New bursary in memory of Lyra McKee

Aptly named after the late Lyra McKee, the Press Council of Ireland is to enter a partnership with 4 leading Irish universities to launch a new annual bursary to assist a student to pay the fees for a Master’s Degree in Journalism.

Named after the brilliant young journalist who was shot dead while observing riots in Derry in 2019, Lyra McKee’s family has welcomed the initiative.

The Lyra McKee Bursary is worth €3,000, half of which will be paid by the Press Council and half by whichever of the universities the student is to attend.

The participating universities are the University of Limerick, University of Galway, the Technological University Dublin and Dublin City University.

The bursary will be awarded to a student who has already been offered a place and will go directly towards paying their fees.

The Press Ombudsman Susan McKay said the Lyra McKee Bursary was targeted at students who might not be able to afford to do a postgraduate degree without support.

She said: “Lyra was keenly aware of the struggles faced by students from working class backgrounds, and she was passionate about promoting diversity and inclusivity in higher education and in the media.”

Ms McKay continued: “Ireland has become a diverse country and our press needs to become more reflective of this. We see this bursary as a signal of our intention to support such change.”

The Chair of the Press Council Rory Montgomery said the Press Council was looking forward to the partnership.

He explained: “The Press Council of Ireland promotes the highest standards in Irish journalism, and these 4 universities are offering 1st class courses for students who are serious about embarking on a journalistic career.

“We are delighted that the 4 universities have joined with us in launching this exciting initiative in memory of Lyra McKee, whose own career was so tragically cut short,” Mr Montgomery concluded.

Details of the Lyra McKee Bursary can be found at the Press Council’s website presscouncil.ie.