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Friday, 6 February 2026

Minister Calleary launches digital edition of first Irish-language newspaper An Gaodhal

Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht Dara Calleary T.D. has launched a digital edition of An Gaodhal, the world’s first newspaper dedicated to the Irish language community. The project at University of Galway was borne out of an international partnership with New York University shedding new light on the global history of the Irish. An Gaodhal was a bilingual newspaper, published monthly in Brooklyn, New York, at the end of the 19th century, between 1881 and 1898, and is considered a seminal influence on the Irish-language movement and media. The founder, editor and publisher of An Gaodhal was Michael J. Logan, from Milltown, Co Galway. He died in 1899. Minister Calleary T.D., said: “I am delighted to launch this project celebrating the newspaper An Gaodhal and that my Department was able to fund a significant portion of the work. Thanks to the digitisation of this newspaper and the development of innovative OCR resources, this collection will be valuable to researchers and to the general public alike. It will enable everyone to engage with the work of Mícheál Ó Locháin and to enjoy it. Projects such as this ensure that the Irish language will have a strong presence in the digital age, which is a specific objective of the Government.” Professor Tadhg Ó hIfearnáin, Established Professor of Modern Irish at University of Galway, said: “The story of An Gaodhal reminds us of the power and position of media in public life as well as the value of the Irish language among Irish people at home and abroad. We treasure the opportunity to build on the rich legacy of Michael J. Logan toward strengthening digital humanities research and toward ensuring the digital future of the Irish language.” The only surviving, complete series of the newspaper is preserved as part of the Special Collections at the University of Galway Library, having been bound in New York and sent to the Professor Tomás O Máille at the University in 1924 by Rev. Daniel Murphy. It contains 147 issues running to 2290 pages. The wealth of material in the newspaper, including articles, advertisements, lists of subscribers, folklore, poetry and song along with the diversity of dialects of Irish, inspired the project team to extract the text in order to make a digitally searchable edition. The project used AI machine learning technology known as optical character recognition. The project was completed with the support of the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation, Irish Institute of New York, Glucksman Ireland House, New York University, University of Galway, the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, and Foras na Gaeilge. In the 1890s, an estimated 40% of the world’s Irish speakers were living overseas, with 400,000 Irish speakers in the US and 70,000 of them in New York. Founder and editor of An Gaodhal, Michael J. Logan, is highly-regarded for his pioneering work. The long-running Irish-American newspaper, The Irish World named him “Father of the Irish Language Movement in America” and shortly before his death, he became the first secretary of the Gaelic League in the US. Kathryn M. Curran, Executive Director of the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation, said: “These early newspapers are a historic resource for every aspect of a specific community's daily life. They offer insight into social, economic, political and cultural issues of note and concern. This project will bring a richer voice to that more detailed story." Professor Nicholas Wolf of New York University described the methodology: “An Gaodhal was printed using Cló Gaelach – the Irish script derived from the manuscript tradition. When our project began, there were no publicly available models suitable for the team to use to create a searchable, digitised edition of the newspaper. In order to bring this pioneering publication to life in the 21st century, we trained an AI model in the Irish language and then used it to develop a bilingual model. Making An Gaodhal digitally searchable has shown how technology can help deliver parity of esteem for different language communities and their shared historical sources, including those that are under-resourced or considered minority languages.” Dr Deirdre Ní Chonghaile, Research Fellow on the project, said: “Michael Logan and his international network of supporters and subscribers hoped for a world where Irish would thrive and, through our project, their vision can now inspire a new generation of Irish speakers to continue that legacy of dreaming big.” The project was completed with the support of University of Galway Library and the Data Science Institute. The AI machine learning technology used – Optical Character Recognition (OCR) – is available worldwide for many languages, including Irish. The project’s bilingual model is the first of its kind to combine multilingual and multiscript functionality and is free for other researchers to use. All digitised issues of An Gaodhal are available through the University of Galway Digital Repository at https://digital.library.universityofgalway.ie/p/ms/categories/an-gaodhal. Ends

News Archive

Friday, 6 February 2026

Seolann an tAire Calleary leagan digiteach den chéad nuachtán Gaeilge An Gaodhal

Wednesday, 4 February 2026

University of Galway launches new prototype hub in partnership with Medtronic

Tuesday, 3 February 2026

University of Galway student awarded Cunningham Civil and Marine Engineering Scholarship

Wednesday, 28 January 2026

University of Galway has been named as one of the top universities in Europe, according to the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2026. For the third year in a row the Europe-wide rankings have placed University of Galway in the top bracket in Europe out of 958 institutions across 42 locations. The QS European Rankings builds on the reputation that University of Galway has achieved in recent years for progress on sustainability in the QS European ranking’s Top 50 for Sustainability; the number one university in Ireland in the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings and in the world’s top 50 for progress towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). President of University of Galway, Professor David Burn, said: “Being ranked in the top 100 universities in Europe for the third year in a row is a wonderful endorsement. These annual rankings allow us to benchmark ourselves against our national and international peers and to assess our individual institutional performance across a range of datasets. I am delighted to see ranking successes in our academic reputation, employment outcomes, citations per paper and outbound exchange students. “In line with our University strategy 2025-2030, Of Galway, For the World, we are determined to build on our international reputation and reach, while serving our students and community through four pillars: Innovation of Health; Creativity, Culture and Society; Sustainable and Resilient Environments, Earth and Ocean; and Transformative Data and AI. “I would like to commend the effort by our University community in aligning our values of respect, excellence, openness, sustainability and belonging to our education and research outputs and impacts. University of Galway will continue to adapt to societal demands in a multidisciplinary approach that benefits our region, the island of Ireland and internationally, while equipping our students with the skills they need.” QS Senior Vice President Ben Sowter said: “Europe’s higher education sector remains strong, underpinned by world-class research universities, strong international collaboration, and growing momentum behind transnational alliances and joint degrees. Cross-border mobility remains a defining strength. However, funding and research capacity vary widely between national systems, contributing to uneven performance and talent retention. At the same time, universities face mounting pressure to sustain research excellence, deepen industry engagement, and modernise governance and delivery models amid funding deficits and tightening policy around international mobility.” University of Galway saw increases in the QS ranking in its Academic Reputation, Employment Outcomes, Citations per Paper and Outbound Exchange Students, placing it 98th out of almost 1,000 institutions.The full rankings can be found at: www.topuniversities.com/europe-university-rankings. Ends

Tuesday, 27 January 2026

Researchers at University of Galway have secured prestigious funding support through the European Research Council (ERC) to progress projects on next-generation 3D printing and hydrogel pain relief therapy. They are among 136 projects across Europe which have been awarded ERC Proof of Concept grants to explore how scientific results can move towards practical application or early commercial use. One project will advance an innovative software platform that enables engineers to design lighter, stronger, and more efficient components optimised for 3D printing - additive manufacturing - across biomedical, automotive and aerospace applications. The new technology offers unprecedented freedom to create complex and lightweight parts as many products are still designed using approaches developed for traditional manufacturing, limiting performance and increasing material waste. The research team will address this gap by developing a new, easy-to-use design approach that brings design and production considerations together in one simple process, helping engineers move quickly from an idea to a part that is ready to print and use in the real world. The 3D printing project is led by Professor Ted Vaughan, Director of the Institute for Health Discovery and Innovation and Professor of Biomedical Engineering, alongside Dr Mahtab Vafaeefar, Postdoctoral Researcher in Biomedical Engineering at University of Galway. The second project is Uro-Lieve, a minimally invasive, biodegradable capsaicin hydrogel designed to selectively silence pain fibres as a therapy for relief from symptoms of painful bladder syndrome, known as interstitial cystitis. The new approach avoids the severe burning of current treatments. The research is led by Professor Martin O’ Halloran, Principal Investigator in the College of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences and Executive Director of the BioInnovate Programme at University of Galway. This latest accolade for Professor O’Halloran brings his total ERC awards to eight, making him the joint highest-awarded Ireland-based ERC awardee. The projects are the only two from Ireland to have been recognised with Proof of Concepts awards in this ERC round. Professor Ted Vaughan, University of Galway, said: “The ERC Proof of Concept programme provides a vital bridge between discovery and application, enabling researchers to translate frontier science into real-world impact and we are delighted to build on our research and bring its benefits closer to industry and society. “Too often, we simply ‘print’ conventional designs rather than truly exploiting the capabilities of additive manufacturing. Our goal is to provide intuitive tools that automatically generate high-performance, production-ready designs that are truly functionally tailored to each application, reducing costs, saving material and accelerating innovation.” The software builds on biomimetic principles derived from models developed during Professor Vaughan’s European Research Council Starting Grant, taking inspiration from how nature designs complex structure and translating these insights into industry-ready design tools that will enable lightweight, efficient, and high-performance components across a range of engineering applications. Professor Martin O' Halloran, University of Galway, said: “Painful bladder syndrome (interstitial cystitis) is a chronic, underdiagnosed condition marked by persistent bladder pain, urgency, and frequency, with profound impacts on quality of life, mental health, and economic productivity. This proposal introduces Uro-Lieve, a minimally invasive, biodegradable capsaicin hydrogel designed to selectively silence pain fibres while avoiding the severe burning of current treatments. It highlights a major unmet clinical need and the broader structural neglect of women’s pain in research and healthcare.” Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, said: “The discoveries emerging from ERC-funded research are very often more than academic breakthroughs. They form the bedrock of future innovation ecosystems across Europe, inspiring new technologies, businesses and societal solutions. I am pleased that the EU is funding a record number of Proof of Concept Grants this year, and I congratulate all the grantees on their success.” The European Research Council Proof of Concept scheme is funded under Horizon Europe, the EU’s framework programme for research and innovation. It provides grants to existing ERC grant holders to bridge the gap between pioneering research and early-stage commercial or societal application. Ends

Monday, 26 January 2026

Tá Ospidéal na mBéiríní, a bhfuil gradaim buaite aige, á eagrú arís ag mic léinn in Ollscoil na Gaillimhe don 21ú bliain as a chéile. Bhí breis is 1,200 páiste bunscoile i láthair don imeacht dhá lá seo, áit ar cuireadh ‘cóir leighis’ san ospidéal ar a mbeiríní a bhí ‘tinn’ nó ‘gortaithe’. An Cumann Sláinte a d’eagraigh an t-ospidéal, arb é cumann cothaithe sláinte Ollscoil na Gaillimhe é a fhéachann le gach gné den tsláinte, idir fhisiciúil agus mheabhrach, a chur chun cinn. Bhí isteach is amach le 200 mac léinn leighis, cúraim sláinte agus eolaíochta i láthair ar bhonn deonach agus iad ag feidhmiú mar oibrithe cúraim sláinte chun béiríní na Gaillimhe a dhiagnóisiú agus cóir leighis a chur orthu. Tá súil acu go gcuideoidh an ócáid le páistí a bheith ar a suaimhneas le dochtúirí nó i dtimpeallacht ospidéil. Bhí an méid seo a leanas le rá ag Aoibhe Treacy, mac léinn leighis sa chúigiú bliain in Ollscoil na Gaillimhe agus comh-iniúchóir an Chumainn Sláinte: “Cumann a fhéachann leis an tsláinte a chur chun cinn atá ionainn, agus an aidhm atá againn an faitíos agus an imní a bhíonn ar roinnt leanaí nuair a bhíonn orthu dul chuig an ospidéal nó ag an dochtúir a laghdú. “Tionscnamh é seo atá go hiomlán faoi stiúir oibrithe deonacha, idir bhaill an choiste agus dochtúirí na mBéiríní, agus fáilte á cur againn roimh isteach is amach le 1,200 páiste ó mhórcheantar na Gaillimhe. Táimid bródúil as imeacht atá go hiomlán cuimsitheach agus inrochtana a bheith á chur ar fáil againn.” Tá béiríní á dtabhairt chuig an ospidéal ag páistí i gcaitheamh na mblianta agus iad ag samhlú go raibh réimse leathan tinnis ag gabháil dóibh, leithéidí cluasa tinne, boilg bhreoite, lámha nó cosa briste agus gach cineál easláinte neamhghnách agus dúshlánach eile faoin spéir. Labhróidh na páistí le duine de na dochtúirí béiríní tar éis dóibh a theacht i láthair ag Ospidéal na mBéiríní ar an gcampas. Déanann na dochtúirí na ‘hothair’ a scrúdú, tugtar oideas dóibh nó cuirtear ar aghaidh iad le haghaidh obráide nó X-gha. Tá trealamh saincheaptha X-gha agus MRI ar fáil do bhéirín ar bith a dteastaíonn sé uathu. Beidh na béiríní atá ag teacht chucu féin in ann ábhair leighis a fháil i gCógaslann na mBéiríní, áit a mbeidh torthaí sláintiúla le fáil a bhuíochas le Total Produce agus Fyffes, mar aon le hábhair leighis urraithe ag Cógaslann Matt O’Flaherty. Is iad urraitheoirí an imeachta an Medical Protection Society, Boston Scientific, KSG, Vernon Medical agus Apache Pizza. Seo mar a labhair Ríona Hughes, Oifigeach na gCumann in Ollscoil na Gaillimhe: “Ceann dár n-imeachtaí for-rochtana móra is ea Ospidéal na mBéiríní arna reáchtáil ag an gCumann Sláinte trína gcothaítear caidreamh leis an bpobal níos leithne agus sonas ar an gcampas. Deis iontach atá ann do mhic léinn, go háirithe mic léinn leighis agus sna heolaíochtaí sláinte, bualadh le páistí agus iad a chur ar a suaimhneas go bhfuil an chóir leighis a theastaíonn óna mbéiríní á fáil acu le go mbeidh siad in ann teacht chucu féin ó na tinnis éagsúla atá ag cur as dóibh. Tarraingíonn imeachtaí cosúil leis an gceann seo aird ar shamhlaíocht, diongbháilteacht agus spiorad comhpháirteachais ár gcuid cumann, agus ar thiomantas na hOllscoile naisc dhaingne a chothú leis an bpobal níos leithne. Comhghairdeas leo siúd ar fad a bhfuil baint acu leis.”