Limerick Person of the Year 2024 expresses her delight upon winning the title

THE WINNER of Limerick Person of the Year, 24-year-old Olivia Humphreys, was smiling from ear to ear upon receiving the award. 

She spoke of how inspiring all 11 other Limerick Person of the Month nominees were and thanked her friends, family and mentors upon being bestowed with the title. 

She expressed her excitement, saying: “Being a part of this has been so lovely, but actually winning it has been an adrenaline rush really. I didn't expect it at all and it's really humbling and exciting to be part of it. I'm delighted!”

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The University of Limerick graduate was named Limerick Person of the Year 2024 at a ceremony in the Clayton Hotel this Friday.

Olivia, from Pallasgreen, was honoured for her life-changing invention for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment, which previously secured her the prestigious James Dyson 2024 award.

Olivia was Limerick Person of the Month 2024 for November. Her creation, ‘Athena,’ is a portable, thermoelectric battery-operated scalp cooling device for people undergoing chemotherapy treatment which is more cost-effective and time-saving than hospital models, without compromising on quality.

Olivia was inspired to create ‘Athena’ having seen her mum Vicky go through chemotherapy in hospital. 

“The work that went into Athena was a lot and to have it recognised is really lovely. I know mum's going to be so happy. She was the inspiration. I was in final year of product design in university in UL and I wanted to do something big.

“I wanted to solve a big problem and I was looking at things like sustainability and climate change, and mom was like, ‘you know what's really needed is looking at chemotherapy treatment and cancer care treatment and addressing the theme of hair loss during chemotherapy.’”