Choctaw-Ireland Scholars 2026 Begin UCC Studies in Continuation of Famine-Era Friendship
Two young women from the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma — Molly Cornett, who is pursuing a Master of Arts in Anthropology, and Kirstyn Smith, who is studying Ethnomusicology — have begun their studies at University College Cork as the 2026 recipients of the Choctaw-Ireland Scholarship, a programme that honours one of the most remarkable acts of cross-cultural solidarity in history and that continues to deepen a friendship between two peoples that was forged in the darkest days of the Great Famine.
Background
The story of the Choctaw Nation's gift to the Irish people during the Great Famine of 1845-1852 is one of the most extraordinary episodes in the history of the Irish diaspora. In 1847, at a time when the Choctaw people were themselves recovering from the devastating forced removal known as the Trail of Tears — a march that had killed thousands of their people just sixteen years earlier — they raised $170 (approximately $5,000 in today's money) and sent it to Ireland to help the starving population. The gift was remarkable not only for its generosity but for its context: a people who had themselves experienced catastrophic loss and displacement choosing to reach across the world to help strangers in need.
The connection between the Choctaw Nation and Ireland was largely forgotten for more than a century before it was rediscovered and celebrated in the 1990s, when the Irish government and the Choctaw Nation began to formalise their relationship. A sculpture in Midleton, County Cork — a series of eagle feathers arranged in the shape of a bowl, representing both the Choctaw gift and the Irish famine experience — was unveiled in 2017 as a permanent memorial to the connection. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Irish people raised more than $3 million for the Navajo Nation and Hopi Fund, explicitly citing the Choctaw gift as their inspiration.
The Choctaw-Ireland Scholarship Programme, established by the Government of Ireland in 2017, is the most tangible expression of this ongoing relationship. It provides full tuition at University College Cork and €10,000 in living expenses to members of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma who are accepted into a one-year taught master's degree programme in the College of Arts, Celtic Studies, and Social Sciences.
Key Developments
Molly Cornett, a graduate of Western Kentucky University with a background in anthropology and Spanish, is pursuing a Master of Arts in Anthropology at UCC. Her research interests focus on the intersection of indigenous identity, cultural preservation, and the experience of diaspora communities — themes that resonate deeply with both her Choctaw heritage and the Irish context in which she is now studying.
Kirstyn Smith, a graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a Bachelor of Music in Contemporary, Jazz and Popular Music, is pursuing a Master of Arts in Ethnomusicology. Her interest in the role of music in preserving and transmitting cultural identity across generations is particularly relevant to the Choctaw-Ireland connection, given the central role that traditional music plays in both cultures.
Both scholars were announced as the 2026 recipients in August and have now begun their studies in Cork. The scholarship is administered in partnership with the Chahta Foundation, the charitable arm of the Choctaw Nation, and is open to members of the nation who hold a valid passport and have been accepted into an eligible UCC programme.
Why It Matters
The Choctaw-Ireland Scholarship matters for reasons that go well beyond the educational opportunity it provides to two individuals. It is a living expression of a relationship between two peoples that is grounded in shared experience of suffering, displacement, and resilience — and in the recognition that solidarity across cultural and geographical boundaries is both possible and meaningful.
The scholarship also has a practical dimension that is easy to overlook. By bringing young Choctaw scholars to Ireland to study, it creates personal connections between the two communities that will endure long after the academic year is over. Cornett and Smith will return to Oklahoma with a deep knowledge of Irish culture, history, and society that will inform their work and their relationships for the rest of their lives. And they will carry with them the experience of being welcomed and valued in a country that regards the Choctaw gift as one of the most significant acts of generosity in its history.
The programme also serves as a reminder of the complexity and richness of the Irish diaspora story. The relationship between Ireland and the Choctaw Nation is not a story of Irish emigration to America — it is a story of two peoples, each shaped by colonial dispossession and forced migration, finding in each other a mirror of their own experience and a source of solidarity and hope.
Local Impact
In Cork, where UCC is located, the arrival of the Choctaw-Ireland Scholars each year is a small but meaningful event that reinforces the university's commitment to international engagement and to the values of solidarity and cross-cultural understanding that the scholarship embodies. The College of Arts, Celtic Studies, and Social Sciences has developed a strong support structure for the scholars, including mentoring from faculty members with expertise in indigenous studies and diaspora research.
What's Next
Cornett and Smith will spend the academic year 2026-27 at UCC, completing their master's programmes and engaging with the wider Cork community. The Choctaw-Ireland Scholarship Programme will open applications for the 2027 cohort in January 2027. The Irish government has indicated that it intends to expand the programme in the coming years, potentially increasing the number of scholarships available and broadening the range of eligible programmes.
