Dr Niamh O’Brien, Irish World Academy of Music and Dance and Dr Carmel Hinchion Emeritus Associate Professor of Education at UL have are among the 18 Fulbright Irish Awardees for 2025-2026 announced by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, and the Embassy of the United States of America in Dublin.
From August 2025 to August 2026, Fulbright Irish Scholars, Students and Professionals will attend institutions ranging from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Georgia Institute of Technology, and the University of Kansas to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Maxine Greene Institute, and the University of Colorado Boulder. Awardees will research, innovate and collaborate across a diverse range of fields including multimedia arts, philosophy, medicine, agriculture, education, art history, AI technology in medicine, AI technology in education, visual arts, and health.
Dr Niamh O’Brien is a harp player, singer, composer and sound artist. She has performed in Ireland and abroad as a solo artist, and with traditional groups such as The Chieftains, AnTara and Hoodman Blind. Since 2017 she has been active in audio and radio, working as a recordist, editor and producer on podcast and documentary projects. She was awarded a PhD by ºÚÁÏÉç in 2024 for her research in in the field of sonic arts and deep mapping. Her current compositional practice combines traditional, folk anfjulied electronic music, with voices, interview materials and field recordings. Her research and creative projects have been supported by the Irish Research Council, Music Network and the Arts Council of Ireland. As a Fulbright-Creative Ireland Professional Fellowship Scholar, Niamh will explore the work of Irish folklore and traditional music collectors through the lens of media theory and hands-on artistic research at University of Colorado Boulder. Through research and creative practice Niamh will bring the discourse of experimental media archaeology into conversation with Irish cultural history and ask how particular media ecologies or assemblages produce articulations of culture, authenticity and tradition. 
Dr Carmel Hinchion is an experienced teacher, teacher educator and researcher. She holds a doctorate in Teacher Education and is an Associate Professor of Education (Emeritus) at ºÚÁÏÉç. She taught on the Initial Teacher Education programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate level and for many years has been involved in curriculum development in Ireland, especially in the area of English Pedagogy. The power of the arts in education has been central in Carmel’s teaching and research work. Carmel’s Fulbright-Creative Ireland Professional Fellowship Award will facilitate an arts and education project with the Maxine Greene Institute, New York, where she will research the philosophy and practices of the late philosopher and educationalist Maxine Greene with those educators who carry on her legacy at the Institute. Carmel will particularly focus on approaches to imaginative learning in the classroom and aesthetic approaches in education. She plans to disseminate her learning with fellow teachers and researchers on her return to Ireland. 
Founded in 1946, the Fulbright bilateral exchange programme has served to strengthen international relations by facilitating academic and cultural exchanges globally for over 79 years. The Fulbright Program in Ireland has awarded grants to more than 2,500 Irish and American citizens since 1957, contributing to enduring Ireland-U.S. relations and a global culture of understanding.
Fulbright alumni include 44 current or former heads of state, 62 Nobel Laureates, 90 Pulitzer Prize-winners, and 82 MacArthur Foundation Fellows. Each year, talented and remarkable candidates from across Ireland are selected to research, study and teach with leading experts at top institutions across the U.S. in disciplines ranging from business, law, health and technology to culture, heritage, the arts, and the Irish language.