eSentire Awards the 4th Sean Hennessy Bursary and Celebrates the 10-Year Anniversary of its International Headquarters and Security Operations Centre in Cork, Ireland

Cork, Ireland, February 28, 2025 — eSentire, a leading global Managed Detection and Response (MDR) cybersecurity services provider, announced today that it has awarded the annual “Sean Hennessy Bursary” to Munster Technological University (MTU) computer science student, James Spillane. This year, eSentire is also celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the opening of its international headquarters and Security Operations Centre (SOC) in Cork, Ireland.

eSentire established the Sean Hennessy Bursary award in 2021, in collaboration with the Department of Computer Science at MTU, in response to Ireland's growing cybersecurity skills shortage. According to Cyber Ireland’s 2024 Security Snapshot Report, the cybersecurity industry employs approximately 8,000 professionals in Ireland, an increase of 8% since 2022.

The Sean Hennessy Bursary provides college financial aid, as well as the opportunity to participate in a nine-month internship with eSentire. The scholarship is named in honour of the late Sean Hennessy, a former eSentire team member who was instrumental in establishing and managing eSentire’s Global SOC in Cork in 2015. Sean Hennessy passed away in 2016.

This is the fourth year that the Sean Hennessy Bursary has been awarded to a MTU student. Impressively, the three previous recipients of the award are all currently employed with eSentire’s Global SOC in Cork, Ireland. Each of them has reached various stages of eSentire’s Career Development Program, which fosters and supports security analysts’ growth through attainment of internal and external certifications, mentoring and progression.

“I am delighted and honoured to have been selected as this year's recipient of the Sean Hennessy Bursary,” said James Spillane, 2025 eSentire Sean Hennessy Bursary winner. “I would like to sincerely thank everyone at eSentire for this incredible opportunity to further explore the fascinating world of cybersecurity, which is a passion and interest of mine. I am also grateful to MTU for their support and guidance through my studies. Receiving this award is an honour and a fulfilling achievement, I want to thank everyone involved for this prestigious opportunity.”

eSentire has been protecting organisations from known and unknown cyber threats for 20+ years, providing complete attack surface coverage on premises and in the cloud. With 2000+ customers in 80+ countries, eSentire provides Exposure Management, Managed Detection and Response, and Digital Forensics and Incident Response services designed to build an organisation's cyber resilience and prevent business disruption. eSentire protects the world's most targeted organizations, with 65% of its global base recognized as critical infrastructure, vital to economic health and stability.

eSentire operates the largest SOC in the Southwest region of Ireland, and as a global leader in providing award-winning cybersecurity solutions, eSentire has contributed to the broader development of the Cork region and its security analysts are highly trained experts on the frontlines of cybercrime.

“The 10-year anniversary of the opening of our Global SOC and headquarters in Cork is an important milestone for us,” said Ciaran Luttrell, Vice President of eSentire’s Global Security Operations. “We have grown our operations and currently employ over 50 staff members, we have completed over 25 SOC analyst internships, and this is the fourth year of our special bursary program honouring the memory of Sean Hennessy.”

“Reflecting on our ten years in Cork, we are especially proud to have led the way in contributing to the growth of the cybersecurity community,” continued Luttrell. “It is through programs such as the annual bursary, our work as Chapter Leads with Cyber Ireland, the sponsorship of CorkSec, a Cork-based Def Con meetup group; and most recently, our partnership with Cyber Innovate, an incubator program supporting cybersecurity start-up companies, which launched in 2024. We could not have accomplished all these achievements without our strong partnership with MTU.”

"As a long-standing member of the Cyber Ireland Cluster, eSentire provides a valuable and impactful contribution to the cluster through their support and leadership in the South Chapter, helping to connect the local cybersecurity community and drive collaboration and talent development," said Eoin Byrne, Cyber Ireland Cluster Manager.

"eSentire is a valued partner of MTU and the company has been instrumental in supporting and developing the cybersecurity ecosystem in Ireland,” said Donna O’Shea, Head of Cyber Innovate and Chair of Cybersecurity at MTU. “Our partnership includes support for MTU and the Cyber Innovate programme, where eSentire immerses participants in cybersecurity challenges to unearth unmet needs and translate these needs into viable cybersecurity products."

eSentire will be exhibiting at the Cybersecurity Career Fair in the Nexus Hall, MTU Bishopstown Campus in Cork on March 5 from 11am to 2pm. Stop by to speak with members of eSentire’s SOC team about career opportunities and to see live SOC analyst security investigation demos.

About eSentire

eSentire, Inc., the Authority in Managed Detection and Response (MDR), protects the critical data and applications of 2000+ organizations in 80+ countries across 35 industries from known and unknown cyber threats by providing Exposure Management, Managed Detection and Response, and Incident Response services. Designed to build an organization's cyber resilience & prevent business disruption. Founded in 2001, eSentire protects the world's most targeted organizations, with 65% of its global base recognized as critical infrastructure, vital to economic health and stability. By combining AI-powered, open XDR platform technology, 24/7 threat hunting, and proven security operations leadership, eSentire's award-winning MDR services and team of experts help organizations anticipate, withstand and recover from cyberattacks. The company opened its European headquarters and Security Operations Centre (SOC) in Cork, Ireland in 2015 and currently employs over 50 people in Ireland. For more information, visit www.esentire.com and follow @eSentire.

About MTU
Munster Technological University is the southwest’s newest technological university consisting of six campuses across Cork and Kerry. The university has a student body of 18,000. It is a leader in higher education both regionally and internationally through the provision of a wide range of programmes ranging from apprenticeships, bachelor’s and master’s degrees right up to PhDs.