UCD Ad Astra Academy welcomes 57 new scholars
3 March 2026
University College Dublin has welcomed 57 exceptional students into the UCD Ad Astra Academy, the University’s flagship scholarship programme recognising outstanding achievement in academia, sport and the performing arts.
The new intake includes 34 Academic Scholars, 18 of whom were awarded scholarships based on exceptional performance in their first year at UCD, alongside 16 Elite Sports Scholars and seven Performing Arts Scholars.
With these admission, the full Academy membership now stands at 186.
At a special ceremony marking the occasion, Ad Astra Academy Director (opens in a new window)Professor Regina Uí Chollatáin described the Academy as “an environment where students with exceptional ability, creativity and drive are motivated, challenged and inspired.”
She noted that Ad Astra reflects UCD’s wider mission to support students in achieving their full potential through mentoring, discipline-specific guidance and personal and professional development opportunities.
Highlighting the achievements of past and present Ad Astra scholars, Professor Uí Chollatáin said they continued to distinguish themselves nationally and internationally.
Among recent sporting successes, Tadhg O’Donnell was crowned 75kg National Boxing Champion and Síofra Flynn won the Women’s Doubles Badminton National Championship.
Sailing scholars Ben O’Shaughnessy and Ethan Spain secured gold at the 49er Junior European Championships, while middle-distance athletes Lughaidh Mallon and Jonas Stafford contributed to Ireland’s team gold at the European Cross Country Championships.
Cian McPhillips also delivered a record-breaking performance in the 800m at the World Athletics Championships.
Olympian Eve McMahon reached World No. 1 in the ILCA6 class in June 2025, bronze at the Senior World Championships in China and gold at the LA Grand Slam in July.
In December, she was recognised nationally with the “Rising Star” award at the 2025 Team Ireland Olympic Sports Awards.
Fellow Olympian Nicola Tuthill built on her Paris 2024 experience, winning gold at the U23 European Throwing Cup in Cyprus, followed by silver at the World University Games. She later recorded an outstanding 11th-place finish at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
Academically Ad Astra scholars have pursued further studies at world’s top universities including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Cambridge, Harvard University, and University of Oxford.
Several have be Fulbright Irish Student awardees, and where now undertaking opportunities across a number of other top universities, while others were in leadership roles in Google, Amazon, and JP Morgan, or had set up their own companies such as SQUID, now operating in over 2,000 retailers in Ireland, UK, and Australia.
In the performing arts, scholars are currently collaborating on Pompey, a new site-specific, multi-disciplinary production in partnership with the Irish Museum of Modern Art.
While Conor O'Rourke worked on his new play Life’s a Drag in the Ad Astra studio with fellow alumni Joshua McNutt and Wiktoria Kordacka, alongside current scholar Emma O’Leary. This work premiered in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2025.
Founded in 2011 and supported by alumni and friends through the UCD Foundation, the Ad Astra Academy nurtures students who demonstrate exceptional talent and ambition.
By: David Kearns, Digital Journalist / Media Officer, UCD University Relations
To contact the UCD News & Content Team, email: newsdesk@ucd.ie
