Three lucky students will each receive €3,000 every year towards their college fees.
The Colm Church Scholarship is now closed.
To celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the founding of St. Raphael’s Garda Credit Union, we are delighted to announce the introduction of the Colm Church Scholarship Scheme in memory of our former Chair, Colm Church who passed away suddenly last year.
We were blown away by the significant number of applications received, and the standards were incredibly high.
We have selected 10 finalists. Each of our finalists will receive an Apple Macbook Air Laptop to the value of €1,500 and 3 of our finalists will be chosen to receive €3,000 per annum to support their educational journey.
Ava Dempsey
Clane, Co Kildare
Ava is a first year student studying Psychology in University College Dublin.
She received an academic excellence award from her school and the UCD Entrance Scholar Award for outstanding achievement in her Leaving Certificate. A fluent Irish Speaker, she is a member of An Cumann Gaelach. She’s involved in swimming from a young age and received certification as a Lifeguard & Cardiac First Responder in 2022. In her spare time, Ava works as a volunteer with the Samaritans.
Dominic Hayes
Donaskeigh, Co. Tipperary
Dominic is the youngest of three children and is in third year studying Pharmacy in University College Cork.
A Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patient, he has had to balance medical demands with his education all his life and has done lots of charity work for Cystic Fibrosis Ireland and TLC4CF.
In his spare time Dominic likes to train in the gym, do MMA and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Hannah Drea
Tullamore, Co. Offaly
Hannah is a fourth year student studying Medicine in the Medical University of Lodz, Poland.
She spent her whole life dreaming of becoming a doctor and repeated her Leaving Certificate and HPAT to fulfil her dream. This involved taking the huge step of moving to Poland and adapting to life abroad. Music and sport are a big part of Hannah’s life, from playing the guitar and singing, to football, camogie and swimming. She has represented her county and club, Ballinamere Durrow GAA, winning several underage county finals.