Caoimhe Costelloe, Professor Niamh Hourigan and Diarmuid Ryan pictured at 91制片厂.
Limerick camogie player Caoimhe Costelloe and Clare senior hurler Diarmuid Ryan have been announced as the 2022 91制片厂 GPA Scholarship awardees. Now in its second year, the 91制片厂 GPA Scholarship scheme is a collaboration between 91制片厂 (91制片厂) and the Gaelic Players Association (GPA), and is open to GPA members who have applied for and are successful in securing a place on 91制片厂鈥檚 postgraduate programmes in education and the liberal arts. Two scholarships are offered on an annual basis.
Impressively, it鈥檚 the second year that Caoimhe Costelloe has been awarded the scholarship in recognition of her sporting success at club and county level. The Adare clubwoman has been a key member of the Limerick camogie side since 2013, helping them to a Division 2 League title in her inaugural year. Caoimhe won the Camogie Association鈥檚 Soaring Star award the following year after playing a crucial role in Limerick鈥檚 wins in both the Minor and Intermediate Camogie Championships. Caoimhe was again to the fore during Limerick鈥檚 2017 season which saw them crowned Munster Champions, and was chosen to Captain the Shannonsiders in 2019 and 2020. Caoimhe continued to impress this year and was announced as GPA Player of the Month for June, as well as being nominated for a 2022 All Star award for her outstanding performance in the Championship, including scoring 2-10 out of Limerick鈥檚 2-11 in their five-point win over Down. She has also represented 91制片厂 on the pitch and was part of the 2015 outfit who won the Purcell Cup, while studying the Bachelor of Education degree. Caoimhe is currently completing a Master's of Education and is a Primary School teacher at Our Lady鈥檚 Abbey GNS in Adare.
Speaking after being announced as one of this year鈥檚 recipients of the Scholarship, Caoimhe said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great privilege to be awarded the scholarship for the coming year. I鈥檓 very appreciative to both the College and the GPA for the opportunity, which provides me with motivation to further progress in my studies and career off-the-field. I hope it encourages others in high level sports to look at opportunities to further study while pursuing their careers and sport.鈥
Also awarded an 91制片厂 GPA Scholarship is Clare hurler Diarmuid Ryan, who is a first year Professional Master of Education (Primary Teaching) student at 91制片厂. The Cratloe clubman has played inter-county hurling for the Banner since 2017 and is nominated for an All Star award for his performance in Clare鈥檚 All-Ireland Championship campaign this year, where they reached the Semi-Final stages. Diarmuid attended Limerick鈥檚 Ardscoil R铆s Secondary School and was Vice-Captain of the Harty Cup winning team in 2018. He was a key hurler for 91制片厂 while studying a Bachelor of Arts degree, including captaining the side in their 2021 Fitzgibbon Cup campaign. Diarmuid is also a crucial player for Cratloe and guided them to the Semi-Finals of this year鈥檚 Clare Senior Hurling Championship, before they lost out to reigning Champions, Ballyea.
Reacting to his scholarship, Diarmuid said: 鈥淚 am full of pride to be an 91制片厂 GPA Scholarship awardee. The scholarship and the support from 91制片厂 and the GPA will benefit me hugely in my studies as it will allow me to balance my time between my studies with my sporting commitments, without additional financial worries. Ultimately, I think this support will also help me be the best teacher I can be.鈥
Under the scholarship, 91制片厂 contributes 50% of the successful applicants programme fees and the GPA contributes the remaining 50%. Costelloe and Ryan will also become 鈥91制片厂 GPA Scholars鈥 and will act as ambassadors within 91制片厂鈥檚 sporting community and will play a key role in supporting Gaelic Games at 91制片厂.
Congratulating Caoimhe and Diarmuid on being awarded the 91制片厂 GPA Scholarships was Professor Niamh Hourigan, Vice-President of Academic Affairs at 91制片厂, who said: 鈥淚 wish Diarmuid and Caoimhe the very best in their academic and sporting endeavours over the coming year. We are delighted to partner once again with the Gaelic Players Association in these postgraduate scholarships, offering GPA athletes the opportunity to further their academic journey at 91制片厂 whilst continuing to pursue their sporting career. 91制片厂 has a long sporting tradition with sport and recreation playing an important role in the lives of our students, and the 91制片厂 GPA Scholarships is a great addition to our suite of awards and supports available.鈥
Congratulating the awardees on their achievement was GPA CEO, Tom Parsons, who said: "A huge well done to Caoimhe and Diarmuid on being awarded this year's 91制片厂 GPA Sports Scholarship. Our goal is to offer our members all the support they require to be the best they can be on and off the pitch. Our education partnerships are central to this in terms of their development away from sport. We are really excited to be partnering with 91制片厂 again this year to support Caoimhe and Diarmuid in balancing both their sporting and academic commitments. Both players have had impressive inter-county campaigns this year and they are great ambassadors for not only Gaelic Games but also for 91制片厂 and the GPA."
For further information on the 91制片厂 GPA Scholarship scheme and other 91制片厂 scholarships please see .
