Conor Hammersley is a Teagasc Walsh Scholar based in the National Center for Men’s Mental Health, South East Technological University. Conor will study at Columbia-Bassett Medical School in New York, comparing and contrasting the evolving socio-cultural and economic issues that American farmers confront in with their health with those faced by Irish farmers. Conor was one of forty students presented with the Fulbright Irish Scholar Awards on Friday, 10 June 2022 in Iveagh House, St Stephen’s Green, Dublin.
Conor’s studies will focus on the environments surrounding farmers that can contribute to effects on their mental health as he believes that it is not talked about enough, "We need to look at mental health not just as a personal problem, but how it is shaped at a social, cultural and even an economic level - and we need to adapt interventions of support in accordance with this – in conjunction with medical and psychological practices."
The Fulbright Irish Scholar Awards are grants for Irish nationals or EU citizens who have lived in the Republic of Ireland for 5 years or more to research, study, or lecture in the USA from 3 to 12 months. It also provides the same opportunity to American citizens to conduct their studies in EU countries.
Conor has received amazing support from family, friends, and his supervisors in South East Technological University (SETU), “I could not have conducted this research without the fantastic support I received here at SETU and from all my friends and family back home in Tipp. I would like to thank Dr Noel Richardson, National Centre for Men's Health, SETU, Dr Paula Carroll, Centre or Health Behaviour Research, SETU, Dr David Meredith, Rural Economy and Development Programme, Teagasc, and Dr John McNamara, Health and Safety Specialist, Teagasc.”
For more information on Fulbright, please visit https://www.fulbright.ie/going-to-the-usa/fulbright-irish-scholar-awards/