Two students have been awarded bursaries to undertake postgraduate studies in organic agriculture at SETU’s Cork Road Campus in Waterford.

Liam Gilligan from Co. Sligo and James Conway from Co. Cavan have been named as the recipients of the 2026 Organic Trust Bursary Awards.

1 Organic Trust Bursary awards 1
Yvonne Grace, Programme Leader – Organic Horticulture, Stephen Connolly, Organic Trust – Chief Executive Officer, James Conway, Bursary Award winner, Eleanor Kent, Head of Department of Land Sciences, Liam Gilligan, Bursary Award winner, Chloe Egan, Organic Trust – Member Relations Co-ordinator, and John Geraghty, Programme Leader – Organic Agriculture pictured at the announcement of the new bursary at SETU’s Cork Road Campus in Waterford.

The scheme supports students pursuing postgraduate studies in organic agriculture and related disciplines through SETU’s Department of Land Sciences.

Mr. Gilligan works on his family’s organic farm on Coney Island and completed a degree in Agriculture at ATU Donegal last year.

Mr. Conway is involved in organic suckler beef and arable farming on his family farm in Cavan, including growing oats under contract for Flahavan’s in Kilmacthomas.

He said he hopes to use his MSc in Organic and Biological Agriculture to further develop his own organic enterprises and explore how similar approaches could support farms elsewhere.

Eleanor Kent, Head of the Department of Land Sciences at SETU, said the organic postgraduate programme has continued to grow in recent years.

She credited support from organisations across the organic sector with helping to develop education and training in the area.

The bursaries were announced at SETU’s Cork Road Campus in Waterford.