Mayo man Luke Gibbons celebrates major success in New York

Twenty-seven-year old Luke Gibbons, Claremorris, has won the Irish Echo Top 40 Under 40 Irish in America People’s Choice Award at a ceremony held last night in New York city.

This is the premier award for the Irish in America.

Luke took home the biggest award with a remarkable 21,496 votes cast from over 113 countries.

After weeks of campaigning which included strong support from the Claremorris community, businesses and even an announcement on a JFK bound Aer Lingus flight calling for votes, he garnered over 45% of all total votes cast. In the 17 years of the awards existence Luke is the first ever person from an Irish county to take home the award across the Atlantic.

The Top 40 Under 40 Awards is a celebration of Irish and Irish Americans who have distinguished themselves in their respective fields of work before reaching the age of forty.

It honours the up and coming personalities of Irish America from every walk of life, and from every part of the nation.

The Top 40 Under 40 spotlights the leaders of Irish America from around the nation who work in a variety of fields and occupation.

Speaking at the awards Gibbons thanked the people of Claremorris for their unwavering support and is delighted to bring home some silverware to Mayo.

He also noted the volume of votes was all down to the determination of his mother Francesca who ‘had flyers printed and handed to every business in Claremorris’.

Luke was included in the Top 40 Under 40 in recognition of his demonstrated excellence as an award winning legal and climate researcher, his political representation of Irish interests in the United States, his philanthropic endeavors and for being the sole founder of the Ireland America Young Professionals Network (IAYPN).

Luke is currently based in Boston, Massachusetts, where he is a Fulbright Scholar and Researcher at Harvard Law School.

He is also a Ph.D. in Law Candidate and Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Scholar at Trinity College Dublin.

At the awards ceremony he was described as ‘a fantastic ambassador for County Mayo both nationally and internationally’ and ‘a trail blazer in his field’.

In 2023 alone Luke worked as a Legislative Fellow on Capitol Hill, attended Harvard Law School as a Fulbright Scholar, was invited to the White House and office of the US Vice President as part of the Washington Ireland Programme, was interviewed on FOX News, founded the now 1,000 member strong IAYPN and climbed the exterior of the 100 floor Edge Skyscraper raising €7,000 for the Morning Star Homeless Hostel.

Luke is a past pupil of Meelickmore National School (2001-2009) and St. Colman’s College Claremorris (2009-2015).

Since then he has become a leader in climatic legal research and has attended Trinity College Dublin, the University of Oxford, Emory University Atlanta and Harvard Law School.

He is the only past student of each of these Mayo primary and secondary schools to have attended both the University of Oxford (ranked 1st globally) and Harvard Law School (ranked 2nd globally).

This makes him the first to achieve this feat out of an estimated 30,000 Mayo students over 137 years.

Luke is an ambassador that anything is possible and that an education received in Mayo can lead to attendance at these world leading institutions.

Luke’s list of academic achievements was a strong reason for his inclusion in the Top 40 Under 40.

In 2023 Luke was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to Harvard Law School to continue his research.

Admission to Harvard is extremely competitive with a 9% admissions rate.

Fulbright is the most widely recognised and prestigious international exchange program in the world, supported for more than half a century by the American people through an annual appropriation from the U.S. Congress and by the people of partner nations.

Winning a US Fulbright Scholarship is a remarkable achievement with only 10% of applicants successful.

This makes it the most prestigious scholarship program in the United States.

Luke’s Fulbright is awarded by the US Presidentially appointed Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, the Irish Fulbright Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Luke’s Ph.D. is also fully funded by an Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship to the value of €87,500.

This scholarship is also exceptionally prestigious with only 18% of applicants being successful. It is Ireland’s most notable research funding.

Both this scholarship and Luke’s Fulbright Award serve as a seal of the excellence and quality of his transatlantic Ph.D. research.

They denote that he is a seminal leader in the field. Luke is the only Mayo person to currently be in receipt of both these scholarships and one of only a few in Ireland.

Gibbons also holds a First-Class Honours LL.B. (Law Degree) with a Gold Medal from Trinity College Dublin.

The Gold Medal is the highest academic honour bestowed by Trinity College and is awarded in exceptionally rare circumstances.

To obtain a Gold Medal Luke achieved First – Class Honours in every subject studied in his final two years of his degree. An almost unheard of achievement.

Out of the 14 subjects Luke studied during his final two years he was the top performing student in eight and the second highest in four. During his law degree he spent a semester at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.

Here Luke achieved a final grade of A+ in the Commercial Negotiation and ADR course. He was the only student awarded that extraordinary grade and, in fact, no other student has received an A+ in the 20 years that the course has been provided.

That places him first among nearly 800 students who completed this course over the past 40 semesters.

In 2020, Luke was admitted to the Oxford BCL.

The BCL has been a pivotal feature of Oxford’s law provision since the sixteenth century.

This rich history has helped to maintain its status as the most highly regarded taught masters-level qualification in the common law world.

Upon admission he received a distinguished scholarship, the Honoré Scholarship in Law to the value of £14,000 from the Queen’s College, University of Oxford.

In 2021, Luke graduated from Oxford with Distinction and achieved the highest graded paper in Commercial Negotiation and Mediation of 75%.

Only two students out of 142 in his cohort achieved a paper grade of 75%.

Upon graduation he received a Distinction Prize and his name was added to the Queen’s College Record 2021 as a Distinguished Scholar.

Luke’s current PhD research at Harvard Law School assesses the differences between company directors’ duties in the United States and Ireland in light of climate change risks to business.

His research has been described as both ‘innovative’ and ‘ground-breaking’.

This comparative study between the United States and Ireland is a first of its kind. Luke’s research will create real change in the world and assist as a piece in the puzzle to tackle the polycentric and globally pervasive issue of climate change.

The aim is to provide a generalised standard between the United States and Ireland with regards to how company directors treat climate change risks and in turn foster transatlantic relationships.

In promoting US and Ireland cooperation, Luke’s research has led to him meeting several influential individuals and winning notable allies.

In October 2023 Luke was invited to Columbia University’s Institute of Politics event entitled ‘The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights at 75’, on the basis of his research links to the human right to a healthy environmental.

There he met Former Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Former President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Maria Ressa.

Luke has also met with Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at Harvard, Irish Ambassador to the United States, Geraldine Byrne Nason in D.C., US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland, Joe Kennedy III in Boston, Treasurer of the Democratic National Committee, Virginia McGregor in Scranton, Governor of Massachusetts Maura Healey, Former Irish Ambassador to the United States Daniel Mulhall and Francis FitzGerald MEP.

To each he has outlined the necessity for Irish, EU and US cooperation to address corporate contributions to climate change.

Recently, Luke discussed initiatives to protect children from the impacts of climate change with Chelsea Clinton at Harvard.

To further promote transatlantic cooperation on this issue Luke has spoken at many notable conferences.

He was recently invited to present his work virtually at the Irish Centre for European Law and Environmental Protection Agency Conference at Dublin Castle alongside Mr Justice O’Donnell, the Chief Justice of Ireland and Ms Justice Marie Baker, Judge of the Supreme Court of Ireland.

In September 2023, Luke also founded and established the Ireland America Young Professionals Network (IAYPN). After extensive media coverage, IAYPN has grown rapidly and now has 1,000 members across the United States and Ireland.

Luke is the sole founding member of IAYPN which now has a board of 10 individuals all under 40 based between Ireland and the United States.

Considering the time demands of his aforementioned research endeavours, this is a remarkable feat which demonstrates Luke’s commitment to the Irish community in the United States.

Membership is free and open to all particularly: young professionals, recent graduates, and students interested in building transatlantic relationships.

Last year Luke was also a Legislative Fellow in the Office of Congressman Matt Cartwright on Capitol Hill as part of the Washington Ireland Programme.

The programme is extremely competitive with over 1,000 applicants for 30 places.

Specifically, in his role Luke worked on a number of key initiatives to promote the special relationship between Ireland and the United States.

Luke travelled to Congressman Cartwright’s district (PA-08) to speak to residents who have Irish heritage.

This trip included a ‘Meet a Nice Irish Fellow’ event in Scranton, PA. It was attended by over 100 Irish Americans who came to hear Luke’s presentation on current issues in Ireland and how the relationship between the two nations is currently perceived.

The event was covered by both WBRE and FOX News.

In his interview on both news stations Luke spoke about the need to continue to work on the Irish American relationship and to secure its future through demonstrating its importance to younger generations.

The People’s Choice Award is not the first award bestowed upon Gibbons.

In 2022 Luke was named as Irish Law Student of the Year 2022 in recognition of his climatic research and JCI Most Outstanding Young Person Under 40 for Academic Leadership and Achievement in Ireland 2021.

Those who nominated Luke for the Top 40 Under 40 said: “Overall, Luke has consistently demonstrated an unparalleled commitment to excellence and a steadfast dedication to making a positive impact on society.

"His visionary leadership, coupled with his ability to motivate and empower those around him, has earned him the respect and admiration of colleagues and competitors alike.

"Beyond his professional accomplishments, Luke is a shining example of integrity, compassion, and humility. He has always been willing to go above and beyond to support his colleagues, mentor aspiring professionals, and give back to his community in meaningful ways.”

Luke’s outstanding contributions and unwavering dedication to his work has been evidently recognised by being the People’s Choice Award winner.

His exemplary achievements, coupled with his remarkable character and unwavering commitment to excellence, make him the perfect person to have received this esteemed honour.