The economic cost of schizophrenia in Ireland has been estimated at over €460 million for 2006 in an article published today in the Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine. This is the first attempt to estimate the economic cost of schizophrenia which affects over 10,000 people in Ireland in any year. The relatively high cost of schizophrenia stands in stark contrast to the relatively low level of resources devoted to mental health care in Ireland. The authors of the article, Dr. Caragh Behan, DETECT, Mr. Brendan Kennelly, NUI Galway and Professor Eadbhard O'Callaghan, UCD, included both direct and indirect costs in their analysis. Direct costs, which refer to the cost of resources used in the treatment of schizophrenia such as inpatient and outpatient care, medication, and community services, were estimated at over €118 million. Indirect costs, which refer to the loss of productivity due to unemployment, absence from work and premature mortality were estimated at over €343 million in 2006. Informal care provided by family members accounted for almost €44 million. Commenting on the results Brendan Kennelly, of the Department of Economics at NUI Galway, said: "While schizophrenia is not a very common condition, it is a very expensive one. This is attributable to a number of factors – the relatively young age when schizophrenia typically affects a person, the high mortality rate associated with the condition, and the very low employment rates for people with schizophrenia." Cost-of-illness studies, which have been widely used for over thirty years, provide very useful information on the burden of an illness and are a useful analytical tool in determining where resources should be employed. Professor Eadbhard O'Callaghan of the School of Medicine, University College Dublin, said that the results highlight the important role that family members play in providing informal care to people with schizophrenia. He added that more effort should be made to improve employment opportunities for people with schizophrenia such as supported employment schemes. Professor O'Callaghan said that in other countries more resources are being devoted to the early detection of schizophrenia because, with the appropriate help, people can and do recover. -ends-

Cúis áthais d'Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge, institiúid náisiúnta cheannródaíoch na hOllscolaíochta trí Ghaeilge in OÉ Gaillimh, a fhógairt go bhfuil Susan Folan ceaptha ina Comhordaitheoir ar an gcúrsa nua M.A. (Ateangaireacht Chomhdhála) – cúrsa a mbeidh tús á chur leis ag deireadh na míosa seo (Meán Fómhair 2008). Is as Cnoc na Cathrach i nGaillimh í Susan Folan ó dhúchas agus tá sí ar dhuine den bheagán daoine atá cáilithe mar ateangaire gairmiúil le Gaeilge; oibríonn sí go rialta i bParlaimint na hEorpa agus in institiúidí eile den chuid an Aontais Eorpaigh mar ateangaire comhdhála. Tá bunchéim B.A. agus M.A. sa Nua-Ghaeilge in Ollscoil na hÉireann, Gaillimh bainte amach ag Susan chomh maith le Céim Mháistreachta Eorpach san Ateangaireacht Chomhdhála ó Ollscoil Westminster i Londain. Roimhe seo, d'oibrigh Susan mar Oifigeach Forbartha ag eagraíocht na gcoláistí samhraidh Gaeilge, CONCOS. Seo a leanas a bhí le rá ag Susan Folan agus í ag labhairt faoina ceapachán nua: "Tá ríméad orm a bheith ag obair le hAcadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge anseo in OÉ Gaillimh; táim ag tnúth go mór leis an dúshlán a bhaineann le cúrsaí léinn den chéad scoth a sholáthar i réimse na hAteangaireachta agus go mór mór leis an M.A. (Ateangaireacht Chomhdhála) a fhorbairt." Tá éileamh ar a leithéid de chúrsa, go háirithe de bharr an ghéarghá atá ag an Aontas Eorpach le hateangairí oilte, cáilithe le Gaeilge. Is é seo an t-aon chúrsa M.A. (Ateangaireacht Chomhdhála) dá leithéid sa tír agus ullmhóidh sé mic léinn le slí bheatha a bhaint amach mar ateangairí comhdhála gairmiúla. Díreofar i rith an chúrsa ar úsáid na Gaeilge agus an Bhéarla mar theangacha gníomhacha agus éighníomhacha ateangaireachta, agus ar úsáid na Fraincise mar theanga éighníomhach; fágfaidh an cleachtadh a gheobhaidh siad anseo go mbeidh an-seans ag mic léinn ar phoist ghradamúla a fháil mar ateangairí gairmiúla ach a gcríochnóidh siad an cúrsa. Tá an M.A. (Ateangaireacht Chomhdhála) á chur ar fáil ag Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge – institiúid lán-Ghaeilge na hOllscoile le haghaidh cúrsaí tríú leibhéal trí Ghaeilge – agus beidh sé ar siúl san Ionad atá ag an Acadamh ar an gCeathrú Rua i nGaeltacht na Gaillimhe. Tá an cúrsa féin á mhaoiniú ag Údarás na Gaeltachta agus dá bharr seo ní bheidh táille ar bith le híoc ag mic léinn a gheobhaidh áit ar an gcúrsa. Feidhmeoidh Susan mar phríomhtheagascóir ar an gcúrsa, agus beidh sí freagrach freisin as riaradh agus eagrú an chúrsa ó lá go lá. Tá iarratais á nglacadh le haghaidh áiteanna ar an M.A. (Ateangaireacht Chomhdhála) faoi láthair agus is féidir teagmháil a dhéanamh le Siobhán Ní Chualáin ag + 353 91 495428 nó ar an ríomhphost ag siobhan.nichualain@oegaillimh.ie má theastaíonn tuilleadh eolas breise ina thaobh. -Críoch-

Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge, the national institution for third-level education through Irish at NUI Galway, is pleased to announce the appointment of Susan Folan as Co-ordinator of the new M.A. Ateangaireacht Chomhdhála/Conference Interpreting programme, commencing at the end of September. Originally from Knocknacarra in Galway City, Susan Folan is one of an elite number of conference interpreters, qualified to interpret to and from Irish, working regularly in the European Parliament and other EU institutions. An NUI Galway graduate with B.A. and M.A. degrees in Modern Irish, Susan also holds a European Masters in Conference Interpreting from Westminster University, London. Prior to her appointment, Susan worked as a Development Officer with CONCOS – the Irish language summer colleges' organisation. Speaking about her appointment, Susan Folan said: "I'm thrilled to be working with Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge here at NUI Galway. I look forward to the challenge of providing first-class academic programmes in interpreting, and especially the development of the M.A. (Ateangaireacht Chomhdhála)." There is a great demand for programmes of this type, given the EU's pressing need for qualified conference interpreters with Irish. This is the only such course in Conference Interpreting in the country and it will prepare students for a career as professional conference interpreters. The one-year course will focus on the use of Irish and English as active and passive languages of interpretation, and on the use of French as a passive language. The M.A. (Ateangaireacht Chomhdhála) programme is being delivered by Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge – the University's dedicated institute for the delivery of third-level programmes through Irish – and will be held at An tAcadamh's centre in An Cheathrú Rua, Co. Galway. The programme is sponsored by Údarás na Gaeltachta, which means that no tuition fees are payable by students of the course. Susan will act as the principal teacher on the programme, as well as coordinating the day to day running of the course. Applications are currently being accepted for places on the new course; for further information contact Siobhán Ní Chualáin on + 353 91 495428 or siobhan.nichualain@oegaillimh.ie -ends-

Medieval Irish humour and fantasy is the subject of an international event being held at NUI Galway on Friday, 12 September. The one-day colloquium will focus on one of the classics of medieval Irish literature: Aislinge Meic Conglinne or, as it is known in English, The Vision of Mac Conglinne. The event is being hosted by the University's Moore Institute for Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences and will welcome expert speakers from Ireland, Germany, Scotland, the Netherlands, Italy, Norway and North America. Aislinge Meic Conglinne, composed around 1100 AD, tells how the king of Munster came to be afflicted by a monstrous parasite because of his gluttony. The tale describes how a poor student's fantasies of food eventually rid the king of this parasite. The work is a satire on the clerical and learned orders of medieval Ireland, on their pieties and sense of privilege. It also parodies the major literary forms of the time, making a play on saints' lives, visions, voyage-tales, prophecies and the New Testament. Professor Máirín Ní Dhonnchadha, School of Humanities, NUI Galway, is organising the colloquium. According to her, "Aislinge Meic Conglinne is a brilliant comic masterpiece and one of the great treasures of our Irish-language literary heritage". The original medieval work had various twentieth-century retellings in English, by authors including W.B. Yeats, Austin Clarke, Pádraic Fallon and Peter O'Shaughnessy. There was also a notable Irish-language version by An tAthair Peadar Ó Laoghaire, An Craos-Deamhan (1905), which was well-known to earlier generations of students. -ends-

Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Professor Elie Wiesel, will deliver an address via video link at NUI Galway on Wednesday, 17 September at 7pm. The public event, which will be broadcast live from New York, will be hosted by NUI Galway's Law Society in the O'Flaherty Theatre, Arts and Science Building on campus. Professor Wiesel is an advocate for awareness of past and potential acts of genocide, and has worked on behalf of oppressed people for most of his adult life. Born in 1928 in Transylvania, Wiesel and his family were deported by the Nazis to Auschwitz when he was 15 years old. His personal experience of the Holocaust led him to use his talents as an author, teacher and storyteller to defend human rights and peace throughout the world. "Elie Wiesel is one of the moral compasses of our time. He reminds us, constantly, of the horrors of the Holocaust, but his message is always hopeful and positive and pointed towards the future of humanity rather than its ugly past", said Professor William Schabas, Director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights, NUI Galway. Wiesel's efforts to defend human rights and peace throughout the world have earned him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States Congressional Gold Medal and the Medal of Liberty award, the rank of Grand-Choix in the French Legion of Honour and in 1986, the Nobel Peace Prize. He has received more than 100 honourary degrees from institutions of higher learning. Commenting on the upcoming lecture, Auditor of the Law Society Peter Mannion said: "We are truly honoured to have Professor Wiesel address our society. We know that our members will benefit greatly from his experience and compelling story. It s an inspirational way to start the year and we hope that it will provide a challenge for the students of NUI Galway." In 1978, President Jimmy Carter appointed Wiesel Chairman of the President's Commission on the Holocaust. He was also a guiding force in the establishment of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. In his best known work, Night, Elie Wiesel describes his experiences and emotions at the hands of the Nazis during the Holocaust. Professor Gerard Quinn, Director of the Centre for Disability Law and Policy at NUI Galway, has written about Nazi legality and some of the parallels with the Irish Free State. He highlighted the importance of Wiesel's work from a legal point of view: "The Nazis cloaked their naked power in the language of law and used a 'tactic of legality' to take power. It was not for nothing that the Nazis created their own 'League of Nazi Lawyers'. Elie Wiesel's life work reminds us that law, even with order, is nothing if not connected to justice. It is sad but true that this elemental lesson needs to be re-learned from generation to generation. Mr Weisel's work has played an indispensable role in transmitting this warning form history to the present generation. Since law students are the future conduits of power in society they especially need to learn this lesson. By his presence in NUI Galway Elie Wiesel reminds us of the moral depravity of totalitarian regimes and opens hearts and minds to a higher notion of law." For further information about the event contact Louise Hamilton, PRO of the NUI Galway Law Society, on 0860734033. -ends-