Laughlan-Ireland Scholarships Benefit IUS English Majors

The Corydon Democrat

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

      The friends, family and colleagues of Patricia (Trish) Laughlan-Ireland celebrate her life by creating a memorial scholarship at the Harrison County Community Foundation. The Patricia Laughlan-Ireland Memorial Scholarship Fund will provide scholarships for graduating seniors of Harrison County schools who plan to attend Indiana University Southeast and major in English.

      Patricia (Trish) Laughlan-Ireland was born Feb. 27, 1969. She was the daughter of Dottie Redden Ireland and the late Robert Ireland. Trish graduated from Corydon Central High School in 1987, receiving many honors.

      While attending Indiana University Bloomington she did specialized research in Dublin, Ireland, for her thesis on James Joyce. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree cum laude in 1991. Trish received her master’s degree with honors in 1993 from Texas A & M.  Trish entered the doctoral program of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Ill., in 1993, and completed her doctorate in 1998. She was instrumental in developing the Irish Studies program at Southern Illinois University and was a conference participant both here and abroad, including Poetry and History Conference, Stirling, Scotland.

      She was visiting assistant professor, Department of English, at Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Mich., from 1998 to 2001. Trish married Gerard Laughlan-Ireland, Ph.D., from Glasgow, Scotland, in 1999, at the Leora Brown School in Corydon. Trish later became an adjunct professor for the Indiana University Southeast Dept. of English. She was a member of the American Conference of Irish Studies, Conference on College Composition and Communication, Midwest Modern Language Association, Modern Language Association, and Phi Kappa Phi National Society.

      Patricia Laughlan-Ireland died Nov. 10, 2003, at the age of 34 and is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in Corydon. “Trish loved the academic life and filled her time on earth with a life time of doing things she enjoyed,” said Trish’s mother, Dottie. “Trish touched many lives and with this scholarship her memory lives on.”

      The Harrison County Community Foundation provided a matching gift to create this fund and any additional donation is eligible for a dollar-for-dollar match, up to $25,000. Anyone who wishes to make a donation to the Patricia Laughlan-Ireland Memorial Scholarship Fund may contact the HCCF staff at 738-6668 or mail donations to the Foundation, P.O. Box 279, Corydon, IN 47112. Checks should be made out to Harrison County Community Foundation with the name of the fund in the memo line.