161 Sport Scholarships Awarded to Elite Athletes in DCU

161 sport scholarships were announced at a ceremony in The Helix, DCU on Thursday the 13th of November 2008. World University Games silver medallist Gillian O’Leary, Olympic steeplechaser Fionnuala Britton and Meath senior footballer Shane O’Rourke joined students from fifteen sports to receive scholarships that give them access to financial and academic support, accommodation, athlete education and top class high performance training and fitness testing.

Sport scholarships were first introduced in 1996 in the form of GAA sport scholarships. The programme has expanded greatly in recent years with the launch of the DCU Sports Academy in 2006, which manages and develops Athletics and Men’s Gaelic Football athletes. The remainder sports are managed through the Sport & Recreation Service as part of Student support & Development at DCU.

DCU is committed to supporting the holistic development of their elite athletes and their increasing need to successfully balance both academic and sporting commitment. The programmes are athlete led whereby support is tailored to the individual needs of the athlete. DCU offers top class facilities and support services for athletes to successfully train and develop during their chosen programme of study.

Whilst the President of DCU, Professor Ferdinand Von Prondzynski congratulated the students on their recent achievements, Yvonne O’Connor Sport & Recreation Officer, Enda Fitzpatrick Director of Athletics Academy and Declan Brennan Director of GAA Academy announced this years sport scholarship athletes. In congratulating the Sports Scholars on their awards Yvonne O’Connor acknowledged some of this years results to include:

Two current students Fionnuala Britton, Darren Sutherland and a graduate Ciara Peelo competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

Gillian O’Leary (Golf) and Sean Marchetti (Canoe) competed in the World University Championships in their respective sports

David Harte, Conor Harte and Alan Sothern competed in the European Hockey Championships on the Irish Men’s Hockey team

Tennis Men’s & Ladies Clubs Intervarsity Champions and will be competing in the European University Tennis Championships in December that will be hosted by DCU

A special presentation to DCU’s three Olympians was made by Professor Niall Moyna.  Darren Sutherland (Boxing), Fionnula Britton (Athletics) and Ciara Peelo (Sailing) were presented with Waterford Crystals vases for their achievements in Beijing 2008.