Rose of Tralee contestants and escorts from 2010 have banded together to help keep the memory of Texas Rose Adrienne Hussey thriving since her tragic death from a cerebral aneurysm in 2011.

Hussey’s memory will live on as a new scholarship program has been launched in her honor out of University of Limerick. The Adrienne Hussey Scholarship will benefit research into brain aneurysms, which Hussey unexpectedly died from in 2011.

The new Scholarship webpage reads, “Adrienne was extremely proud of her education and always wanted to help others who entered her life in any way that she could. All of Adrienne’s family and friends were only too aware of this hope to inspire others in life, and our team is committed to honouring that hope and continuing that trend through the establishment of the University of Limerick Adrienne Hussey Scholarship.”

Adrienne graduated in 2011 from University of Texas with a Masters of Science degree for social work. Before moving to Ireland, she was dedicated to her work at The Ann Richards School Foundation in Austin, Texas.

Hussey, having fallen in love with Ireland after representing Texas in the 2010 Rose of Tralee competition, had moved to Dublin when tragically she died in January 2011.

TheJournal.ie reports that ‘Friends of A,’ a Rose of Tralee group in memory of Hussey, approached Professor Tim McGloughlin, Head of the Department of Mechanical Aeronautical and Biomedical Engineering, University of Limerick to set up the research scholarship in 2012.

The Scholarship is partly funded by University of Limerick, with the remainder being funded by private donations.

Niamh Sherlock, 2010 Dublin Rose of Tralee, told The Journal that Adrienne’s sudden death had a powerful effect on the 2010 group, with Roses flying from all across the world to be present for her funeral in Ireland.

“In the days following her death we pledged that she would not be forgotten and her name would continue to be associated with making a positive change,” said Sherlock.

“We have been working steadily on creating this scholarship and are very grateful to Professor McGloughlin, Dr Walsh, Dr O’Hare and Sarah Hartnett for affording us the chance to do this. This is a long-term project for us and with support of Adrienne’s family and friends in Texas we hope to make a real difference in her name.”