This year's top performing Leaving Certificate student has criticised the Government for not funding the £30,000 cost of her four-year master's degree at Oxford University. A pharmaceutical company has agreed to provide the money for her tuition.
Ms Aodhnait Ni Fhathaigh (18), from Cork, said the Government had done nothing to recognise her achievement in getting nine A1s, which she said was the highest result ever achieved in the exam.
"I might as well have got nine Ds for all the acknowledgement I received from them. I got the same yellow slip as everyone else, for the best Leaving Certificate result ever, it's a bit unreasonable," she said. The Government had not responded to appeals for funding before the results were announced, she added.
Her four-year degree in biochemistry is being paid for by Elan Corporation, which is also providing Ms Mary Martin, its vice-president for strategic research and development planning, as her mentor during her studies at Oxford.
Mr Brian Crotty, Elan's vice-president, said he hoped Ms Ni Fhathaigh would work with Elan in the future, but the sponsorship had "no strings attached".
The student's mother, Roseanne, a teacher, said that while there were "plenty of good courses she could do in Cork" she believed Aodhnait would be happier in Oxford where there would be four in her class and she would get a master's within four years.
Ms Ni Fhathaigh said she realised only six subjects were needed for entry to third level but she decided to take music and applied maths because "I just found it interesting".
After finishing at Oxford, Ms Ni Fhathaigh intends to devote her attention to genetics and pharmacology and ways to combat disease. She begins studying there in a fortnight.