Girl Power: University College Cork’s Annual Alumni Awards

Several outstanding University College Cork graduates were recently honored at the university’s annual alumni awards in November, including the first visually-impaired athlete to complete seven marathons on seven continents in seven days.
UCC law alumna Sinead Kane (above right), who qualified as Ireland’s first legally blind solicitor in 2009, was among those honored. Kane, who recently completed the World Marathon Challenge, led an effort to secure visually impaired legal professionals equal opportunities in court that resulted in the introduction of legislation in 2008 allowing for visually impaired persons appearing before a court to have an assistant. Also honored were (l-r) Ruth Buckley, deputy chief executive and head of ICT and business services for Cork City Council; Gillian Keating, a partner in Ronan Daly Jermyn Solicitors; and Caroline O’Driscoll, a tax partner with KPMG Cork, the founders of I WISH, an initiative to inspire female secondary school students to consider STEM careers. They said, “we cannot tolerate a system which delivers lesser outcomes for women than for men.” ♦