The Mitchell Scholarship

US-IRELAND ALLIANCE TO REMOVE NAME OF SENATOR GEORGE J. MITCHELL FROM ITS PRESTIGIOUS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

February 1, 2026. The board of directors of the US-Ireland Alliance has unanimously agreed that its George J. Michell Scholarship program should no longer bear the former Senator’s name. The decision was made due to new information that has come to light as part of the release of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein by the Department of Justice on Friday, according to Trina Vargo, founder and president of the US-Ireland Alliance.  

The Scholarship is a prestigious scholarship program that sends future American leaders to Ireland and Northern Ireland for a year of graduate study. In 2025, the Alliance proudly marked its 25th consecutive class of Scholars. Unrelated to today’s announcement, the Scholarship program is currently paused as the Alliance seeks to raise an endowment for the program.

“We are extremely proud of the program and the Scholars, and this turn of events in no way diminishes their achievements or our commitment to keeping them connected to the island, the Alliance, and each other,” said Vargo.

“This decision allows us to focus on our mission to strengthen the ties between the US and the island of Ireland.  Given the current state of the relationship, that is more important than ever,” added Vargo.

Vargo noted that, in the short term, the Alliance will refer to the Scholars as the US-Ireland Alliance Scholars. She asked for patience as it will take some time for the Alliance to have conversations with many stakeholders, including the programs alums, the Irish Government, supporters, and others before it updates its website, social media accounts and other official channels to reflect the change in the Scholarship name.