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The Ortus Group proudly supporting West Belfast Students at this year's Aisling Bursaries.
On Tuesday, 10th September 2019, Gerry McConville, chairperson of the West Belfast Partnership Board gave a warm welcome to a packed audience at St Mary’s University College, where the Twentieth Annual Aisling Bursary Awards Ceremony took place. This year, a total of forty-four local people received bursaries. Gerry welcomed the Aisling Bursary sponsors and acknowledged the local businesses, organisations and families who made an annual commitment to the Bursaries.
He also gave a warm welcome and thanks to the friends, families and contributors of some new Aisling Bursaries that were announced:
I would like to thank our new sponsors: Ryan Quinn of Driver Theory Belfast and Brassneck Theatre Company. Brassneck added a bursary in memory of one of their actors, Marc O’Shea, who sadly passed away and whose families have campaigned tirelessly for better mental health services to prevent suicide. Marc’s brother Joe presented the Marc O’Shea Bursary on his behalf. Lisa Henry from Upper Andersonstown Community Forum (Tullymore Community Centre) is also here to present a new bursary in memory of Tish Holland, former director of Tullymore, who passed away last year. Many of you in the audience know Tish, who was a tireless community worker in West Belfast. She is very much missed by those who knew and worked with her, and we are delighted, as Tish would be too, that an Aisling Bursary in her memory is being presented here tonight.
Before introducing the keynote speakers—Paul Maskey MP and Cllr John Finucane, lord mayor of Belfast—Gerry gave a short background to the Aisling Bursaries: why the West Belfast Partnership Board and sponsors are involved, and what they hope to achieve:
This year, we celebrate twenty years of the Aisling Bursaries. Local businesses, families and organisations give £1,000 or £500 back to the community in the form of an Aisling Bursary. This, quite simply, enables people from the west of the city to undertake further and higher education or a vocational qualification to fulfill their life ambitions for work and a career. All the funds donated go directly to the recipients.
West Belfast Partnership is a partnership between the community, statutory agencies, elected representatives and the business sector, which are committed to working collaboratively to contribute to real, positive change in the west of the city.
We believe in putting education at the heart of regeneration: helping people to gain the skills and competencies that a modern economy needs is an essential precursor to our own local economic and social regeneration. This is what is at the core of the Aisling Bursaries.
I want to extend a very special, warm welcome to all our Aisling Bursary sponsors: many of you are familiar faces who have supported this initiative for twenty years. You are the people who make this Bursary scheme possible year on year. We very much appreciate your continued support and recognise the value that you put on education and the regeneration of West Belfast through your contributions each year.
Now to the lucky recipients of the Aisling Bursaries 2019. Tonight is your night and we are very proud to be able to help you with your chosen path of study.
Gerry gave special thanks to independent judges Eilish Rooney and Monica Culbert, for their hard work over the last twenty years in reading and assessing every application, and to St Mary’s University College for hosting the special night.
At the presentation, forty-four students were awarded Aisling Bursaries from a total of £29,500 donated. Since the Aisling Bursaries began in 2000, a total of £665k has been donated, providing assistance to 807 students.
Conall Finnegan received an Aisling Bursary for his course of BA(Hons) Liberal Arts with Irish
Lord Mayor John Finucane spoke at the awards ceremony
Paul Maskey MP at the ceremony
Aisling Awards assisting local families
Celebrating the Aisling Bursaries |
