Kildare students receive prestigious Trinity awards
Neala Kelly of Naas Community College
A TOTAL of 29 students from Kildare have received prestigious Entrance Exhibition awards from Trinity College Dublin in recognition of outstanding performances in their final school examinations.
A total of 602 first-year students from all 32 counties of Ireland and overseas have received Entrance Awards from Trinity this year.
The Kildare students are: Zoe Hughes, Leinster Senior College; Eoin Doyle, and Euan Brendan Handley, Salesian Secondary School; Samuel Collins, Dominican College; Sean Keogh, Patrician Day College; Katie Marie Long, Mean Scoil an Teaghlaigh Naofa; Ishita Gautam, Scoil Dara; James Cornally, St Paul’s Secondary School; Shane Whelan and Fionn Lardner, Meán Scoil Iognáid Rís; Hugh O’Sullivan-Sexton and Oluwatobi Baruwa, Clongowes Wood College; Emily Drennan and Niamh O’Carroll, Colaiste Naomh Mhuire; Sean Keiley, Gaelcolaiste Chill Dara; Mariam Al-Azraa Shami, Athy Community College; Mahzala Shah, Confey Community College; Timothy Murphy, Maynooth Post Primary School; Rynz Melle Bazar, Piper’s Hill College; Libby Fallon and Michelle Finnegan, Vocational School; Neala Kelly, Naas Community College; Kurians Biju, Colaiste Chiarain; Hannah Foley-Wollmer, Erin Lenihan, and Lucy Anna Keville, Community School; Heather Robyn Hanlon and James Carolan, Kildare Town Community School;Caoimhe Doyle, Celbridge Community School.
The students and their former school principals were invited to receive and celebrate their awards at ceremonies in Trinity’s Examination Hall from January 20-22, 2026.
There are 59 students receiving awards from 39 countries outside Ireland.
Of the Irish awardees, 393 are from schools in Leinster, 67 are from Munster, 42 from Connacht and 41 from Ulster.
The awards go to students accepted into the first year of a full-time undergraduate degree who achieve the highest points among Trinity entrants from their secondary school, above a minimum of 500 CAO points (or equivalent).
When more than one student from a school gets the same high points, all receive an award.
Many former awardees have gone on to make a significant contribution to the economic, cultural, and political life of Ireland and beyond.
Past exhibitioners include former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
Awardees receive a certificate and a €150 book token.
