Two Limerick students awarded MIC Elite Sports Scholarships

The two Limerick students awarded Mary Immaculate College Elite Sports Scholarships, Cian Scully and Anna Horan, pictured with Professor Niamh Hourigan, Vice-President Academic Affairs at MIC

Two Limerick sportspeople are among five students Mary Immaculate College Elite Sports Scholarships in recognition of their sporting abilities

Irish hockey player Anna Horan and Limerick U-20 hurler Cian Scully, both from Limerick, were awarded MIC Elite Sports Scholarships, alongside Irish athlete Thomas Devaney, Kerry Ladies Footballer Aoife Dillane and Mayo Ladies Footballer Sinead Walsh.

MIC’s Elite Sports Scholarship scheme is open to those who have excelled in their chosen sports and this year, the number of scholarships awarded has increased from two to five for the first time.

The scholarships are tiered, with one Gold recipient, two Silver and two Bronze recipients. Limerick’s Anna was awarded the Gold scholarship and Cian has been awarded Bronze. The scholarships are offered in memory of former MIC staff members and sporting stalwarts, the late Noreen Lynch and Leonard Enright.

Congratulating the Scholarship awardees on their achievement was Professor Niamh Hourigan, Vice-President Academic Affairs at MIC, who said, “This is the fourth year of this scholarship and the calibre of our sporting ambassadors continues to be outstanding. This year’s talented awardees have proven their sporting excellence at international, national and inter-county level.

“They have also committed to achieving academic success here at MIC and balancing the two commitments is no easy task so we are delighted to offer our support to such worthy recipients. I anticipate that these recipients will achieve a lot on and off the pitch and I will be delighted to watch them grow as scholars and as sportspeople.”

Third year Bachelor of Education (B Ed) student, Anna Horan is the recipient of this year’s Gold Elite Sports Scholarship in recognition of her success at hockey for both club and country. The Limerick native represented Crescent College while a student there and captained the team during its 2019 Kate Russell title win. At club level, Anna plays for the City’s Catholic Institute club, which she helped to guide to an Irish Senior Cup title in 2022 and the runners-up spot earlier this year.

Following the Irish title win, Catholic Institute made its European Club competition debut, where Anna scored the winning goal in their 1-0 win over Austrian side Akademischer. She represented Ireland at the Junior World Cup in South Africa in April 2022, before Captaining Ireland’s U21 squad who competed in the U21 Eurohockey Junior Championship in Belgium in July last year. Having represented her country at U18 grade while still in secondary school, Anna’s talents attracted international attention and she spent a year at the University of Connecticut on a sports scholarship playing for its hockey team.

Speaking as she was announced as this year’s Gold Scholarship awardee, Anna said, “I am delighted and so grateful to be awarded this scholarship. For me it’s going to be a great help financially and its also going to allow me to continue my training while I’m in college. Sport is a huge part of my life and has allowed me to make new friends and travel the country and internationally.

“The financial supports of this scholarship will be huge for me, especially with hockey with the equipment that you use and also the amount of travel around Ireland that’s involved. It’s going to be very beneficial for me in helping to complete my degree here and also help me to perform at an elite level. I look forward to my role as a sporting ambassador with MIC this year and I value the support they have given my sporting and academic career.”  

Cian Scully, a first year B Ed student, is from Banogue in Co. Limerick and was awarded a Bronze Sports Scholarship. He plays for his County’s U20 hurling team, having previously served as Captain of the Treaty’s Minor hurlers in 2021.

Cian played at half back for the county’s U20s side which won the Munster final in May 2022 before falling a point short in the All-Ireland decider later in the Championship. At club level, Cian was instrumental in two campaigns for Dromin Athlacca as he captained the team to an U19B County Championship title before later scoring 0-13 of his side’s 0-19 to 2-9 win over Knockaderry in the U21 County Championship decider. A graduate of Limerick’s Ard Scoil Rís, Cian was the team’s centre-back as they won the Croke Cup and finished as runners-up in the Harty Cup in 2022. 

Cian said, “I am more than delighted to be an MIC Elite Sports Scholar for the year. The financial benefits will allow me to work to be the best athlete and student teacher I can be, while helping the with the financial burden of college life. It is great to know I have support from the college during a hectic period sport and student life.” 

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