Fri Sep 20 12:43:39 UTC 2024: ## UCC Awards Posthumous Master’s Degree to Victim of 1968 Tuskar Rock Air Crash

**Cork, Ireland** – Over 50 years after the tragic Tuskar Rock air crash, University College Cork (UCC) has posthumously awarded a master’s degree to Michael Cowhig, one of the 61 victims of the disaster.

Cowhig, a researcher at the Agricultural Research Institute in Fermoy, was traveling to England to present his research on milking machine practices at a conference when Aer Lingus Flight 712 crashed on March 24th, 1968.

He had submitted his thesis to UCC for a master’s degree shortly before the crash. While the process for awarding the degree was halted after his death, Cowhig’s family recently reached out to UCC to request a review of his work. They were prompted by a memoir written by Cowhig’s supervisor, retired professor and former MEP Tom Raftery, which stated that the thesis had already been approved for the award of a master’s degree at the time.

Professor Alan Kelly, head of UCC’s School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, reviewed the thesis and recommended that the university formally recognize Cowhig’s work. “The work was of a very high scientific standard, and presents an important historical record of technologies which were only newly being put in place on Irish farms,” Professor Kelly said.

The master’s degree was presented to Michael Cowhig’s family at a special ceremony in UCC, attended by friends, family and former colleagues. In a statement, the Cowhig family expressed their gratitude to UCC, Teagasc and Tom Raftery for their dedication to recognizing their father’s achievements. “We have always been very proud of what our Dad achieved in his short lifetime, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to attend this award ceremony in the company of so many of his former colleagues and friends,” the family said.

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