Academics, professionals, students and Irish speakers will attend 17 leading U.S. institutions to research, study, teach and collaborate with experts in their fields from August 2023 to August 2024.

The Fulbright bilateral exchange programme is known for selecting outstanding candidates from across the island of Ireland to study and work with U.S. institutions across all disciplines ranging from health, science, technology and business to the arts and culture. As the Fulbright Awardees forge ahead on these exciting opportunities, the breadth of their U.S. engagement is diverse and impressive.

Included in this year’s selection are two Fulbright-Creative Ireland Awardees Susan Boyle and Dr Kevin McDermot.

Susan Boyle is a drinks researcher and playwright. Her PhD research at the Technological University Dublin is in Beverage Studies and concerns performance, storytelling and the sensory in immersive drinks experiences. She is supported by a TU Dublin Excellence Scholarship and funding from the Centre for Franco-Irish Studies. As a Fulbright-Creative Ireland Museum Fellowship at Smithsonian Awardee, Susan will commence a fellowship at the Smithsonian Museum of American History, Washington DC investigating the impact of European immigrants on pre-prohibition brewing and distilling in the U.S.

Dr Kevin Mc Dermott is an established writer of children’s fiction, an experienced arts-in-education practitioner, and an advocate for creative writing in education. He has worked on a number of school-based creative-writing residencies, with the support of Poetry Ireland and the JCSP Demonstration Library Project. As a Fulbright-Creative Ireland Professional Fellowship Scholar, working with the National Writing Project in Berkeley, he will develop the theory and practice of encountering young writers in the creative writing workshop with the purpose of facilitating them to explore, interrogate and celebrate their experience, in the circumstances and particularity of their own world, in their own words.

Awardees will travel to 17 states across the USA embedding themselves in institutions ranging from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Poets House New York and The University of Hawaii, to The Smithsonian Institution in Washington and East Los Angeles College – the largest community college in California. Fulbright Irish Scholars, students, and foreign language teaching assistants (FLTAs) will also engage with U.S. society and share their knowledge and expertise when they return home.

1 Fulbright Irish Scholar-in-Residence Awardee

Associate Professor Tom Felle

10 Fulbright Irish Students

Susan Boyle (pictured above); Conall Geoghegan Moore; Luke Gibbons; Eoin Oude Essink; Áine McBride/Mac Giolla Bhríde; Terence McSweeney; Dr Lukas O’Brien; Andrew Ó hEachteirn; Jessica O’Neill; Dr Daniel O’Reilly

9 Fulbright FLTAs

Abaigéal Drummy; Niamh Hetherington; Annie Mary Jowett; Conchobhar Mac Giolla Bhríde; Caoimhe Ní Chonghaile; Shauna Ní Dhochartaigh; Eibhlín Seoige NicCormaic; Seán Ó Coistealbha; Niall Páirc

Minister of State at the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and at the Department of Education, Thomas Byrne TD said:

“The warmth of the relationship between Ireland and the United States is underpinned by our shared history and common values. The Fulbright Commission and the Fulbrighters, past and present, are a testament to the best traditions of academic and cultural exchange, and have an outstanding record in representing Ireland. The Government of Ireland is proud to support this programme, which plays an essential role in building transatlantic understanding and fostering extraordinary academic links, through the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. My sincere congratulations and best wishes to the Irish Fulbright Awardees of 2023-2024.”

U.S. Chargé d’Affaires to Ireland, Mike Clausen said:

“The Fulbright Programme represents the U.S. government’s preeminent international educational and cultural exchange initiative. It plays a crucial role in sustaining and advancing the unique and close relationship between the United States and Ireland. Fulbright awardees exchange research, knowledge, ideas, and culture and contribute to solving important global problems. I congratulate this year’s awardees and wish them success in the United States and beyond.” 

 Chair of the Fulbright Commission Ireland Board, Professor Diane Negra, said:

“I speak for the entire Fulbright Commission Ireland Board in congratulating the 37 Fulbright awardees on receiving their awards. Fulbright is synonymous with high-level research, academic excellence and cross-cultural collaboration and I wish the awardees every success as they travel to the U.S., join a thriving network of professional alumni, and experience a rich and unique cultural and educational exchange that encompasses a Fulbright award.”

Executive Director of the Fulbright Commission in Ireland, Dr Dara FitzGerald, said:

“I congratulate the new awardees on the significant honour and achievement of earning a Fulbright Award. The Commission takes pride in the Irish awardees who engage in the States and return home to share their learnings. I wish to extend my thanks to the partners, stakeholders and sponsors who have supported us in recent years. The impact of their support, both immediately and over time, cannot be underestimated.

I am keen to recognise our growing relationships with the Technological Universities including Atlantic Technological University, Technological University Dublin, Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest, Munster Technological University and South East Technological University. We wish them every success as they develop and will provide supports for their initiatives.”