Derry-born educators Caitlin Harkin and Professor Peter Ferry bound for United States as Fulbright awardees
Derry-born educators Caitlin Harkin and Professor Peter Ferry have received prestigious Fulbright Awards at a ceremony in Iveagh House in Dublin and are bound for the United State.
The prestigious awards were presented jointly by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the US Embassy in Dublin.
Ms. Harkin completed her Post Graduate Certificate in Education in Irish at Queen’s and has been working as a teacher in Irish Medium Education for the past four years.
She has worked at Gaelscoil Éadain Mhóir and Gaelscoil Neachtain and is currently working as a secondary school teacher in Gaelcholáiste Dhoire.
As a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistants (FLTA) awardee, Caitlin will teach Irish at The College of Our Lady of the Elms, Chicopee, Massachusetts.
Prof. Peter Ferry is Professor of English Literature at the University of Stavanger, Norway, where he specializes in American Literature and the Critical Study of Men and Masculinities.
He is the author of Beards and Masculinity in American Literature (Routledge, 2020) and Masculinity in Contemporary New York Fiction (Routledge, 2015), as well as several academic articles and book chapters on representations of men and masculinities in literature.
In 2025-26, he was a Visiting International Scholar at the Humanities Institute in University College Dublin, Ireland, where he began work on his current monograph – Empathy and Masculinity in the Fiction of George Saunders (Routledge 2027).
As a Fulbright Scholar at Ohio State University, he will join the world-leading Project Narrative research group to continue his research and writing on George Saunders while also advancing his own research group: Understanding MEN: Masculinity, Empathy, Narrative.
Managed by the Ireland-US Commission for Educational Exchange since 1957, the Fulbright bilateral exchange programme aims to strengthen the special relationship between the US and Ireland.
Minister for Health, Dr. Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD, said: “I warmly congratulate the 2026-27 Fulbright Irish Awardees on this significant achievement. Fulbright awardees exemplify the best of academic traditions and cultural exchange.
"The contribution of Fulbright scholars to public health and medical research has been significant, fostering innovation and collaboration for the benefit of communities on both sides of the Atlantic.”
US Ambassador to Ireland, Edward S. Walsh, said: “As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, we look toward the future we want to create for the next generation and beyond.
"The Fulbright Program plays an important role in strengthening the close and special relationship shared by the US and Ireland. Fulbright awardees are committed to cultural exchange, academic excellence and innovative research in pursuit of finding solutions to global issues. I am delighted to extend my warmest congratulations to the 2026-27 Fulbright Irish Awardees on their success.”
Chair of the Ireland-US Commission for Educational Exchange Board, Professor Derek O’Keeffe, said: “As Chair of the Commission Board, I am delighted to congratulate the 2026-27 Fulbright Irish Awardee recipients as we celebrate the 80 th anniversary of the prestigious Fulbright Program.”
Executive Director of the Ireland-US Commission for Educational Exchange, Dr Dara FitzGerald, said: “I am delighted to congratulate the 2026-27 Fulbright Irish Awardees on the distinct accolade of becoming a Fulbright Irish Awardee. Fulbright recipients join a thriving global network of Fulbright alumni, those experts, peers, colleagues and friends who are at the pinnacle of success in their fields across all disciplines.”