There was a huge Laois presence at the annual DCU Alumni Awards which took place on Friday, June 14, at the Helix on DCU’s Glasnevin campus.
The awards for Outstanding Achievement were presented and the 2018 Alumni Wall Awardees were unveiled.
There was a very strong Laois representation at the event as both Pat O’Keeffe and Dr Sharon Kehoe were inducted to the illustrious DCU Alumni Wall for 2019.
Pat O’Keeffe, former principal at St Francis Special School in Portlaoise, was recognised for his exemplary Leadership in Special Education over a 50 year period.
Dr Sharon Keogh is Head of R&D at ABK Biomedical Inc. who are a globally recognized inventor within the interventional radiology/oncology medical disciplines.
Her focus is on design, development and commercialization of breakthrough implantable microspheres for treatment of benign and malignant hypervascular tumours.
In addition to the awardees, Laois natives, Ross Munnelly, Director of Alumni Relations and Mark Barry, Alumni Student Ambassador were hosting the celebratory Black Tie Gala Event and Awards Ceremony.
Ross Munnelly, Director of Alumni Relations at DCU, said: “This Awards evening is our signature Alumni event of the year and it was an honour to see Laois feature so heavily at the celebration.
“We were thrilled to welcome Pat O’Keefe and Sharon’s parents John and Úna to The Helix, and of course their fellow club man and Alumni Ambassador, Mark Barry was greeting all our attendees on the red carpet.”
The awards honour an extended list of alumni who, through their exceptional ability and leadership, have achieved excellence in their chosen fields.
Each of DCU’s five faculties honoured two successful alumni, with an inaugural award honouring a DCU Connected graduate on the University’s Alumni Wall.
Alumni Wall awardees have their photographs and biographies placed on a special wall in both the O’Reilly and Cregan libraries in DCU.
Alumni Wall 2019
DCU Business School
Seamus Hand – CEO and Managing Partner at KPMG
Tracy Keevans – Global FDI Director at Morgan McKinley
DCU Institute of Education
Dr Siobhan O’Halloran – Chief Nurse at Department of Health
Pat O’Keeffe – Exceptional leadership in special education in Ireland for over 50 years
Faculty of Engineering and Computing
Damon Reid – Global Performance and Innovation Lead at Zoetis Inc.
Dr Sharon Kehoe – Program Director for R&D at ABK Biomedical Inc.
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Emer O’Connell – Irish Ambassador to Poland
Cormac Ó hEadhra – Broadcaster at RTE
Faculty of Science and Health
Joanna Donnelly – Meteorologist at Met Éireann
Dr Fergus Byrne – Senior Principal Scientist with Boehringer Ingelheim
DCU Connected
John McDonough – Director of the National Archives of Ireland
The recipients of this year’s Outstanding Achievement awards presented at the event were:
Leadership
The former Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD who is the longest serving public representative in the current Dáil, served as Taoiseach for 6 years and successfully led the Fine Gael party to win its largest ever number of seats in the 31st Dáil.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Lorraine Twohill, Chief Marketing Officer at Google is responsible for the global marketing of the brand and its product as well as overseeing the company’s social impact on education, economic opportunity and inclusion.
Societal Impact
Sr Orla Tracey for her pioneering work as Head Administrator at the Loreto Rumbek Mission, South Sudan focused on improving the lives of the most vulnerable.
Sport
Lindsay Peat for her unique sporting achievements as a member of the Irish Senior Women’s Rugby team, representing Ireland at underage soccer and basketball and winning an All-Ireland medal with the Dublin Senior Ladies’ Football in 2010.
Innovation and Technology
Shay Walsh, Managing Director, BT Ireland for his role in making the company a market leader in serving the global communication needs of Irish based multinationals and major domestic organisations.
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