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SPIRe Student Awards

Award Categories, Criteria and Winners

Award Winners 2024-25

Congratulations to SPIRe's Award Winners for 2024-25!

Attracta Ingram Medal: Clara Eggenhuizen
Brian Farrell Medal: Colleen Scott
Conor Martin Memorial Medal: Nejc Arnol
Peter Mair Medal: Ciaran Culleton, Leonhard Meyer Zu Bexten, Natalia Pacesova
Sinéad McGrath Medal: Miriam Schröder
Tom Garvin Medal: Sara Paglino
Iseult Honohan Doctoral Scholarship: Abdulkadir Adan, Mohamed Moheeb, Kasidech Somboonkittichai, Eva West

The Brian Farrell Medal

This award was established by friends and colleagues of Professor Brian Farrell, who retired from UCD in 1994. It is awarded annually to the undergraduate student(s) in Stage 1 Politics who achieve the highest grade point average in the two best core Stage 1 Politics modules taken by all Politics students.

The prize may be awarded to up to three students. In the rare case that more than three students meet the prize criterion, overall Stage 1 grade point average will be considered. 

Winners

2024-25: Colleen Scott 
2023-24: Fumilayo Liisu Okunribido, Eoghan Walsh
2022-23: Mariana Suárez Sembera
2021-22: Soumya Arora, Ana-Danielle Yembet
2020-21: Fionn Kenneally

The Conor Martin Memorial Medal

This prize was established by the friends and colleagues of the late Reverend Professor Conor Martin, who was Professor of Ethics and Politics from 1952 until his death in 1980.

The medal will be awarded annually to the undergraduate student in Stage Two Politics who achieves the highest combined grade point average in three core Stage Two Politics modules.

Up to three medals may be awarded.  In the rare case that more than three students meet the award criterion, overall Stage 2 grade point average will be considered.

Winners

2024-25: Nejc Arnol
2023-24: Caius Adiel Epstein Kauppi, Matthew Geraghty, Matthew Morrin
2022-23: Francisco Negreira Gomez
2021-22: Jack O'Connell, Adrianne Ward
2020-21: Ciara De Buitleir

The Peter Mair Medal

This award commemorates a former SPIRe graduate and leading political scientist, Professor Peter Mair.

The medal will be presented to the final stage undergraduate Politics student(s) who achieves the highest weighted Stage grade point average in their two best Politics and International Relations modules. 

The prize may be awarded to up to three students. In the rare case that more than three students meet the prize criterion, overall Stage Four grade point averages will be considered.

Winners

2024-25: Ciaran Culleton, Leonhard Meyer Zu Bexten, Natalia Pacesova
2023-24: Zakia Laassri
2022-23: Eimer Conlon, Molly McHugh
2021-22: Jennifer O'Keeffe, Ewan Ramsay
2020-21: Elizabeth Higgins

The Tom Garvin Medal

This award is named in honour of Professor Tom Garvin, Professor of Politics and Head of Department from 1991-2005. 

The annual award takes the form of a medal presented to the undergraduate student(s) who achieves the highest grade for their thesis submitted in SPIRe’s Advanced Seminar.

The prize may be awarded to up to three students. In the rare case that more than three students meet the prize criterion, overall Stage Four grade point averages will be considered.

Winners

2024-25: Sara Paglino
2023-24: Sarah Dowley, Wiktoria Drazewska
2022-23: Eimer Conlon
2021-22: Ewan Ramsay
2020-21: Elizabeth Higgins

The Attracta Ingram Medal

Professor Attracta Ingram is Professor Emeritus of the School of Politics and International Relations. She has published extensively in political and social theory, particularly on the philosophy of rights, social justice, pluralism, state and nation, constitutional patriotism, and cosmopolitanism.

This medal will be awarded for the best dissertation by a student studying for a Masters in Politics on one of the School’s MA/MSc programmes. 

Should there be several students with the same best thesis grade, the award will be given to the student with the highest overall GPA amongst them. Should there be several students with the same best thesis grade and highest overall GPA, a committee including the school’s Graduate Director and the Programme Director for the Masters in Politics programme will convene and decide which of the relevant theses makes the best contribution to the literature on politics.

Winners

2024-25: Clara Eggenhuizen
2023-24: Robin Rauner

The Sinead McGrath Medal

Dr Sinéad McGrath was a graduate research student in SPIRe from September 2015 to her untimely death in January 2022. She was an excellent researcher and inspiring teacher – working as a lecturer both in UCD and Maynooth.

This medal will be for the best dissertation by a student studying for a Masters in Peace and Conflict or a Masters in Gender, Politics and International Relations.

Those students with the highest thesis grade across both Masters programmes will be considered.
Should there be several students with the same best thesis grade, the award will be given to the student with the highest overall GPA amongst them. Should there be several students with the same best thesis grade and highest overall GPA, a committee consisting of the programme directors for the Masters in Peace and Conflict and the Masters in Gender, Politics and International Relations as well as the Graduate Director will convene and decide which of the relevant theses makes the best contribution to the literature on conflict and gender.

Winners

2024-25: Miriam Schröder
2023-24: Amelie D'Hausen

 

Iseult Honohan Doctoral Scholarship

This scholarship is named after Dr Iseult Honohan, one of the first female PhD graduates from the (then) Department of Ethics and Politics. She retired from teaching in 2015 after over 25 years of service to UCD as one of the leading academics in normative political theory.

Awardees

2024-25: Abdulkadir Adan, Mohamed Moheeb, Kasidech Somboonkittichai, Eva West
2023-24: Lorcan McLaren, Ciarán Ó Brien, Neha Parikh, Smrutimayee Sarangi | 2022-23 Sarah King, Conor Twomey | 2021-22: Michael Coleman, Paula Montano, Benjamin Swift | 2020-21: Natalia Umansky | 2019-20: Marianna Lovato, Redmond Scales, Daniel Stairs | 2018-19: Dana Guy, Jesper Lindqvist | 2017-18: Leticia Barbabela | 2016-17: Louise Fitzgerald, Tianyang Song

UCD School of Politics and International Relations (SPIRe)

School Office: G301, Newman Building, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.