Niall O’Regan from Ballyviniter, Mallow has been awarded one of the prestigious Nuffield Scholarships 2017. The highly prized scholarships are awarded by the Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust and scholars are chosen from all over the world. They are chosen based on their passion, expertise and ability to effect change in agricultural practices. In choosing the Irish Nuffield scholars of 2017, a rigorous application and interview process reduced a field of 32 applicants to 6, each of whom have received bursaries to study their chosen subject. In securing the scholarship, Niall hopes to achieve the mission of the trust which is to enable Irish agriculture, farming and food to be the best in the world, by developing effective leaders and promoting positive change.
Niall, a dairy farmer and former county manager of LIC, is also active in his local Macra club, Awbeg Macra. He has won numerous debating awards and accolades and is also a coach for debating and public speaking. He served as club treasurer from 2014-2016. Currently, he and the rest of the 2015/2016 committee are competing in the Club of the Year competition. Awbeg has succeeded in reaching the top 6 clubs in the country and the winner will be announced at the National Conference in Limerick on the October Bank Holiday weekend. And as if he wasn’t busy enough, he’s off to climb Kilimanjaro in October. Avondhu Macra wish Niall the best of luck in his studies and travels over the coming months as he pursues his scholarship.