Galway Senior Hurler, Eoin Lawless has been announced as a recipient of the 2025 Mary Immaculate College (MIC) Gaelic Players Association (GPA) Scholarship.
First introduced in 2021, the scholarship is open to GPA members who secure a place on one of MIC’s postgraduate programmes in education or the liberal arts. Under the scheme, MIC and the GPA each fund half of the programme’s fees, giving recipients access to fee waivers worth up to €5,000 per year.
Eoin, now in his second year of the PME—Primary Teaching programme at MIC, receives the scholarship for the second consecutive year. A University of Galway graduate, he made his senior debut with the Galway hurlers in 2023 after standout performances at underage level, winning back-to-back All-Ireland Minor titles in 2018 and 2019 and earning a place on the Minor Team of the Year. He also featured on the University of Galway Fitzgibbon Cup team that reached consecutive finals in 2022 and 2023 and was named on the Electric Ireland GAA Higher Education Rising Stars Team of the Year in both 2023 and 2024. At club level, he lines out with St. Mary’s, with whom he won the Galway Senior B Hurling Championship in 2024 and the Galway U21 A title in 2019. Earlier in his career, he represented Presentation College, Athenry, helping them to back-to-back Connacht Colleges Senior A Hurling Championship titles.
Eoin was delighted to receive the scholarship for 2025, saying:
“Being awarded the MIC–GPA scholarship for a second year means a lot. The support makes a real difference when you’re trying to balance a busy PME schedule with the demands of intercounty hurling. It takes some of the pressure off and lets you focus on performing well in both areas. I’m proud to represent MIC again this year and grateful for the backing that allows me to keep pushing on academically and on the pitch."
Eoin is one of two who have become ‘MIC GPA Scholars’ and will act as ambassadors within MIC’s sporting community, and will play a key role in supporting Gaelic Games at MIC.
The other is Waterford Ladies Footballer, Aoife Brazil. Aoife is a First Year Professional Master of Education (PME) - Primary Teaching student, having graduated from MIC with a Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Care and Education degree. Aoife plays Gaelic Football with the Waterford senior ladies’ team and her hometown club, Stradbally. Having played the sport from a young age, she has represented Waterford in multiple underage Munster finals and featured in the 2017 All-Ireland U16 final. During her time at MIC, Aoife received the HEC Rising Star Awards in 2024 and was part of the College team that captured the AIG Giles Cup title in March 2025. Gaelic football has always been a central part of her life, and she continues to proudly represent her club and county at senior level.
Speaking about the announcement, Aoife said:
“I’m absolutely delighted to receive this scholarship. It’s a huge honour, and it means a lot to be recognised within the college community. You dedicate so much time and commitment to sport, so receiving this support is incredibly encouraging. This scholarship will be of huge benefit to me, both personally and financially. It will allow me to focus fully on my training and academic work and help me to perform to the best of my ability both on the pitch and in the classroom.”
Professor Niamh Hourigan, Vice President of Academic Affairs at MIC, said:
“We are delighted, once again, to partner with GPA on these postgraduate scholarships, offering GPA athletes the opportunity to further their academic journey at MIC, whilst continuing to pursue their sporting career. MIC has a long sporting tradition, with sport and recreation playing an important role in the lives of our students. The MIC GPA Scholarships are a great addition to our suite of awards available. I wish Eoin the very best in their academic and sporting endeavours over the coming year.”
Sinéad Wylde, GPA Player Programme Co-ordinator congratulated this year’s recipients saying:
“We warmly congratulate Eoin Lawless and Aoife Brazil as they are awarded with the enhanced GPA MIC enhanced scholarship award for 2025/2026.”
Applications for the 2026 MIC GPA Sports Scholarship scheme are now open until 24 July.
Interested applicants can inquire about the scheme and make their initial scholarship application by submitting their CV and cover letter to [email protected].
For further information on the MIC GPA Scholarship scheme and other MIC scholarships, please see www.mic.ie/scholarships.
