The Séamus McDermott Scholarship
The Séamus McDermott Scholarship for Entrepreneurship honours the incredible contribution of Séamus McDermott to entrepreneurship in Ireland.
Séamus founded the Liffey Trust in 1984 in order to incubate, mentor and support entrepreneurs and community enterprises including the provision of office space. The Trust made a conscious management decision to finance all its activities through its own efforts and without the support from the State. Since its foundation, the Liffey Trust has helped more than 200 enterprises resulting in the employment of over 800 people.
The Trust has expanded its support of third level colleges by now sponsoring Scholarships in Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, University of Galway, Dublin City University and University College Cork.
Trinity College Dublin
The Liffey Trust has entered into a partnership with Trinity College Dublin to establish the Séamus McDermott Scholarship for Entrepreneurship. The partnership entails 4 scholarships per year of €10,000 each for 10 years to students undertaking the MBA at Trinity Business School.
The Trinity MBA is an intensive project-based programme for those who want to accelerate their current career path or transition into a new industry. Nurturing entrepreneurship is at the heart of The Trinity MBA programme where an entrepreneurial focus is woven through every module. The Séamus McDermott Scholarship for Entrepreneurship continues and honours Séamus’ work by supporting an entrepreneur who is resident in Ireland, to develop their business and managerial acumen by undertaking the Trinity MBA.
Univeristy College Dublin
The Liffey Trust entered a partnership with University College Dublin in 2019 where students enrolled at UCD for a four-year course of their choice can obtain the Entrepreneurial scholarship. The scholarship is valued at up to €12,000 (€3,000 per year for the duration of their course.) The Séamus McDermott Entrepreneurial Scholarship has the principal purpose of promoting the concepts of job creation, entrepreneurial development, and education for life, in the minds of undergraduate students commencing their studies at University College Dublin.
The Dr Séamus Mc Dermott Scholarships are awarded on an annual basis to students who are proven entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs or SME owners/managers who are making an impact on the economy or society.
Dublin City University
The Dr. Séamus McDermott Entrepreneurial Scholarship at DCU will be awarded annually from 2022 to 2032 to promote the concepts of job creation, entrepreneurial development, and education for life in the minds of undergraduate student entrepreneurs.
Through the support of The Liffey Trust in honour of the incredible legacy of Dr. S McDermott’s hard work and dedication, in total, ten first-year students will receive this scholarship, worth up to €9,000 throughout the duration of their studies.
Speaking on behalf of DCU Educational Trust, Jason Sherlock, Director of Development said:
“We welcome the vision and generosity of Dr Séamus McDermott and The Liffey Trust in creating this new scholarship to support DCU student entrepreneurs. As a university, our mission is to transform lives and societies, and our industry and philanthropic partners have always played a key role in advancing this mission and helping us to prepare our students for the future. This scholarship represents an important investment in student innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship, and will make a real difference to our students with innovative ideas and entrepreneurial ambitions.”
The scholarship will help to support students in University of Galway’s newly launched student innovation and entrepreneurship hub, IdeasLab.
Through the support of Trust, the scholarship will run for an initial 10-year period. First-year undergraduate students at University of Galway can apply for a scholarship valued at up to €9,000 for the duration of their studies at the University.
President of University of Galway, Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, said:
“We welcome our new partnership with the Liffey Trust. A key strength of NUI Galway is our partnership with business, industry, government and civic society to nurture graduates that are civic, innovative and entrepreneurial. The scholarship will sow the seeds to further enhance and support our vision for innovation, excellence and entrepreneurship in the region.”
University College Cork
The Liffey Trust is very proud to announce a new donation agreement with University College Cork.
The Dr. Séamus McDermott Entrepreneurial Scholarship at UCC will be awarded annually to ten first-year students, worth up to €9,000 in total per individual, and disbursed in equal sums over a maximum period of three years per recipient. One of the 10 scholarships will be awarded each year.
The Dr. Séamus McDermott Entrepreneurial Scholarship is open to all UCC registered students in the first year of their undergraduate studies.
