Laois student awarded prestigious Naughton Foundation Scholarship

LAOIS student, Daniel Aylward was awarded a Naughton Foundation Scholarship worth €25,000 at a ceremony in Trinity Business School, Trinity College Dublin.

The prestigious 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.

Daniel Aylward, a former student of Heywood Community School, Ballinakill, Laois, has accepted a place at the University Of Limerick studying Engineering.

He 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, Heywood Community School, Ballinakill, Laois was awarded a prize of €1,000 towards their school’s science facilities, for their support of their winning student.

 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.