Bittersweet: Laois man dedicates his PhD in honour of his late parents

placeholder image — Pictured: Dr Colm Seale, Mountrath

The Mountrath man's parents sadly passed while he undertook his studies

In a heartbreaking and bittersweet tribute, a Laois man has earned his doctorate and dedicated his work in honour of his late parents.

Dr Colm Seale from Clonenagh, Mountrath worked tirelessly to graduate from Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands with a PhD on October 30.

The Mountrath man's area of study is Pattern Recognition and Bioinformatics, with his thesis entitled 'Harnessing the CRISPR Data Revolution to Uncover the Secrets of Double-Strand DNA Repair.'

Pictured: Dr Colm Seale, PhD with his doctorate

Dr. Seale dedicated the entirety of this work in honour of his late parents Kathleen and Gerry Seale.

"This is a huge accomplishment for our family, as my brother lost both his parents Kathleen and Gerry just a few months after Colm started his PhD," his brother David told the Leinster Express / Laois Live.

"Mam died in a farm accident in January 2022, just a few months after Colm started his PhD, and our Dad passed 13 months later, in March of 2023.

"He has dedicated his entire work in their honour. They would be very proud of him if they were here to see it," he said.

Congratulations to Dr Colm Seale on his amazing achievement.