Clodagh Walsh, a third-year marketing student at MTU (Munster Technological University), has been named as Cork City Sports Athletic Person of the Month for June 2021. Last month, Walsh, a 21-year-old pole-vaulter from Mallow, jumped a season’s best of 3.45 metres to claim gold in the women’s pole vault at the 149th consecutive Irish Life Health National Athletics Championships. In addition to being the first female student at MTU to win a national senior outdoor track and field title, Walsh’s achievements to date include Intervarsity Indoor Pole Vault Champion, Celtic International Colleges Pole Vault Champion, Cork City international Sports Pole Vault Champion (PB 3.70m) and Intervarsity Outdoor Pole Vault Champion.
As an MTU Sports Scholarship recipient for the past three years, Walsh appreciates the ongoing support she receives: “I am very grateful to everyone at MTU for helping me to achieve this success. Last year, when I found myself in a position where I had no equipment, the university stepped in and helped me to purchase the right equipment so that I could continue my sporting journey and compete successfully at national and international level.”
Walsh is an MTU Ambassador for 20×20 Women in Sport, an initiative set up in 2018 by the Federation of Irish Sport with the aim of creating a cultural shift in Ireland so that women in sport are seen as strong, valuable, and worth celebrating. “MTU has a strong tradition of supporting women in sport, and I am thrilled to be the first female student at MTU to win a national senior outdoor track and field title. For me, 20×20 is a way to give back. Anything I can do that helps support younger girls coming through, I am delighted to be involved in,” she says.
Craig Harrington, Athletics Development Officer at MTU praised Clodagh’s achievements as well as her generous support for younger athletes coming up through the ranks, saying: “Over the past three years, Clodagh has been one of the most successful athletes our university has ever seen, winning many national and international titles while wearing the ‘red and white’ colours. As an active member of the MTU Athletics Club, Clodagh organises the gear for our student athletes and always puts her hand up to coach juvenile athletes from all over Cork. All of us in MTU are extremely proud of Clodagh and look forward to supporting her in achieving even greater success into the future.”
MTU is a university with a strong sporting tradition, boasting some of the finest facilities in Ireland. In June 2020, construction commenced on a €22 million MTU Arena in Cork which will be another major boost to MTU’s sports facilities, and which will include a large multi-function hall incorporating two basketball courts with seating for an audience of 400 people, a gym and studio rooms. Half of the new sports arena will be dedicated to the sport of athletics, with Athletics Ireland helping to fund it.
To underline its commit-ment to sport, MTU annually awards sports scholarships for a wide range of sports. The scholarships, many of which are sponsored by external stakeholders such as Munster GAA, Kerry GAA, Tralee Rugby Club and Kennedy Coaches, range in value from €500 to €1,500. MTU recognises talented sports people from a wide variety of sports including athletics, basketball, boxing, camogie, GAA, golf, handball, hockey, ladies’ football, orienteering, powerlifting, sailing, and soccer. Scholarship benefits include access to all MTU sports facilities including the elite gym and weights room, sports education talks and workshops, and a men-toring support network. These scholarships provide valuable assistance to students in their quest for sporting excellence.
Further information on how to apply for an MTU sports scholarship is available on the MTU website at: http://www.mycit.ie/sport.bursaryprogramme.