Letterkenny student, Philip McGee was awarded a Naughton Foundation Scholarship worth €25,000 at a ceremony in Trinity Business School on Saturday.

The award was presented by founding patrons of the Naughton Foundation, Dr. Martin Naughton, and his wife Carmel, who were joined by Minister Jack Chambers, TD to present winning students with their awards and cheques.

Supporting academic and innovative excellence in Irish students, the Naughton Foundation Scholarship Awards are an investment in the future of Ireland’s reputation as a country with outstanding graduates promoting the study of engineering, science, and technology at third level.

Since its establishment in 2008, the Foundation has presented over €8 million in scholarships to over 450 young people in publicly funded institutions across the island of Ireland.

The scheme started in three counties and has continued to expand annually to become a nationwide scheme in 2016. There is one guaranteed scholarship (€25,000) for each participating county, with some counties awarded more than one scholarship and each scholarship is worth €6,000 for each year of a student’s three- or four-year undergraduate degree.

The Donegal winner, Philip McGee, a former student of Coláiste Ailigh, Letterkenny, has accepted a place at University College Dublin studying Engineering.

Philip joins 37 other exceptional Irish students who were awarded third level scholarships towards their studies in the areas of engineering, science, technology and maths.

The prize winner’s former secondary school was also awarded a prize of €1,000 towards their school’s science facilities, for their support of their winning student.

Speaking about the growth and development of the programme over the past seventeen years, Dr. Martin Naughton commented; “Both Carmel and I are delighted by the growth of this program and the incredible community of alumni who are doing extraordinary work in education, research and industry at home and abroad.

“Today we are delighted to welcome a new cohort of wonderful young people to join this group and to support and encourage them. When we meet these young engineers, researchers, and mathematicians, I am very happy knowing that we have invested in Ireland’s wealth creators and leaders of the future.”