NUI Galway wishes to announce a donation of €340,550 ($459,000) it has received from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The donation takes the form of a research enhancement grant to the Moore Institute for Research in the Humanities and Social Studies designed specifically to assist researchers on three of the Institutes' current projects to internationalise their efforts. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant will provide support over a four-year period (2008-2012) to three strands of the research agenda 'Texts, Contexts, Cultures at the Moore Institute' already being funded by the Higher Education Authority under its Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions, Cycle 4 (PRTLI4). These strands are: The Life and Legacy of Columbanus directed by Conor Newman and Dr Mark Stansbury; Transmission and Cultural Exchange directed by Daniel Carey and Professor Jane Conroy; and Globalisation, Empire and Culture, directed by Dr Lionel Pilkington. The enhancement grant to these three interconnected research strands, with their associated graduate training, will enable the scholars and students engaged on these projects to bring a series of international scholars to the Moore Institute to provide specialist seminars and master classes; to support researchers and research students while they engage in short study visits to major research libraries and institutes abroad; and to arrange major international conferences relating to the subject of their research. Professor Nicholas Canny, Academic Director of the Moore Institute at NUI Galway, said: "The donation from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will enable the Institute to further engage an international community of scholars in its research and graduate training mission which has always been transnational, multi-disciplinary and inter-institutional. It also brings credit to all who have worked in this vibrant research community over the past eight years". Since its inception in 2000, the Moore Institute for Research in the Humanities and Social Studies has enabled humanities researchers across a range of disciplines to situate their work in a global context, bringing best practice in international scholarship to the Irish research community. The Moore Institute also caters for the mentoring of early stage researchers and for the transmission to them of transferable skills that promise both to develop their capacity for employment in the public sphere and to develop Ireland s knowledge economy. The Institute is called after the Moore family of Moore Hall in County Mayo whose members, in successive generations, sponsored such change in the west of Ireland over the course of four centuries. -Ends-

Tá scoláireachtaí spóirt ar fiú os cionn €100,000 iad bronnta ar lúthchleasaithe atá ag freastal ar OÉ Gaillimh le cabhrú leo a gcumas spóirt a fhorbairt. I mbliana tacóidh Scéim Scoláireachtaí Spóirt OÉ Gaillimh le 80 mac léinn atá ag díriú ar spóirt éagsúla lena n-áirítear Lúthchleasaíocht, Cispheil, Peil, Liathróid Láimhe, Iománaíocht, Dreapadóireacht Aille, Rámhaíocht, Rugbaí, Sacar, Snámh agus Leadóg. Bhronn Uachtarán OÉ Gaillimh, an Dr James J. Browne, scoláireachtaí ar na mic léinn ag searmanas speisialta a bhí ar siúl san Ollscoil ar an 3 Samhain. Bronnadh 16 scoláireacht nua i mbliana – scoláireachtaí ar fiú €2,000 sa bhliain iad go dtí go mbeidh na mic léinn críochnaithe lena gcuid staidéir in OÉ Gaillimh. Ciallaíonn sé sin go bhfuil 25 mac léinn as OÉ Gaillimh anois ag baint tairbhe as scoláireachtaí spóirt. I measc na mac léinn ar bronnadh Scoláireachtaí Spóirt orthu i mbliana tá: an reathaí Orla Ní Mhuircheartaigh, na himreoirí cispheile James Loughnane agus Paul O'Brien; na peileadóirí Úna Carroll agus Gareth Bradshaw; an t-iomróir Niall Kenny; an snámhaí Dairne Ryan; agus an t-imreoir leadóige Marion Hanley ar de bhunadh Chontae na Gaillimhe iad. I measc na mbuaiteoirí eile bhí: an t-iománaí Séamus Hennessy agus an peileadóir Ciarán McDonald as Tiobraid Árann; an t-imreoir sacair Michael Creane agus an t-imreoir rugbaí Keith Farry as Sligeach; an t-imreoir liathróid láimhe Diarmuid Nash agus an t-iománaí John Conlon as An Clár; an dreapadóir aille Joan Mulloy as Co. Mhaigh Eo; agus an t-imreoir rugbaí Jeffrey Neville as Luimneach. Lena chois sin, bronnadh sparánachtaí ar fiú €1,000 an ceann iad ar 50 mac léinn. Bronnadh na sparánachtaí seo ar mhic léinn atá i mbun cineálacha éagsúla spóirt, tonnmharcaíocht agus clársheoltóireacht ina measc, spóirt a bhfuil tóir ag go leor daoine in Iarthar na hÉireann orthu le blianta beaga anuas. Bronnadh dhá sparánacht eile ar fiú €1,000 iad, trí Scéim Scoláireachtaí CLG Cadbury mar chuid de Chraobhchomórtas Peile CLG Cadbury Faoi 21, ar Pheileadóir Idirchontae na hIarmhí, John Connellan as Baile Átha Luain, agus ar Imreoir Idirchontae Mhaigh Eo, Chris Barrett as Béal an Mhuirthead. Deir Tony Regan, Oifigeach Spóirt agus Áineasa OÉ Gaillimh go bhfuil tús á chur le ré nua i gcúrsaí spóirt in OÉ Gaillimh: "Tarraingíodh aird ar chúrsaí spóirt anseo in OÉ Gaillimh in 2008. I measc mhic léinn agus alumni OÉ Gaillimh a ghlac páirt sna Cluichí Oilimpeacha i mBéising i gcaitheamh an tsamhraidh bhí Paul Hession, Olive Loughnane, Alan Martin agus Cormac Folan. Ag an am céanna, tá áiseanna den scoth ar fáil anois san Ionad Spóirt nua ar an gcampas - linn snámha 25 méadar, cúirteanna scuaise agus raicéadaíochta, cúirt cispheile idirnáisiúnta, giomnáisiam den chéad scoth mar aon le balla dreapadóireachta". Chomh maith leis sin, dúirt sé "Is mian linn tréaslú leis na buaiteoirí cumasacha seo ar fad agus gach tacaíocht a thabhairt dóibh lena chinntiú go n-éiríonn go breá leo amach anseo. Is iad buaiteoirí na Scoláireachtaí Spóirt seo an chéad ghlúin eile dár laochra spóirt". Cuid lárnach de mhisean OÉ Gaillimh é feabhas a bhaint amach i gcúrsaí spóirt, agus spreagann an Ollscoil mic léinn nua a bhfuil luí ar leith acu le spórt éigin le hiarratas a dhéanamh ar Scéim na Scoláireachtaí Spóirt. Is é an spriocdháta do Scéim Scoláireachtaí Spóirt na bliana seo amach romhainn an 31 Márta 2009. Tá sonraí le fáil ó mhúinteoirí gairmthreorach nó trí ríomhphost a sheoladh chuig ellen.kelly@nuigalway.ie - críoch -

Student athletes at NUI Galway have received over €100,000 in scholarships to help them to continue to develop their sporting excellence. This year, the NUI Galway Sports Scholarship Scheme will support almost 80 students in sports such as Athletics, Basketball, Football, Handball, Hurling, Rock Climbing, Rowing, Rugby, Soccer, Swimming and Tennis. At a special ceremony in the University on 3 November, students were presented with the awards by Dr James J. Browne, President of NUI Galway. A total of 16 new scholarships were awarded, each to the value of €2,000 per annum for the remainder of the students' studies, bringing to 25 the number of students currently on sports scholarships. The new Sports Scholarship Awardees include athletes from county Galway: runner Orla Ní Mhuircheartaigh, basketball players James Loughnane and Paul O'Brien; footballers Úna Carroll and Gareth Bradshaw; rower Niall Kenny; swimmer Dairne Ryan; and tennis player Marion Hanley. Other counties represented included: from Tipperary, hurler Séamus Hennessy and footballer Ciarán McDonald; from Sligo, soccer player Michael Creane and rugby player Keith Farry; from Clare, handball player Diarmuid Nash and hurler John Conlon; from Mayo, rock climber Joan Mulloy; and from Limerick, rugby player Jeffrey Neville. In addition, bursaries to the value of €1,000 were awarded to 50 students. These bursaries cover a wide range of sports and include surfing and windsurfing which are growing in popularity in the West of Ireland. Two further awards of €1,000, sponsored through the Cadbury GAA Scholarships as part of the Cadbury GAA U21 Football Championship, were made to current Westmeath Inter-county footballer John Connellan from Athlone and current Mayo Inter-county player Chris Barrett from Bellmullet. Tony Regan, NUI Galway Sports and Recreation Officer, said the University is entering a new era in terms of sport: "2008 really has thrown a spotlight on sport at NUI Galway. Our students and alumni, namely Paul Hession, Olive Loughnane, Alan Martin and Cormac Folan flew the flag with distinction in Bejing. Meanwhile, the new Sports Centre enhances sports facilities on campus with a 25-metre pool, squash and racquetball courts, an international basketball court, a state-of-the-art gym, specialist elite gym, and a high-tech climbing wall". He added, "We would like to congratulate our awardees who represent a cross section of outstanding talent and offer them every support in taking their talents further. This year's Sports Scholarship Awardees are the next generation of sporting heroes". The pursuit of sporting excellence is part of the mission of NUI Galway, and the University encourages all school leavers who have a particular sporting talent to consider applying to the Sports Scholarship Scheme. The closing date for next year's Sports Scholarships Scheme is 31 March 2009. Details are available from career guidance teachers or by emailing ellen.kelly@nuigalway.ie -ends-

Michael Keeney, a postgraduate researcher at NUI Galway, has been awarded a fellowship, at a prestigious University in the Netherlands, to advance his work in the area of tissue engineering. His focus is on the latest science which aims to persuade the body to heal itself by increasing cell repair in degenerated tissue. Michael Keeney, who is originally from Donegal Town, will spend three months working at Radboud University, Nijmegen, which has a long history of bone and tissue engineering research. He is excited about the opportunity: "This fellowship will allow me a unique opportunity to test our functional biomaterial in one of the best research labs in Europe. The three months should prove invaluable to my research career". At NUI Galway, Michael Keeney is an Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology (IRCSET) scholar and is in the final year of his dissertation under the supervision of Professor Abhay Pandit. In November 2007, Professor Pandit and his team were awarded €4.3 million for the development of a Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering research cluster at the National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science, NUI Galway. According to Professor Pandit: "NUI Galway is developing critical mass in the area of next generation biomaterials. Each individual researcher is playing an important part in our work and Michael is a perfect example. He has been an exemplary student and scientist since he came to the University in 2001. His research is advancing the field of tissue engineering and will have possible applications in bone and cartilage regeneration following injury of damage due to disease". Michael Keeney will be based in the Netherlands from January to March of 2009. The fellowship was awarded by the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO). -ends-

Protecting the rights of the world's 650 million persons with disabilities was the focus of a conference on Friday at the UN headquarters in New York which was addressed Professor Gerard Quinn of the Centre for Disability Law and Policy, NUI Galway. The conference followed on from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol, which entered into force on 3 May 2008. It was composed of States that have ratified the convention and was the first time they met as a Conference of States Parties. In his presentation, Professor Quinn underscored that the Convention's success would be determined by whether it could ignite a new dynamic of change at a national level, cautioning that people must "resist the temptation of its elegance", and not allow it to substitute for the hard work that would be needed to change domestic laws. Professor Quinn was joined by a distinguished panel by invitation of the Chair of the Conference of States to reflect on implementation. The Conference will meet annually to share experiences and make recommendations with respect to the implementation of the treaty. Members of the new UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will be elected today. The Committee will monitor compliance with the convention. Professor Quinn said: "It is an honour to be asked to address the first formal gathering of States that have ratified the treaty. We all hope and expect that Ireland will ratify soon. Unfortunately, since Ireland has not yet ratified, it will not be able to take part in the election to the new UN Committee. This does not diminish the importance of the event for the 'world's largest minority'. Several of our students have participated in the drafting of the treaty and our PhD programme in disability law follows relevant events closely". The Convention, one of the fastest treaties ever negotiated at the United Nations, and one of the fastest to enter into force, has been hailed as a landmark achievement. While the Convention itself does not create any new rights for persons with disabilities worldwide, it ensures that their existing rights are promoted, protected and ensured. The first new human rights treaty of the twenty-first century, it has been signed by 136 countries since 30 March 2007, and ratified by 41. The Optional Protocol has gathered 79 signatures and 25 ratifications so far. This would allow individuals and Groups to lodge complaints against their Governments in the new UN Committee. -ends-