The Embassy of Ireland in Freetown has hosted a farewell dinner for nine Sierra Leonean scholars selected for the Ireland Fellows Programme 2026 as the cohort prepares to depart for Ireland to begin their postgraduate studies.
The event marked a moment of recognition for nine professionals whose selection reflects both individual achievement and the sustained commitment of Ireland to building Sierra Leone’s human capital over more than a decade.
“We wish them every success in their studies and look forward to the knowledge, skills, and leadership they will bring back to contribute to the development of Sierra Leone,” the embassy said in a statement.
The Ireland Fellows Programme enables early- to mid-career professionals from eligible countries with leadership potential to benefit from a prestigious, world-class, quality education, contributing to capacity building. It offers selected students the opportunity to undertake a fully funded one-year master’s-level program at a higher education institution in Ireland.
The award covers program fees, flights, accommodation, and living costs, removing the financial barriers that prevent many qualified professionals in countries like Sierra Leone from accessing world-class education. Eligible master’s level programs commence in August or September each year and, depending on the program, run for between 10 and 16 months.
Eligible courses span a wide range of fields, including agriculture, health, education, human rights, computer science, engineering, business, and more all areas tightly aligned with Sierra Leone’s national development priorities and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
In Sierra Leone, the Ireland Fellows Programme operates by invitation only, with fellowships restricted to staff of government departments and NGOs working in partnership with Irish Aid and personnel of organizations aligned with Irish Aid’s development strategy in the country. This targeted approach ensures that scholarship recipients are embedded in institutions where the knowledge they acquire abroad can be immediately applied upon their return.
The program’s aims are to nurture future leaders, develop in-country capacity to achieve national SDG goals, and build positive relationships with Ireland.
This scholarship program has been in operation since 2014 and provides full financial support to successful candidates to pursue master’s qualifications in areas of interest that will enhance their professional careers. In the decade since, a growing number of Sierra Leonean alumni have returned to take up senior roles across the public sector, civil society, and development organizations, forming a community of practice with the potential to shape national policy from within.
The Embassy of Ireland has also welcomed members of a recently constituted Sierra Leone-Ireland Alumni group, which is actively supporting future scholars and exploring ways to strengthen development and academic, cultural, and trade links between the two countries.
The scholarship cohort does not exist in isolation. It is one expression of a development relationship between Ireland and Sierra Leone that stretches back over two decades.
Ireland has been a long-term, committed, and trusted development partner to Sierra Leone, setting up a development office in Freetown in 2005 following the end of the country’s eleven-year civil war. Since then, Ireland has invested over €200 million in development initiatives through bilateral aid managed by the Embassy of Ireland and through partnerships with Irish and international NGOs.
Ireland’s work in Sierra Leone has a strong focus on empowering women and girls through increasing gender equality and improving education, nutrition and food security, and governance.
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The Ireland Fellows Programme is fully funded by the Irish government and is offered under the auspices of the Department of Foreign Affairs, aligning with the Irish government’s commitments under Global Ireland and the national implementation plan for the Sustainable Development Goals.
The nine scholars heading to Ireland this year join a growing cohort of Sierra Leoneans who have studied under the program and returned to serve their country. For over 50 years, Irish Aid’s Ireland Fellows Programme has welcomed over 4,000 students to study and learn in Ireland, transforming lives and building connections. That Sierra Leone now sends a cohort every year reflects how deeply embedded the country has become in Ireland’s global development partnership architecture.
For the nine individuals who sat at the embassy’s farewell table, the immediate journey is personal: a year of intensive study, new environments, and new expertise. But the expectation woven into the program has always been collective: that they will come back.
