At a reception in O’Reilly Hall on Friday the 2nd of March 2012, a number of students from undergraduate up to postgraduate level were awarded for their achievements.

These awards were in the form of academic, Bord na Gaeilge, performance such as orchestral and choral and sporting achievements and at this ceremony it was non-first year students (but first time recipients) that were honored.

Among the scholarship recipients, sport only had four students present at the awards as, like mentioned earlier, this particular reception was celebrating non first year students.

The students included 2nd year Arts students, Rory Harrison from Belfast whom received one for Rugby, 3rd year Business and Legal student Jack Pierce from St. Michaels College and 2nd year Arts student Johnathon Webster from Terenure College whom both received awards for Golf and finally 3rd year Health and Performance Science student, Aidan McLaverty from Kinsale Community College whom received an award for Sailing.

In addition to these scholarship awards the ceremony acknowledged postgraduate students and also ‘Medals’ were awarded to students in a variety of programmes acknowledging outstanding academic performances in elements within programmes. Many of these Medals are funded through donations granted to UCD by private or corporate benefactors and often named after the donors.

Finally the ceremony’s last awards were the prestigious ‘Presidents Awards’. These are awarded each year to students who have excelled in a variety of extracurricular activities that make UCD a more exciting, dynamic, interesting and humane place to live, study and work.

The students are nominated by their peers or staff members of UCD and a committee is selected to finalise the candidates. This year there were 13 recipients of the prestigious award. UCD Sport is proud to say that there were two recipients from Sport of the Presidents Award.

The first was David Neale, a Sports Scholarship student for Men’s Boat and currently studying a Masters in Bioengineering following his completion of an Engineering degree. Last year David was awarded the Dr. Tony O’Neill Sportsperson of the Year Award. He has represented the University and Ireland with distinction during his time in UCD. He was part of the UCD crews which won the prestigious Prince Albert Trophy at Henley Royal Regatta, the Senior Four event at the London Metropolitan Regatta, and the Wylie Cup at the University Championships.

In July 2011 he was a member of the mens 8+ and 4+ team which won the 2011 National Rowing Championships, UCD’s first since 1973.

He was also part of the bronze medal UCD / Queens composite crew which represented Ireland at the World University Rowing Championships last August and November saw David win the Irish Indoor Rowing Championships in Trinity and also the indoor ergging championships. To start 2012 he won the men's senior single sculls at St.Michaels head of the river in January. He is also currently trialing for Ireland with the national squad.  

The next recipient was Liam Rushe, a UCD Scholarship student, 4th year Law and key member of the UCD Fitzgibbon Cup team. Liam made his first appearance for the Dublin Senior Hurling team during the 2009 championship and has become a regular member of the starting fifteen since then. During that time he has won one National Hurling League winner's medal and has been a runner-up in two Leinster finals.

He has a number of club accolades and Liam acts as a Bord Gáis Energy Ambassador. After the championship in 2010, with Dublin, he qualified for the National Hurling League final in 2011, their first decider in over seventy years. An epic defeat of Kilkenny gave Rushe a coveted National League winners' medal.

Rushe finished off the season by winning his very first All-Star award while he was also named GAA GPA All-Star Young Hurler of the Year.