Helen Ryans Collins Memorial Scholarship in Irish Studies

Named to honor an Irish-American woman with roots in the Dingle Peninsula (Corca Dhuibhne) in Ireland’s southwestern county of Kerry, the Helen Ryan Collins Memorial scholarship provides $1,000 per award. The late Helen Ryan Collins believed in American opportunity and the values of hard work and loyalty to one’s heritage. The award named for her seeks to assist students whose course of study fulfills two requirements: (1) It features significant Irish and/or Irish-American content; (2) It would be enhanced by financial support.

If a student believes that she or he is eligible, the application may be made at any point during the Georgia Southern career, from the freshman year to the senior year—and during graduate school. Applications are accepted from all eligible students, regardless of major or concentration.

Helen Ryan Collins was a strong woman. Upon losing her parents as a teenager, she raised her younger brother. Widowed at only 21, when her husband passed due to service in World War II, she successfully raised her son, despite challenging economic circumstances. In her forties, she realized a long-held dream of earning a college degree, which she subsequently used to build a fruitful career as an investigator and mediator with the State of New York.

Throughout her long life (1926-2015), Helen Ryan Collins loved and honored both the United States and Ireland. She taught her son to cherish the uniqueness and worth of his Irish patrimony. In addition, she took her grandchildren to Ireland to experience firsthand the country in general, but especially her ancestral region of Mount Brandon on the Dingle Peninsula. A spectacular peak, the mountain is named for the local saint, Brendan the Navigator, whose sixth-century voyage to the Isle of the Blessed—thought by some to be America—seems a fitting metaphor for the boldness and the desire to discover that, year after year, our Irish Studies students manifest. The Collins family and its friends are making the dreams of deserving students substantially more possible, and we’re hugely grateful.

Application Procedure 

To apply for scholarships, please log in to MyGeorgiaSouthern. From there you will find the MyScholarships (Scholarships Application Portal) choice in the services section of the page. Simply click on MyScholarships and you will be taken to the online portal. Fill out the initial “General Application” completely. You will then be taken to a “Conditional Application” based on your status as a student. Please answer all questions in order to be considered for any scholarships that you qualify for. Refer to Frequently Asked Questions for more detailed instructions. 

Application Deadline: February 15

Last updated: 12/23/2016