Kilconly student reaps rewards of academic success
By JACQUELINE HOGGE A KILCONLY student has been mixing with the stars as he reaped the rewards of academic success at this year's annual All-Ireland Scholarship Awards ceremony. Diarmuid O'Connor from Ratesh, Kilconly was one of 125 students from across the island of Ireland to receive the scholarship, funded by JP McManus, that is worth €27,000 over the course of his studies. The past pupil of St Jarlath's College Tuam is in his first year of a BSc in Mathematics Education at NUI Maynooth, where the annual bursary of €6,750 will come in very useful. Former US President Bill Clinton presented Diarmuid with his scholarship at a special ceremony in the University of Limerick, where multi-millionaire and philanthropist JP McManus was on hand to congratulate each student on their success.[private] Diarmuid's success in the scheme stemmed from his impressive Leaving Cert results, in which he achieved 590 points. 'I had never heard of the scholarships until I got a letter shortly after my results came out to tell me I was being considered for a bursary,' he said. 'The ceremony in Limerick was very impressive with a host of big names from the sporting and political worlds and of course Bill Clinton and JP McManus who were both very interesting and congratulated every student on their achievement.' Diarmuid's parents, Dermot and Anne, along with his older sister BláithÃÂn and younger brother OisÃÂn are very proud of his achievement. The scholarships are available to first-time Leaving Certificate students who are exempt from paying the Leaving Certificate exam fee and who have attended non fee-paying post primary schools. Diarmiud's former career guidance teacher at St Jarlath's, Joanne O'Connor, accompanied him to the ceremony in Limerick where she found the former US President to be 'more sincere than charismatic'. 'It was a wonderful occasion for all the students concerned, and of course we're all very proud of Diarmuid's academic achievement that has resulted in this valuable scholarship,' she said. 'We got to mix with an impressive line-up of VIP guests on the day including businessmen Denis O'Brien and Dermot Desmond, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan, Deputy Willie O'Dea, Dr Martin McAleese and rugby icons Keith Wood and Paul O'Connell.'[/private]