJ Dowling, the Moss Keane family.

 

UCC Sports Scholarship Programme

The programme is structured to support student-athletes in reaching their full potential and is delivered through two main pathways:

UCC Team Sport Scholarships

UCC Individual Sport Scholarships

These scholarships are closely aligned with UCC Sport’s Performance Programme, which offers personalised support to help student-athletes successfully manage both their academic and sporting commitments. The overarching aim is to equip UCC athletes and teams to perform at their highest level, whether in university competitions or on the international stage.

 

High-Performance Collaboration

UCC works closely with clubs, coaches, and specialists in sports science, strength and conditioning, nutrition, sports medicine, and performance analysis to support the holistic development of its athletes.

Strategic partnerships with national governing bodies, provincial organisations, and Sport Ireland further strengthen the university’s high-performance framework.

This initiative underscores UCC’s dedication to cultivating Ireland’s future sporting talent, empowering student-athletes to excel both in their academic pursuits and athletic careers.

 

John O'Halloran The President of UCC expressed: “The time that UCC students spend here with us is not only about academic success, but about embracing the broader student experience. We proudly support our students to combine their academic pursuits with the development of their sporting ambitions. Today, we celebrate these outstanding student athletes, whose dedication, both in the classroom and in their chosen sports, embodies what it means to be a UCC student and inspires our university community. We extend our sincere thanks to Bank of Ireland for their generous support”.

 

Morgan Buckley, Head of UCC Sport said: “Congratulations to all our teams and athletes. We are incredibly proud of their achievements, as well as the dedication of their coaches, volunteers, and clubs, supported by our outstanding staff and services at UCC.

The UCC Sport Scholarship Programme significantly enhances the services we offer to our performance teams and athletes, ensuring they can successfully balance their academic and sporting pursuits. We are also proud to continue holding the Accreditation for Student-Athlete Support (UCC Sport ASAS) standard, recently developed by Sport Ireland, which ensures equal opportunities for high-performing student-athletes to excel both in sport and education”.

 

Tomasz Mrowca, UCC Club’s Executive President, said "At UCC, our commitment to student support makes the university an exceptional place to study and to excel in sport. We are proud to celebrate the outstanding participation and achievements of our sporting community at every level."

 

Please see the UCC Sport Instagram page for more photos: bit.ly/46Vcbaa

 

Athlete 

Sport 

 

 

Athletics 

Eimear Maher 

Athletics 

Katie Bergin            

Athletics 

Holly Carroll 

Athletics 

Alex Cullen 

 

 

Basketball 

Daryl Cuff    

Basketball 

Emer Dunne 

Basketball 

Faye McDonnell       

Basketball 

Jessica O’ Shea 

 

 

Camogie 

Liz-Anna Boylan 

Camogie 

Maedhbh de Burca 

Camogie 

Meadhbh Ring 

Camogie 

Sarah O’ Brien       

 

 

Canoe 

Mark Skuce 

 

 

Cycling 

Cal Tutty 

 

 

Gaelic Football 

Austin Murphy        

Gaelic Football 

Colin Molloy 

Gaelic Football 

Colm Clifford 

Gaelic Football 

Conor Daly 

Gaelic Football 

Cormac Dillon 

Gaelic Football 

Fionnan Leahy 

Gaelic Football 

Harry Ahearne 

Gaelic Football 

Ruairi Murphy  

 

 

 

 

Gaelic Football (L) 

Abigail Ring 

Gaelic Football (L) 

Aimee Corcoran 

Gaelic Football (L) 

Brid McMaugh 

Gaelic Football (L) 

Dara Kiniry 

Gaelic Football (L) 

Emily Lacey 

Gaelic Football (L) 

Emma Morrissey 

Gaelic Football (L) 

Leah Hallihan 

Gaelic Football (L) 

Roisin Ennis 

Gaelic Football (L) 

Sadbh McGoldrick 

 

 

Golf 

Robbie Walsh  

 

 

Hockey 

Eabha Curran 

Hockey 

Isabel Lyons 

Hockey 

Sarah Murphy 

Hockey 

Faye Luby 

Hockey 

Leah Hayes 

Hockey 

Lucy Nixon 

 

 

Hurling 

Barry O’ Flynn 

Hurling 

Brian Keating      

Hurling 

Darragh Flynn  

Hurling 

Hugh O’ Connor 

Hurling 

Shane Kingston    

Hurling 

Timmy Wilk 

Hurling 

Liam O’ Riordan     

Hurling 

Adam Ryan   

Hurling 

Ed Lauhoff     

Hurling 

Peter McGarry  

Hurling 

Darragh Stakelum 

 

 

Kickboxing 

Taylor Heffernan 

 

 

Olympic Weightlifting 

Shane Roche 

 

 

Rowing 

Rory Buckley        

Rowing 

Ethan O’ Neill 

Rowing 

Noah Giltinan    

Rowing 

Kate Reidy       

 

 

Rugby 

Aaron Quirke 

Rugby 

Daire Burke 

Rugby 

Danny McCarthy 

Rugby 

David Cogan 

Rugby 

Evan Clarke 

Rugby 

Gearoid O’ Donovan 

Rugby 

Harry Murphy 

Rugby 

Harry Coughlan 

Rugby 

Jack Casey 

Rugby 

James Wixted 

Rugby 

John Cussen 

Rugby 

Paddy Gaffney 

Rugby 

Rian O’ Donoghue 

Rugby 

Rory Og Doody 

Rugby 

Sean Dunne 

Rugby 

Stephen O’ Shaughnessy 

Rugby 

Conor Mueller 

Rugby  

Daire O’ Callaghan 

Rugby 

Declan Fitzgerald 

Rugby 

Olan Dillon 

 

 

Rugby (W) 

Fia Whelan 

Rugby (W) 

Ellie Cournane 

Rugby (W) 

Miriam Murphy 

Rugby (W) 

Saoirse Brazil Kearney 

 

 

Soccer (M) 

Daniel McCarthy 

Soccer (M) 

Derry Howard 

Soccer (M) 

Kevin McFitzpatrick 

Soccer (M) 

Ramsey Miller 

Soccer (M) 

Ross Cunninghan 

Soccer (M) 

Shane O’ Neill 

Soccer (M) 

Eanna Fitzgerald 

Soccer (M) 

John O’ Donovan 

Soccer (M) 

Oran Crowe 

 

 

Soccer (W) 

Erin O’ Brien      

Soccer (W) 

Ciara Kelly 

Soccer (W) 

Aine Griffin 

Soccer (W) 

Molly Lane 

 

 

Swimming 

Charles Cassidy 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UCC BOI Thrive Academy (Rugby) 

2025/26 

 

Rugby (W)

Aoibheann McGrath 

Rugby (W)

Niamh Crotty 

Rugby (W)

Niamh McCarthy 

Rugby

Charlie O’ Shea 

Rugby

Christopher Barrett 

Rugby

Ian Morton 

Rugby

Conall Cournane 

Rugby

Darragh Prenter 

 

 

 

Department of Sport & Physical Activity

Spórt UCC

Ferry Lodge, Mardyke Walk, T12 P282

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