The 2025 University of Notre Dame Library Research Award competition, sponsored by the Hesburgh Libraries, resulted in 12 awards given to students across diverse disciplines. Among them, Áine Heaney won first place in the Capstone Project or Senior Thesis Award category for her Design VIII thesis, “Na Fáilte: Country House & Farm,” advised by Sean Patrick Nohelty, professor in the School of Architecture.
Heaney’s project, inspired by her father’s birthplace in Ireland, reinterpreted the Irish country house often associated with the British ruling class.
“This thesis would not have been possible without the resources from the Architecture Library, the guidance of Morgan Wilson, the support of the Archives, my time in the makerspace, and the enriching experience of my travels,” Heaney said.
The annual awards are earned by undergraduate students who demonstrate excellence in research skills by using a breadth of library resources and services for their course assignments, research projects and creative endeavors.
“The research our students pursue in the Hesburgh Libraries is always impressive. We’re committed to connecting our readers to the information they need, and it’s fascinating to see what sophisticated and imaginative scholarship they create with it,” Margaret Meserve, Interim Edward H. Arnold Dean, Hesburgh Libraries and University of Notre Dame Press, said.
Undergraduate students were invited to submit a brief essay describing the many ways in which they used library resources for a project or assignment completed during summer 2024, fall 2024, or spring 2025.
First Place — Áine Heaney, Architecture
Originally posted on Library-Research_Award.lbrary.nd.edu/2025.html.