Françoise Henry Memorial Medals: These two awards were established in 1988 to mark the contribution of the late Dr Françoise Henry, both as a teacher and as an historian of Irish art. Dr Henry founded the Department of the History of European Painting in the University and for many years gave the course of public lectures on the History of European Painting associated with the Purser-Griffith Scholarships. The medals will be awarded annually to the undergraduate students, (i.e. taking four modules in Art History) who take first and second place respectively in the Art History Stage 1 Examination, provided a standard of at least a GPA of 2.75 is attained. In the event of multiple candidates receiving the joint highest GPA, the School reserves the right to a) award joint winners' medals to two candidates; b) institute an internal adjudication process to identify the best two candidates in the event of three or more students receiving the same highest GPA grade.
Donal Byrne Memorial Medal: This award was established in recognition of the achievement of Dr Donal Byrne, a graduate of the University and a distinguished historian of medieval art. Dr Byrne, who died in August 1988, bequeathed his collection of books to the Françoise Henry Reading Room in the School of Art History and Cultural Policy. The medal will be awarded annually to the undergraduate student in the BA (DN520) who takes first place in the Art History Stage 2 assessment (i.e. taking five Stage 2 Art History modules combined: this must include the two core modules and three of the four option modules), provided a standard of at least a GPA of 3.2 is attained. In the event of a tie, the student's Stage 1 GPA would be added to the student's Stage 2 GPA. Thus the student achieving the highest combined GPA would be awarded the medal.
Purser-Griffith Medals in the History of European Painting: The Purser-Griffith Medals in the History of European Painting honour the endowment of an art history scholarship in 1934 by the artist Miss Sarah Purser and Sir John Griffith. The medals are awarded to the candidates who achieve first and second places respectively having completed the two-year Diploma in the History of European Painting. The Purser-Griffith gold medal is awarded to the student who achieves first place, with distinction, on completion of the Diploma and the silver medal to the student who achieves the second highest GPA.