Fulbright Commission Awards Reception

Ambassador Rooney joined Minister Joe Costello, TD, and Una Halligan and Colleen Dube,  of the Fulbright Commission, to congratulate the thirty-seven Irish Fulbright awardees at the annual Fulbright Awards Reception.  The reception took place at the Kilmainham Royal Hospital on June 15, 2012.  Awardees will pursue research and degrees in the United States in a variety of fields, ranging from archeology to solar physics.

The Ambassador congratulated the awardees and highlighted the Fulbright program as the United States’, “longest running and most prestigious exchange program.”  The program seeks to foster academic ties between Ireland and the U.S. by sending these awardees as students, scholars, or foreign language teaching assistants to the United States.  Some of the awardees will be pursuing higher level degrees in the United States at institutions such as Harvard Law School and Columbia University, while others will be undertaking research on climate change, developing cultural centers for children, and providing better medical care for those with chronic diseases.  The Foreign Language Teaching Assistants will be teaching Irish language courses in the U.S. while also continuing their studies.

Each year, the Fulbright-Schuman Award is bestowed to a select number of individuals in the field of European-U.S. politics.  The Fulbright Commission in Brussels honored thirteen people this year from a large pool of applicants from several European countries.   Four of the thirteen recipients of this prestigious award were Irish with projects as diverse as the marine economy and transnational counter-terrorism.

The reception celebrated these individuals’ achievements thus far and the opportunities they now have to act as ambassadors themselves.  Their experience in the United States will take them beyond the classroom, where they can meet Americans to share ideas and opinions to build relationships that will strengthen both the United States and Ireland. 

For the complete list of the Irish Fulbright Awardees for 2012-2013, visit:
http://fulbright.ie/irishcitizensawards/irishawardees/irish-fulbright-awardees-2012-2013