Maynooth University research students and postdoctoral fellows benefit from Irish Research Council funding programme

Valesca Lima
Saturday, September 22, 2018 - 16:00

Maynooth University is delighted to announce that nine research students and four postdoctoral fellows have been funded as early-career researchers by the Irish Research Council (IRC) under their Government of Ireland programmes.
 
One of the postdoctoral fellows, Valesca Lima, met with the Minister of State for Training, Skills and Innovation, John Halligan, TD, at Government Buildings, to mark the announcement.
 
Valesca is one of the 288 researchers who will be supported through this programme for her research on housing activism and homelessness in Dublin and Lisbon. Valesca will be based in the Department of Sociology and her funded project title is: Housing Activism: The Fight Against Homelessness in Dublin And Lisbon.
 
More than €22 million was awarded in funding under the IRC’s Government of Ireland Programme. 
 
The Minister said: “The Irish Research Council’s Government of Ireland programmes support exceptional researchers at postgraduate and postdoctoral levels. The investment announced today will fund some of our brightest minds to develop their research interests and progress their careers, thereby ensuring Ireland has a strong pipeline of research talent well into the future.
 
Minister Halligan said the Irish Research Council’s Government of Ireland programmes are aimed at ensuring a strong pipeline of research talent for future years.
 
Peter Brown, Director of the Irish Research Council, described the Government of Ireland programmes as unique in the Irish research landscape. “Firstly, they provide individual, prestigious awards for excellent research in the name of the applicant. Secondly, they provide funding across all disciplines, from archaeology to zoology,” he said.
 
“The researchers supported are addressing major societal and scientific challenges, and deepening our understanding of topics ranging from traditional music to liquid crystals and ecological connectivity. As in previous years, the application process for the 2018 programmes was highly competitive and all applications were internationally peer-reviewed. This means those receiving support have demonstrated the very highest standards of research excellence.”

The ful list of Maynooth awardees are: 
IRC funded Postgraduate Scholars (Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme)

Dean Frawley Biology
John  Ó Laoidh Sociology
Joshua Moody Sociology
Kevin Flanagan Anthropology
Mary  Broe  Geography
Sarah Larragy Biology
Sharon Healy Centre for Digital Humanities
Sven Milekić History
William Durkan Geography

IRC funded Postdoctoral Fellows (Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme)

Valesca Lima  Sociology
Dejana Kosanovic Biology
Frances Nolan History
Jessica Foley  Geography and MUSSI