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Almost 5,000 students to graduate from UCC in virtual ceremonies

18 Nov 2020

An Taoiseach Micheál Martin, a UCC alumnus, addressed the University College Cork Class of 2020

Almost 5,000 students will graduate from University College Cork this week in a series of virtual conferring ceremonies.

26 dedicated ceremonies are being livestreamed across the university’s website. Covering ceremonies across all four Colleges and Adult Continuing Education, this year’s Autumn Conferrings will run from Wednesday, November 18 to Tuesday, November 24.

Among those being conferred this week is Chrisdina O’Neill, a Professional Master of Education graduand who features in My Uni Life, a five-part documentary collaboration between RTÉ and the Irish Universities Association.

Chrisdina – who is from the Traveller community, and is the first member of her family to attend university – entered UCC through its Access programme, which supports students taking different routes into third level education.

An Taoiseach Micheál Martin, TD – himself, a UCC alumnus – will be the guest speaker, delivering what will be his first conferring address for an Irish university. The Taoiseach who graduated from UCC in 1981 (BA), spoke about proposing to his wife, Mary, in the President’s Garden.

Interim President Professor John O’Halloran congratulated the UCC Class of 2020, applauding them and their families for their resilience and dedication.

“No one could have predicted what your final year at UCC would have looked like. I think completing a degree at any time is difficult; at this time, it was incredibly difficult – but you have endured,” he said.

“You have persisted through these times and achieved something remarkable. Your resilience, your hard work and your commitment have brought you to this special moment today.”

The UCC Autumn Conferrings will be livestreamed through the UCC website, and each ceremony can be accessed through this link.