Life

Postbank CEO among NUI Galway Alumni Awards winners

18.01.2010
The CEO of Postbank Margaret Sweeney and the novelist Gerard Donovan are among the winners of the 2010 NUI Galway Alumni Awards due to be presented at the 10th annual Alumni Awards Gala Banquet which takes place this March.

The awards, which will be hosted in the newly opened Bailey Allen Wing on the NUI Galway campus, recognise individual excellence and achievements among the university’s more than 70,000 graduates worldwide.

The awards programme boasts an impressive roll call of 61 outstanding graduates who have gone on to honour their alma mater, including, for example, Michael D. Higgins, Ciarán FitzGerald, Sean O’Rourke, Professor Frank Gannon, Dr Luke Clancy and Gráinne Seoige.

Among the winners of the eight alumni awards to be presented at Gala 2010, which will take place on Saturday, 6 March, 2010 are:

AIB Award for Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies
Gerard Donovan BA 1983, MA 1988, Novelist.

Bank of Ireland Award for Business, Public Policy and Law
Margaret Sweeney (pictured) BComm 1981, CEO Postbank.

Bank of Ireland Award for Engineering and Informatics
Professor Brian Moran BE1980, MEngSc.1982. Division Chair, Earth and Environmental Sciences and Engineering and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia.

Duais Hewlett-Packard don Ghaeilge
Pádraig Ó hAoláin LLB 1985, Príomhfheidhmeannach, Údarás na Gaeltachta.

Medtronic Award for Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences
Professor Rose Anne Kenny MB, BCh, BAO 1977, MD 1986, Head of Department of Clinical Gerontology at Trinity College Dublin and Consultant Physician in Geriatric Medicine.

Seavite Award for Science
Dr J Paul Duffy BSc 1986, PhD 1992, Vice President of Manufacturing for Ireland and Singapore and Site Leader for Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals.

Speaking at the announcement of the awards recipients, President of NUI Galway, Dr James J Browne said: “Our Alumni Awards programme recognises the many Galway alumni who are leaders in their professions and excel in their pursuits atnational and international levels. These awards celebrate the life-long value of an NUI Galway education and recognise individual achievements among the University’s more than 70,000 graduates worldwide.

“I congratulate each of the Award winners and look forward to welcoming them back to their alma mater for the Gala Banquet in March,” he added.

The new Alumni Awards Gala Banquet venue, The Bailey Allen Wing in the newly refurbished Áras na Mac Léinn, is dedicated to the arts and societies and will include performance facilities, exhibition space and an auditorium for university, civic and public events.

Pictured: CEO of Postbank Margaret Sweeney