Award for Mayo's John Prenty for contribution to sport
MAYO man John Prenty is among the distinguished recipients of NUI Galway's 2021 Alumni Awards.
He has been awarded the Alumni Award for Contribution to Sport by the university, with seven former students recognised for their individual excellence and achievements.
Said president of NUI Galway, Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh: “At NUI Galway, we are a university for the public good, with a shared vision, shaped by our values. For 175 years our university has educated graduates of the highest calibre who have gone on to have significant impact in their field of endeavour in Ireland and internationally.”
Due to the pandemic, the awards have been presented to this year’s recipients. NUI Galway will invite them back to their alma mater to mark the award in 2022.
A native of Ballyhaunis, John Prenty graduated with a BA in 1974 and HDip in Education in 1975. In 1978 he became chairman of Ballyhaunis GAA Club, followed by secretary of Mayo GAA Board and became the first full-time secretary/CEO of Connacht GAA Council in 1995.
His current role oversees all GAA activities in the five counties of Connacht and its complement of 210 constituent clubs.
He is responsible for the development of Gaelic Games in the province as well as in the area of the twinning partners in New York, London and Asia.
First introduced in 2001 the NUI Galway Alumni Awards recognise individual excellence and achievements among the university’s more than 120,000 graduates. They boast an impressive roll call of more than 100 outstanding alumni who have gone on to make an impact in their chosen field, and in so doing honour their alma mater.
Among the distinguished honorees are President Michael D. Higgins, Olympian Olive Loughnane, rugby great Ciarán FitzGerald, Tony Award-winning actor Marie Mullen, former Attorney General Máire Whelan, Aedhmar Hynes, former CEO of Text 100, and Adrian Jones of Goldman Sachs.
The 2022 Alumni Awards are now open for nominations. To make a nomination visit https://www.nuigalway.ie/alumni-friends/alumniawards/ or email alumni@nuigalway.ie.