From academic researchers to champion athletes, the vibrant UL campus is fuelled by dedicated staff who work to support, educate, and inspire students. Among them, is the catering team, also known as the ‘Pink ladies’ who go above and beyond with their food service.
Meet the 'Pink Ladies' Catering Team
Everyone loves an ‘Irish Mammy’ and the ‘Pink Ladies’ are your typical example, with their genuine kindness and care, customers often say “spend time with the girls, and it will lift your spirits”. The ‘Pink Ladies’ are the uncelebrated yet essential heroes of the UL community. They provide a home from home atmosphere for the students. They truly care about the community they serve and it is apparent in the time they take to greet, recognise, comfort and support students on a daily basis.
The ‘Pink ladies’ run the Library café and have earned their title as a result of their pink top uniform. They are among the most cited members of the UL Community on social media as much loved maternal figures, particularly to any stressed students taking a break from studying in the library, they spread happiness and encouragement, saying things like “You’ve got this guys!”
Meet Mark McDonagh, student and champion jockey
Mark McDonagh is a sports scholar who passionately pursues a career in horse racing while simultaneously dedicating himself to his studies in Finance and Accountancy at University of Limerick. Beyond the lecture hall, he finds exhilaration on the racetrack, showcasing his skills as a talented jockey. At only 19 years of age Mark was partnered with his first winner, the Eric McNamara-trained Blackjack Boy, on the opening day of the Listowel Festival in 2020. His first big winner came in the shape of the Sean O’Brien-trained Nell’s Well in the Grade 3 Singletons Supervalu Stayers Novice Hurdle in 2021.
We meet Mark as he balances the reins of university life and the fast-paced world of horse racing.
Meet Rosie and J.J from the Immersive Software Engineering Course
The Immersive Software Engineering (ISE) programme is an integrated undergraduate and master’s degree programme which is redefining computer science education. To develop the program University of Limerick teamed up with a host of leading technology companies such as Stripe, Zalando, Intercom, Shopify and many more. It is a flagship course for UL and has been hailed by Stripe co-founder John Collison as being the “best computer science programme in Europe”.
In the series student Rosie Kennelly takes us through this innovative programme, and lecturer J.J Collins explains what ‘learning by doing’ really means. From fellowships, portfolio creation and residencies, students in this course will get a master’s degree in four years. Students spend half their time completing paid residencies with top companies. Inside these companies students get to be a part of real, professional teams, solving problems as a developer. The goal is to turn curious, creative people into top-notch problem solvers and software engineers.
About UL
Limerick is located on the west coast of Ireland with almost 50% of the population under the age of 30, University of Limerick (UL) is a popular choice for national and international students. UL offers more than 70 undergraduate programmes and 100 taught postgraduate programmes to over 18,000 students.
Known as ‘Ireland’s Sporting Campus’, UL’s 3G pitches are the largest artificial grass development in Europe and the Sports Arena attracts more than 600,000 visitors each year. While UL students excel at many sports, including horse racing, there is a lot more that this university offers.
With strong links to business and industry, UL excels at translational research which aims to accelerate the practical application of academic research to benefit society. UL pioneered the concept of Cooperative Education in Ireland, placing more than 2000 students in paid and semi-paid work placements annually across UL’s network of more than 1700 employers spanning twenty-five countries.