Australia 1984 Scholarship Fund
The Australia 1984 Scholarships have been established to honour the UCD RFC First XV of 1984/85 who toured Australia and was the last UCD RFC team to have made an appearance in the Leinster Senior Cup final. The scholarships were made possible through the generosity of John Gardiner (BCL 1984), captain of the 1984/85 team and are named in honour of Finbar Costello (BComm 1961), Adrian Burke (BComm 1962) and Ned Thornton (BComm 1963), honouring the contributions and continuous involvement of these remarkable UCD RFC alumni to rugby in UCD.
Three scholarships will be awarded annually to elite undergraduate or postgraduate players, nominated by the UCD Director of Rugby and endorsed by the first team coach. A portion of the fund will subsidise the recipients’ fees, maintenance and accommodation and a portion will relate to coaching and development. In addition, each candidate will be presented with a commissioned piece marking the scholarship award.
UCD President Hugh Brady was delighted to host lunch on campus recently to officially launch the scholarships and welcome John Gardiner and his brother Declan. The UCD tie was much in demand for the official photographs!
Pictured are, back row: Martin Butler (UCD Vice-President for Students), Brian Mullins (UCD Director of Sport), Paul Molony (President, UCD Rugby Club), Declan Gardiner, John McClean (UCD Director of Rugby) and Billy Murphy (Chairman, UCD Rugby Club). Front row: Ned Thornton, John Gardiner, Hugh Brady, Finbar Costello and Adrian Burke.
Signing the agreement are, back row: Adrian Burke, Hugh Brady, Finbar Costello and Ned Thornton. Front row: Aine Gibbons (UCD Vice-President for Development), John Gardiner and Paul Molony.