We are delighted to announce that two of our colleagues at the UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science were awarded Irish Research Council (IRC) Research Ally Awards 2022. Congratulations to Professor Eamonn Delahunt and Dr Gráinne O’Donoghue for each being awarded Research Ally Prizes for Supervisors and Mentors.
IRC Research Ally prizes are awarded to mark the crucial role played by higher education personnel in supporting the academic research community across all career levels. Postgraduate students, postdoctoral fellows, academic and research-active staff were invited to nominate the mentors and supervisors who have supported their work and careers during the last year.
Dr Gráinne O’Donoghue, who was delighted to receive an IRC Research Ally award for the second time, said “It is a great honour for me to receive the IRC Research Ally Prize for a second time, and I am humbly thankful to my students who nominated me for this award. It motivates me to continue having the highest level of dedication in both supervising and mentoring all my postgraduate students and I am confident both they and their research will have national and international impact in the foreseeable future”.
Professor Eamonn Delahunt was also thrilled to receive the award saying “I am delighted to receive an IRC Research Ally Award. As a supervisor of graduate research students I have always tried to cultivate an environment which encourages and promotes knowledge-exchange. This is a two-way reciprocal process - I have also learned new knowledge, skills, and perspectives from my students. These experiences have unquestionably benefited my professional and academic career, and will assist me in continuing to provide exceptional supervision and mentorship to future early career researchers”. Professor Delahunt was particularly grateful to the IRC having also been the first ever physiotherapy graduate in Ireland to receive a PhD award/scholarship from the IRC in 2003.
Congratulations to Professor Delahunt, Dr O’Donoghue and all of the winners of IRC Research Ally Awards 2022.