Dubliner Conor McMeel, who triumphed with Imperial College London when the final of University Challenge was aired on BBC Two on Monday night, has told the Ryan Tubridy Show on RTÉ Radio 1 that keeping the result under wraps was extremely tough.
Conor, who is studying for a PhD in computer science, told the show that along with the sweet taste of victory came a great deal of relief.
"It's just really nice being able to talk about it now and not having to hide it from my friends," he said from his Lucan home.
When Conor was asked how long he had to keep the result a secret, he replied: "Too long, honestly. I've had to do too much straight face whenever they ask me how I got on. And it only got worse the more rounds that we had aired that we won! They'd only bother me more about it, so it's a big relief now."
Reflecting on his team's comprehensive victory over Corpus Christi College Cambridge, Conor said it "just kind of came together for us on the night".
"Everyone was on form," he added. "I could barely believe it as it was happening. We were all a bit stunned really with how it played out."
