Founding Chairperson of the Asthma Society of Ireland, the late Órán Ó Muiré, was honoured at an award ceremony of the inaugural Órán Ó Muiré Bursary for nurse-led asthma research in the Royal College of Physicians.

The presentation of the Órán Ó Muiré medal and bursary of €1000 was presented to the bursary winner, Deirdre Long by Mrs Kathleen Ó Muiré. Deirdre works as a Respiratory Nurse Specialist in Beaumont Hospital, and completed her research work as an MSc nursing student at RCSI under the supervision of Prof. S. Cowman.

The focus of the 2009 awards was for nursing research findings which focused on improving the quality of care delivered to people with asthma and/or their families. The competition was open to all registered nurses in the Republic of Ireland.

The competition judges suggested that the research submitted by Deirdre Long has the potential to be a springboard for developing nursing practice towards improved quality of asthma care.