DCU Graduate named Handballer of the Year

DCU graduate Dr. Eoin Kennedy has been named as Vodafone GAA Handballer of the year for 2007. This is Eoin's fourth All Star award, having previously been awarded the honour in 2002, 2004 and 2005. The award was presented by the President of the Irish Handball Council Tom Walsh at a reception in Dublin's Westbury Hotel.

This marks yet another year of success for the St. Brigid's Clubman, who collected a Grand Slam of titles, taking the All-Ireland 60x30 Singles and Doubles crowns, in addition to Hardball Singles and Doubles honours. Eoin is only the third player ever to manage this feat.

Eoin's list of achievements is phenomenol. As well as more than a dozen Irish senior handball titles, he has won World, United States and Canadian championships. He has led Ireland against the basque country under compromise rules, and in 2007 was the catalyst to Ireland's victory over the US in the Casey/Lawlor Cup.

Eoin has managed to combine these athletic feats with academic and professional excellence. After graduating with a BEng in Electronic Engineering, Eoin went on to pursue doctoral research in the School of Electronic Engineering at DCU. Under the supervision of Dr. Marissa Condon, he graduated with a PhD in 2005. The lecturing experience and research portfolio which Eoin had built up during his time at DCU helped him to secure a lecturing post in NUI Maynooth, where he has worked since completing his PhD. At the end of this month, Eoin will begin his new role as Power System Analyst within the Generation Analysis group in Eirgrid. This post will involve forecasting and planning for Ireland's future electricity needs.