News Archive

NUI Galway and Queen’s University Belfast are leading a clinical trial to investigate the possibility that statins, a drug commonly used to combat cholesterol, might help patients with acute severe respiratory failure. Some 150 patients have been recruited into the trial, which is being run in collaboration with the Irish Critical Care Trials Group, across multiple intensive care units on the island of Ireland, and in England and Scotland, with a target number of 540 patients. The research is being funded by the Health Research Board, and the Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation programme which is funded by the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), with contributions from the CSO in Scotland, NISCHR in Wales and the HSC R&D, Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland, and is managed by the NIHR. When people become critically ill, for various reasons including major surgery or following injury in a road traffic accident, or infections such as H1N1 influenza, their lungs often fail, which is termed ‘Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome’. This condition, which is primarily caused by the body’s immune system response to the injury, is common, can affect any age group, and is often fatal. Furthermore, even after recovery from lung injury, patients subsequently experience a poorer quality of life. Many survivors of this condition are unable to return to work or look after themselves. “Unfortunately, to date there is no effective treatment for this lung injury”, said Professor John Laffey who is Professor of Anaesthesia at NUI Galway and Consultant Anaesthetist at Galway University Hospitals. “We are investigating if the drug simvastatin, commonly used to treat high cholesterol, is safe and effective in the treatment of this lung injury. A unique feature of this study is that it is a study generated from Irish research efforts, and is an Irish-led multi-national study, being conducted across the island of Ireland, and also in intensive care units in England and Scotland.” Professor Laffey continued: “This study builds on a series of studies using simvastatin, including a smaller clinical trial funded by the Health and Social Care Research and Development Division, Public Health Agency for Northern Ireland and REVIVE, carried out by Professor Danny McAuley and his team in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, who are our partners in this study. These studies offer considerable hope that simvastatin might help sufferers from this devastating disease. The study may take up to five years to complete, but if simvastatin is effective, it would help save the lives of these sufferers, improving the quality of life of survivors and potentially reduce costs, by reducing time spent in intensive care units.” The study team comprises experts in study design based at the HRB Galway Clinical Research Facility and at the Clinical Research Support Centre in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, as well as senior doctors who work in critical care units, and experts in acute lung injury. Professor Danny McAuley, who is Professor of Intensive Care Medicine at Queen’s University Belfast and Consultant Intensivist at the Royal Victoria Hospital, explained: “We will also take blood samples to measure markers of inflammation which will allow us to determine if simvastatin can reduce the immune response which causes the lung injury. In addition, we will determine how severe the damage to the patients’ lungs is, and how fast they recover.” People will be randomly divided into two groups; one group will be given the active drug and the other a placebo. This design means that any difference in the experience of patients will be due to whether or not they received simvastatin and not to any other difference that could influence the outcome of treatment. Frank Giles, who is Professor of Cancer Therapeutics at NUI Galway, is also Director of the HRB Clinical Research Facility at NUI Galway, which is helping co-ordinate the clinical trial in Ireland: “Participants in this trial are helping address a vital and difficult medical problem. This study is typical of an increasing number of multi-center trials that are possible because of increasing collaboration between Ireland’s HRB-funded Clinical Research Facilities. The studies involve patients with a very broad spectrum of health challenges. The conduct of these studies, which involve our patients and their families, community health-care staff, hospitals, research institutes and industry partners, improves health care and ensures that Ireland continues to make a significant increasing contribution to global medical progress.” ends

Widespread inequalities mean that many young people in the WHO European Region and North America are not as healthy as they could be, according to a new report on the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, published today (Wednesday, 2 May) by the WHO Regional Office for Europe.* The HBSC Ireland study is based in the Health Promotion Research Centre at NUI Galway. “Adolescence is a crucial life stage, when young people lay the foundation for adulthood, whether healthy or otherwise,” said Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director for Europe. “This report shows us that the situation across Europe is not fair: health depends on age, gender, geography and family affluence. But it doesn’t have to be that way. This report gives policy-makers an opportunity to act to secure the health of the next generation. Once again, young people have used the opportunity provided by HBSC to speak. It now falls to us – who cherish their aspirations, ambitions, health and well-being – to act.” Dr Saoirse Nic Gabhainn, Principal Investigator for HBSC Ireland of the Health Promotion Research Centre, NUI Galway said: “This data are vital to support young people to be healthy and happy, policy makers and practitoners need to recognise that differences in the context of young people’s lives are important and we need to be sensitive to age, gender and socio-eoncomic differences.” The report gives the results of the 2009/2010 HBSC survey, covering 39 countries and regions across the European Region and North America. The survey collected data from 11-, 13- and 15- year-olds on 60 topics related to their health and well-being, social environments and behaviour. HBSC reports have been issued every four years since 1996. Cross-national differences The latest report reveals important inequalities between countries. For example, rates of overweight and obesity for girls aged 11 range from 20% in Portugal and 30% in the United States of America, to only 5% in Switzerland (18% in Ireland, rank 3rd). Smoking rates, although fairly similar at age 11 (under 1%), differ dramatically across countries by age 15: over 25% in Austria and Lithuania, but 10% in Norway and Portugal (13% in Ireland, rank 30th). This suggests that the socioenvironmental context can be changed to benefit young people’s health. Young people’s experience of school also differs; 89% of 11-year-old girls in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia like school, in contrast to 17% in Croatia (34% in Ireland, ranks 31st). Long term effects of adolesent health Health inequalities emerge or worsen during adolescence, and may translate into lasting inequalities in adulthood if, for example, academic potential is not achieved. Adolescence is clearly a key stage for mental health, especially for girls. Girls’ satisfaction with their lives declines between ages 11 and 15. In Poland and Sweden, this decrease is around 15%, in contrast to 5% for boys (in Ireland the decrease is 12% for girls and 6% for boys, ranking 13th at age 11 and 30th at 15). In addition, health-compromising behaviour increases during the adolescent years. Between ages 11 and 15, the average proportion of young people who report weekly smoking and drinking increases by 17%. Many of these young smokers will continue the habit throughout adulthood. Similarly, early sexual activity is an important marker for poor sexual health in adulthood, as well as other risk behaviour in adolescence. The report reveals that, on average, 26% of 15-year-olds are sexually active (in Ireland 22%, rank 28th). In addition, healthy behaviour, such as eating breakfast and fruit, declines. Gender differences Boys and girls display different patterns of healthy and unhealthy behaviour, particularly at age 15. Although boys are more likely to be involved in fights and bullying at all ages, a 15-year-old boy in Latvia is more than 12 times more likely to be bullied by his peers than a girl in Italy (in Ireland bullying is reported by 4% of 15 year old girls and 10% of 15 year old boys, ranking 27th) . In Armenia, boys are almost five times more likely than girls to have been drunk by age 15. In some Scandinavian countries and the United Kingdom, however, 15-year-old girls are more likely than boys to have been drunk, and to have had sexual intercourse (among 15 year olds in Ireland 28% of girls and 30% of boys have been drunk, ranking 22nd). Further, girls are more concerned about being too fat and to be on a diet, but less likely than boys to be overweight. Overall, around 40% of girls aged 15 report being dissatisfied with their bodies (46% in Ireland, rank 13th), and 22% are on a diet (21% in Ireland, rank 18th), although just 10% are actually overweight or obese (12% in Ireland, rank 11th). Family affluence Unsurprisingly, family affluence is associated with a healthier lifestyle: higher levels of fruit intake, breakfast consumption and physical activity. It is also associated with better communication with parents, greater support from classmates and numbers of close friends, and better mental health (in Ireland only fruit and breakfast consumption are higher among those with higher family affluence). The picture for risk-taking behaviour is more complex. In many countries and regions, family affluence has less influence on patterns of smoking and drinking; other social factors – such as the influence of peers – may be more important. Further, injuries increase with higher family affluence (this holds for Ireland). Protective factors Support from family and classmates protects young people from negative influences; those who report easy communication with their parents are more likely to report positive health outcomes. Having close friends and peer support is also a strong predictor of positive health. The more sources of support, the more likely young people are to report good health. The HBSC report shows that addressing the social determinants of health inequalities in childhood and adolescence can enable young people to maximise their health and well-being, ensuring that these inequalities do not extend into adulthood, with all the potential negative consequences for individuals and society. ENDS

The Centre for Pain Research at NUI Galway is currently recruiting people with chronic or recurrent daily headaches to take part in an online pain management programme. The study offers individuals with chronic daily headache the opportunity to avail of six online sessions of mindfulness training tailored specifically for headache pain by Dr Jonathan Egan, Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, NUI Galway. The sessions, which are free of charge, will focus on active self-management, instruction in a range of relaxation techniques, coping skills and cognitive behavioural therapy techniques (CBT) to help identify negative thinking and coping patterns. The overall technique being used is known as a mindfulness-based pain management programme, and it is hoped mindfulness training may offer some relief to people with recurrent headache. Unlike other chronic pain patients, people suffering chronic or recurrent headache are an under-researched population. Prevalence rates indicate 12-15% of the Irish population suffer from migraine alone. The disability and productivity lost as a result of severe headache can be significant. The online programme is part of a research project being carried out at NUI Galway by Angeline Traynor who is the principal researcher: “We know that a combination of psychological and mindfulness techniques are beneficial, particularly for people managing chronic or recurrent pain. Our intention is to see whether this approach can also work for people with chronic headache pain. This online setting is particularly fitting for individuals with chronic headache as it may be accessed at their convenience for the purpose of prevention, and management. The programme layout is modular to ensure ease of use and time efficiency for busy individuals who would like to log on and receive additional support in managing their pain.” The researchers are specifically interested in hearing from people who have chronic daily headache (CDH), defined as chronic head pain which occurs on 15 or more days per month over a period of three to four months and this includes tension-type headache, migraine and medication overuse headache.   Dr Egan said: “Many people find that the combination of cognitive and relaxation therapies which are offered in this headache management programme enable them to take back control of their lives and engage more in daily activities with the knowledge they have the tools necessary to better manage their pain. This project is hoping to establish if mindfulness training may be delivered effectively in an online format to help these individuals. The programme is designed to be accessible to all people who have a computer. Patients can continue with their normal treatments while also taking part in the study. GPs, physiotherapists, friends and family are encouraged to refer interested individuals to participate. For further information, please contact Angeline Traynor, at a.traynor2@nuigalway.ie, 0860378562, or go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/headachemanagement -ends-

Fiddle player, teacher and researcher, Dr Máire O’Keeffe, will deliver the second lecture in the Martin Reilly Lecture Series. Organised by Comhrá Ceoil, the Music and Dance Studies at the NUI Galway Centre for Irish Studies, the lecture will take place on Thursday, 17 May.  This series is dedicated to Martin Reilly, the celebrated East Galway uilleann piper, who left a rich musical legacy to generations of pipers.  The lecture series gives an opportunity for researcher-practitioners in Irish traditional music and dance to present their research in a public forum. The lectures are illustrated with musical examples, and insights from the practitioner’s perspective. Galway and the West of Ireland has long been an important centre of traditional dance, music and song and this lecture series reflects the increasing interest in the study of these traditions. Originally from Tralee, Co. Kerry, Dr O’Keeffe has many different musical interests including the fiddle traditions of Ireland, Scotland, Shetland, and Cape Breton, as well as the music of Galicia in North West Spain. The title of her talk is ‘Journey into Tradition: The Irish Button Accordion’, and it is the culmination of extensive research that traces the development of the button accordion within the Irish music tradition. It considers some of the key factors in the evolution of the button accordion in Ireland and some of the players who have contributed to an identifiably Irish style of playing. The lecture will take place at 6.30pm in the Galway City Library. All are invited to attend and admission is free. For more information on the Martin Reilly lecture series visit http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Martin-Reilly-Lecture-Series/289147347801522 or email Martinreillylectureseries@gmail.com. ENDS

Scientists have found that genetic information on the Antarctic octopus supports studies indicating that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could have collapsed during its history, possibly as recently as 200,000 years ago.   The team, which included scientists from NUI Galway, Liverpool University in the UK and La Trobe University in Australia, found that the octopuses from Ross and Weddell Seas, which are now separated by the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, are genetically almost identical. This finding suggests that these two regions may have once been connected and may contribute to recent studies demonstrating the potential impact that increasing global temperatures could have on the changing Antarctica environment. Genes from more than 450 Turquet’s octopuses, collected from species in the Southern Ocean that surrounds Antarctica, were analysed to shed new light on how animals disperse across the varied ocean landscape.  Adult Turquet’s octopuses tend to live in one place and only move to escape predators, leading scientists to believe that creatures from areas either side of Antarctica would be genetically different. Dr Louise Allcock from the Ryan Institute at NUI Galway, explained: “A previous study has shown evidence that the Ross and Weddell Seas could have been connected. We wanted to investigate whether there was any genetic information that could tell us what the past environment could have been like, and this octopus species, with its large populations around the region and limited movements, was an ideal species to use for this. “The fact that we found more similarities than we did differences supports the theory that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could have collapsed in the past.  It also provides further evidence that scientists should continue to raise awareness about the impact of climate change on Antarctica today.” The research has been published in the prestigious journal Molecular Ecology. Dr Phill Watts, from Liverpool University’s Institute of Integrative Biology, explains: “We looked at information gathered by the Census of Antarctic Marine Life, which allowed us to examine genetic data on a scale that had not been done before in this area of the world.   We expected to find a marked difference between Turquet’s octopuses living in different regions of the ocean, particularly between areas that are currently separated by approximately 10,000km of sea.  These creatures don’t like to travel and so breeding between the populations in the Ross and Weddell Seas would have been highly unusual. “We found, however, that they were genetically similar, suggesting that at some point in their past these populations would have been in contact with each other, perhaps at a time when the oceans were connected and not separated by the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.  These findings agree with climate models indicating repeated periods in history when the climate was warmer, which would have released water from the ice and increased the sea levels, allowing dispersal of creatures between the Ross and Weddell Seas.” Data on octopuses from other parts of Antarctica, not separated by this particular ice sheet, support the theory that the creatures are genetically different. They found that the depth of the ocean and its currents limited the movement of the octopus in certain areas, as would have been expected for those living on either side of the West Antarctic Ice sheet. This added further evidence that at some point in recent history this particular ice sheet might have collapsed.  The research is supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the collaborative scheme for systematic research (CoSyst). -ends-

The inaugural ‘Reel Lives Film Festival’, organised by The Irish Centre for Social Gerontology (ICSG) at NUI Galway, is offering free lunchtime screenings of films celebrating ageing across the lifecourse from 21-25 May as part of the Bealtaine Festival. Alison Herbert, ICSG PhD student and event organiser, said: “We age from the day we are born, so to celebrate ageing is to celebrate life itself. Ageing is not just old age; ageing is a part of and relevant to all of us, and film is an ideal genre to get the message across that ageing is to be celebrated.” To help celebrate ageing, the ICSG will screen the following films: Venus - a comedy/drama examining inter-generationality, starring Peter O’Toole, Leslie Phillips and Vanessa Redgrave. This 2006 filmwas nominated for an Oscar, BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild and a Golden Globe. The Savages: multi-award-winning 2007 comedy/drama, starring Phillip Seymore-Hoffman and Laura Linney. The Straight Story: multi-award-winning David Lynch 1999 film, starring Richard Farnsworth and Sissy Spacek. Harold and Maude – a Golden Globe nominated 1971 Hal Ashby comedy/romance celebrating inter-generationality. A cult classic starring Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort. About Schmidt – Golden Globe winning 2002 comedy/drama starring Jack Nicholson and Kathy Bates. The Man Who Planted Trees: Academy-winning short French-Canadian 1988 animation (L’homme qui plantait des arbres), narrated by Christopher Plummer and a tribute to the animator Frédérick Back. The lunchtime screenings, open to everyone, begin each day at 1pm in lecture hall IT125, of the IT Building on NUI Galway’s campus.  Each film will be followed by a short panel and audience discussion.  All films, with the exception of The Man Who Planted Trees, loaned by film-maker Pat Comer, are sponsored by Screenclick, Dublin. Parking is available on campus to non-NUI Galway personnel within pay and display areas.  The venue has all facilities available to hand; including cafés, restrooms, and a lift is available for easy access. Further information is available from 091 495461 or visit www.icsg.ie. -ENDS-

A New Era in Child Protection The UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre at NUI Galway will today (Thursday, 10 May) host a forum on Children’s Rights.  The event will feature a keynote address: A New Era in Child Protection delivered by Frances Fitzgerald, TD and Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. The holding of a referendum in relation to the rights of children under the constitution is one of the key commitments made by the Government in relation to children and young people and is expected to be held in 2012.       Minister Frances Fitzgerald said: “The Government and I are committed to a comprehensive programme of reforms aimed at improving the lives of Ireland’s children and strengthening children’s rights. However no single change will be as momentous as that to our constitution. If we want to address the historic lack of focus on children; if we want to truly create a new era for child protection; if we want to really give effect to children’s rights, while recognizing the importance of the family, then we can do it by amending the constitution.” Professor Pat Dolan, UNESCO Chair in Children, Youth and Civic Engagement, NUI Galway and Professor Alan Smith, UNESCO Chair in Education for Pluralism, Human Rights and Democracy, University of Ulster will deliver an independent Commentary outlining the need for greater recognition of the rights of the child in Ireland and the inter-play between the rights of the child and rights of parents.  According to NUI Galway’s Professor Dolan: “Our perspective is simple, what is good for children, is good for their parents and ultimately to the benefit of civic society.  We believe that incorporating a commitment to children’s rights in the constitution would build a stronger culture of protecting children in Irish society and is in keeping with international obligations.” The Forum will be moderated by Carl O’Brien, Chief Reporter at the Irish Times and will include a Question and Answer session from the audience.   The Minister will also launch a new book by Professor Pat Dolan and Bernardine Brady of the Child and Family Research Centre A Guide to Youth Mentoring: Providing Effective Social Support. The UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre is committed to strengthening the rights of children and young people.  Ireland is emerging from a period in which some children, whether in the care of the State or of their families were not provided with adequate protection and support.  Providing greater recognition of the rights of the child through stronger constitutional recognition has the potential to embed children’s rights principles and standards into all decision-making by public bodies and inform the practice of those working with children.  An independent report completed by the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre in conjunction with the Galway City Partnership and St Vincent de Paul will also be officially launched by the Minister today. The NUI Galway report titled ‘Making a Difference, An Independent Evaluation of the Incredible Years Programme in Pre-Schools in Galway City’ evaluated the impact of the Incredible Years Programme on the children during their period in the pre-school and tracked the children as they entered primary school.  The report outlines particularly significant changes in the children behaviour and makes strong recommendations relating to pre-school education inIreland.   ENDS

(l-r): Secretary General, Seán O Foghlú; Siobhan Allaeddini from California representing NUI Galway; and Gill Roe, Manager Education in Ireland. Siobhan Allaeddini and Siobhan Keenan have been selected as Student Ambassadors for NUI Galway. A new initiative by Education in Ireland, the Student Ambassador Programme is aimed at raising awareness of the quality of Irish degree and Study Abroad programmes, while also assisting and encouraging interested students as they embark on their applications. Californian Siobhan Allaeddini is a second year Arts student at NUI Galway, while Siobhan Keenan, from New Jersey, is in her second year of a Commerce degree at the University. Ireland is the ninth most popular destination in the world for American students because of its worldwide reputation for high quality education and for offering the warmest of welcomes to students from all over the world. The current batch of Student Ambassadors come from 16 States in the US and represent all seven Irish universities. Throughout the academic year, the Student Ambassadors share their experience and insights of life as a student in Ireland through blogs, articles and video posts, connecting prospective American students and their families with those already studying in Ireland. When these students return home they will from time to time work with Education in Ireland and the Irish universities at promotional events in their area. Education in Ireland is a government initiative aimed at promoting Irish higher education and English language schools overseas.  To check out the blog and learn more about Education in Ireland’s outreach to US high schools and universities, please visit http://blog.educationinireland.com/ or Education in Ireland USA on Facebook. -ENDS-

Two NUI Galway students, Annita Brady and John Campion, are among a select group of 30 candidate’s chosen to participate in the 2012 Washington Ireland Program (WIP). Each year, the successful candidates, who have shown a commitment to service and a track record of leadership, take part in an eight-week internship program in Washington DC. The programme aims to help the students to develop skills through work experience, educational opportunity, and hands-on citizenship both at home and in the US. A native of Drung, Co. Cavan, Annita Brady is a Postgraduate Diploma in Education student at NUI Galway. In 2011 she received an MA in Military History and Strategic Studies in NUI Maynooth. During her four years at NUI Maynooth, Annita played an active role in The Friends of Raphael’s Society as Chairperson for two years and now currently volunteers with the Galway Traveller Movement assisting with homework clubs. John Campion, a third-year Medical student from Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny, is currently on clinical placement in Montpellier, France. At NUI Galway, he has instigated a special study module in Applied Adolescent Mental Health Promotion and is Founding President of NUI Galway Friends of Médecins Sans Frontières, who participated in the Rotaract Italy Roundtrip for Cultural Understanding in 2011. John has undertaken studies in French, Italian, Irish Sign Language, Arabic and Gaeilge and has previously worked with the Centre for Talented Youth, Ireland, as Instructor in Medicine and as Assistant Residential Coordinator. Commenting on the internship, John said: “I’m really looking forward to working in Washington. Several of its hospitals and research facilities are at the cutting edge of medical innovation; making breakthroughs that have a huge impact on diagnosis and treatment of illness globally, including here in Ireland. On top of that, this summer, the White House is determined, in the face of strong Republican opposition, to push ahead with implementing Obamacare, which aims to improve Americans’ access to healthcare services. For me, WIP will provide great insight into high-level experimental medicine and healthcare policy-making.” The WIP students are required to commit to a minimum of 30 hours of public service before their placement in Washington DC, and are encouraged to take on a new community service project. While in Washington DC the students will complete an extensive leadership curriculum with their peers – developing their leadership skills and learning from the leadership experiences of those in Global leadership positions. Students will also complete an individual internship. The program is supported by both Governments and the universities in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The internships include placements on Capitol Hill, government agencies and the private sector.  Previous students have interned in the offices of then US Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, former Presidential Candidate Senator McCain, at the Headquarters of the World Bank and at CNN. For more information visit www.wiprogram.org. -ENDS-

International experts on children’s rights will gather at NUI Galway on Monday, 14 May, for a symposium on a new UN protocol to strengthen the rights of children. In December, the UN General Assembly approved a Third Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure, which will allow for individual children to submit complaints regarding specific violations of their rights under the Convention. The Convention was the last of the major UN human rights treaties to adopt such a mechanism and the Protocol is a major achievement for the protection of children’s rights. The event is being hosted by the Irish Centre for Human Rights at NUI Galway.  According to the Centre’s Professor Ray Murphy: “Access to justice for children has traditionally proven challenging due to the invisibility of children, children’s lack of maturity and experience, as well as conflicts between children’s interests and those of adults. Cases taken by children have been rare and are overwhelming heard from the perspective of parents, as it is they who most frequently take the relevant cases.” The different needs of children have also been lost in the complaints mechanisms of the mainstream human rights instruments. The Committee on the Rights of the Child will hear cases with the guiding principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in mind- the right to be heard, the best interest principle, non-discrimination and the right to life survival and development.” It is thought the new protocol will have wide-ranging implications for custodial issues, child slavery, education rights and discrimination issues. The Symposium, ‘Complaints to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child – Opportunities for Ireland’, will hear from a number of speakers with experience in the field of children’s rights including Dr Maria Herczog, Member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child; Veronica Yates, Child Rights International Network; Dr Geoffrey Shannon, Special Rapporteur to the Irish Government on Child Protection; Tanya Ward, Chief Executive, Children’s Rights Alliance; Colm O’Gorman, Executive Director of Amnesty International and Dr Aoife Daly, University of Essex. Speakers will provide a variety of perspectives on the nature of the Protocol and the opportunities which it provides across the spectrum of children’s rights- in the areas of child protection, economic as well as civil and political rights. Professor Murphy added: “Ensuring widespread ratification of the Third Optional Protocol will be a challenge. This symposium aims to consider the relevance of the Protocol and opportunities for Ireland to lead in the ratification process. It aims to raise awareness of the Protocol amongst non-governmental organisations, academics and Government, and will culminate in a Call for Ratification of the Protocol which attendees are welcome to sign if they so wish. It is expected that this symposium will be just one part of a number of activities around the Protocol, raising awareness and encouraging ratification.” -ends-

The Centre for the Study of Nationalism and Organised Violence (CSNOV) at NUI Galway is pleased to announce two upcoming seminars.  ‘Talking Peace: A seminar on communication, contact and dialogue aimed at reducing or ending violence in Northern Ireland’ will take place on Wednesday, 16 May between 10am - 5pm in the Moore Institute at the University.  ‘Armed Conflict in Comparative Perspective’ will take place on Friday,18 May from  9am - 5pm in the Aula Maxima. ‘Talking Peace’ willbring together key actors with direct experience of mediation, negotiation and decision-making in the Irish peace process, including Sir Kenneth Bloomfield; Larry and Shauna Duddy; Dr Maurice Hayes; Jim Gibney; Dr Harold Good; Rev. Chris Hudson and Dr Martin Mansergh.  Professor Brendan O’Leary,University of Pennsylvania, will act as respondent. The symposium brings participants together with leading academics working on the politics of conflict and peace in Northern Ireland, including Professor James McAuley(University of Huddersfield); Dr Niall Ó Dochartaigh (NUI Galway); Dr Graham Spencer (University of Portsmouth); Dr  Katy Hayward(Queen’s University Belfast); Professor Jonathan Tonge (University of Liverpool); Professor  Robert White(Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis). ‘Armed Conflict in Comparative Perspective’ is a multidisciplinary conference bringing  together leading scholars working on aspects of armed conflict from a range of disciplinary perspectives. It will address key issues of concern to sociologists, political scientists and historians studying inter-state wars, civil wars, armed conflicts, urban violence and insurgencies. Speaking about the Talking Peace seminar, Dr Niall O’Dochartaigh, NUI Galway, said: “Communication through intermediaries and mediators was crucial to the peace settlement in the North but this important aspect of the peace process remains little understood, partly because it was shrouded in secrecy. It is an urgent matter to understand how such communication might play a role in resolving other situations of conflict today. “It is particularly appropriate that the seminar is taking place in Galway because the west of Ireland provided the setting for some very important encounters aimed at ending conflict in the North, such as the meeting between Protestant clergymen and the IRA leadership in Feakle Co. Clare that paved the way for the IRA ceasefire of 1975. It was a setting where people could talk at some distance from the centres of power and media attention in Dublin  and Belfast.” Dr O’Dochartaigh added: “The Talking Peace seminar explores this issue through a conversation between those with direct experience of the workings of government and of mediation during the conflict in the North and academics studying the conflict. The witness seminar format provides a unique historical methodology for exploring difficult historical topics of this kind through a kind of group interview where participants in historical events share, discuss and sometimes challenge each others' recollections. We are running the seminar in partnership with colleagues from King’s College London where the Institute of Contemporary British History has organised numerous witness seminars over many years and has built up extensive expertise in this method.” These events are supported by the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences, the Moore Institute, the School of Political Science and Sociology and the Institute for Business, Social Sciences and Public Policy, NUI Galway. These events are open to all but seating is limited. For registration please contact: Stacey.scriver@nuigalway.ie ENDS

The Irish Centre for Human Rights at NUI Galway is accepting delegates for its 2012 summer school on the International Criminal Court to be held 18-22 June in Galway. The summer school on the International Criminal Court (ICC) offered by the Centre is widely acknowledged to be the premier programme of its kind, attracting participants from around the world. During the five days of intensive lectures, delivered by leading specialist in the field, students are provided with a detailed working knowledge of the establishment of the Court, its applicable law, its structures and its operations. Lectures also speak to related issues in international criminal law, including universal jurisdiction, immunities and the role of the victims. According to Ray Murphy of the Irish Centre for Human Rights at NUI Galway: “The ICC is arguably the most important international institution to have been established since the creation of the United Nations. Its aim is combating impunity for atrocities, and it is at the forefront of a broader movement for achieving accountability and justice around the world. Only last month, it reached a milestone in convicting the first former head of state since the Nuremburg trials.” Professor Murphy added: “While the trial and ultimate conviction of Liberia's former president Charles Taylor garnered international headlines for tales of supermodels and diamonds, the true headline is the championing of accountability in respect of international crimes.” During the summer school on the International Criminal Court, expert presentations will be delivered by Professor William Schabas, Middlesex University and Chairman of the Irish Centre for Human Rights; Professor Siobhan Mullally, UCC; Dr Shane Darcy, Lecturer and Professor Ray Murphy, Irish Centre for Human Rights; Mr. John McManus, Department of Justice, Canada; Dr Mohamed M. El Zeidy and Ms Miriam Spittler, the International Criminal Court; Dr Nadia Bernaz, University of Middlesex; and Dr Annyssa Bellal, Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights and the Irish Centre for Human Rights. To register, visit http://www.conference.ie/Conferences/index.asp?Conference=16 or email iccsummerschool@gmail.com for more information. -ends-

Public lectures at NUI Galway on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 May, will look at our throwaway culture, and ask what a future with everyone living more sustainably might look like. Philosopher Kate Soper, from London Metropolitan University will provide a public lecture entitled Towards an alternative prosperity? Irish “belatedness” and the politics of consumption on Friday 18 May, from 4.30-5.30pm in the Engineering Building at NUI Galway.Author of the book The Politics and Pleasures of Consuming Differently, Soper believes that we need to rethink how we live in the light of impending environmental catastrophe. Her core argument is that alternative ways of living can be more enjoyable than consumerism and this leads to her notion of alternative hedonism. A second public lecture on the topical issue of sustainable consumption will be delivered at 12 noon on Saturday, 18 May, in the Engineering Building by Elizabeth Shove, Professor of Sociology at Lancaster University. Professor Shove’s area of expertise is the relationship between consumption, everyday life, sustainability and ordinary technology. She is co-author of the book The Design of Everyday Life which looks at the design of common household products through to their use in the home. The lecture will be followed by a panel discussion by a group of top US and European academics on the futures of sustainable consumption research. This panel discussion will take place from 2pm until 4pm on Saturday afternoon in the same venue. These lectures are part of an international conference, ‘Challenging Consumption: Pathways to a More Sustainable Future’ which NUI Galway is hosting from 18-20 May. The event brings together leading researchers to discuss current practices, challenges and futures for research in the area of sustainable consumption. The conference is part of the Consensus project, a four-year research project involving collaboration between NUI Galway and Trinity College Dublin. Funded by the EPA STRIVE Programme, the project is the first of its kind to look at sustainable consumption on the island of Ireland. The Consensus project focuses on four key areas of household consumption that impact negatively on the environment: transport, energy, water and food. This research is exploring how a shift towards more sustainable consumption might be encouraged, measured and governed. Therefore, one of the key outputs of this research is to make recommendations for local and national programmes concerning sustainable consumption policies. According to the Consensus project manager Dr Frances Fahy, Lecturer in Geography at NUI Galway: “Our conference is intended to explore opportunities for future research collaborations and facilitate exchange between currently existing sustainable consumption networks. All conference participants at this event are active members of US and European sustainable consumption research communities. The public lectures and panel discussion will provide an opportunity to discuss household consumption and the various ways in which it impacts negatively on the environment as well as to explore how a shift towards more sustainable consumption might be encouraged, measured and governed.” During the three-day event, academics will discuss their research in the area of sustainable consumption; exploring a variety of themes that range from sustainable transport to premature product obsolescence. Keynote speakers include: Maurie Cohen, New Jersey Institute of Technology, USA; Tim Cooper, Nottingham Trent University, UK; Mike Goodman, King’s College London; Inge Ropke, Technical University of Denmark as well as members of the Consensus project team from NUI Galway and Trinity College Dublin. For more information email consensus@nuigalway.ie ENDS

Bronnadh Gradam Náisiúnta na Gaeilge ar an gCainéal iTunes U-GOGG (An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta) ag searmanas i gCaisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath le gairid. Is ar champas Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge i gCarna a rinneadh an obair fhorbartha agus is í COGG a rinne maoiniú ar an tionscadal. Toradh é ar chomhpháirtíocht idir COGG agus Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge, OÉ Gaillimh. “Údar mór áthais d’Ollscoil na hÉireann Gaillimh gur bhain an Cainéal iTunes U-COGG gradam eRialtais amach le gairid. Tugann an gradam aitheantas don saineolas atá á shaothrú sna daonnachtaí digiteacha san Acadamh trí chéile ach go háirithe in Ionad na hOllscoile i gCarna.  Bhí ról lárnach ag an gcomhpháirtíocht le RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta sa tionscadal mar gur forbraíodh acmhainní foghlama bunscolaíochta an Chainéil ó bhunábhar i gCartlann shabhair RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta agus ó Chartlanna OÉ Gaillimh féin.”, a deir Niall Mac Uidhilin, feidhmeannach ríomhaireachta le hAcadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge. Cuimsíonn an Cainéal iTunes U–COGG acmhainní físe agus fuaime ar mhaithe le sealbhú agus saibhriú na Gaeilge i mbunscoileanna Gaeltachta agus lán-Ghaeilge. Forbraíodh 300 mír fhoghlama nua dírithe go háirithe ar dhaltaí Rang 5 agus 6 sna bunscoileanna. Áiríonn na míreanna foghlama amhráin, dánta, scéalta, faisnéis, tomhasanna, agus míreanna staire. Tá na míreanna á gcur i láthair i gcanúintí éagsúla a roghnaíodh ó bhunábhar i gcartlanna saibhre RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta agus OÉ Gaillimh.  Chuathas i gcomhairle le saineolaithe ábhar: Máire Uí Dhufaigh, Inis Oírr agus Bairbre Ní Thuairisg, Scoil Náisiúnta Chamuis, a scríobh na moltaí foghlama le dul in éineacht leis na míreanna. Lárnach sa bpróiseas forbartha freisin bhí Anna Ní Chartúir, Scoil Náisiúnta Leitir Mucú agus Mairéad Ní Chualáin, Scoil Náisiúnta Leitir Mealláin, beirt mhúinteoirí a bhfuil sárthuiscint acu ar riachtanais fhoghlama teanga scoláirí sna spriocscoileanna. Roinn an bheirt a gcuid ama ar an tionscnamh go fial flaithiúil agus ar bhonn deonach. Inniúlacht Cartlainne Meán a rinne an obair theicniúil agus dearaidh ar an gcainéal.  Tá an cainéal ar fáil ar itunes.cogg.ie. Tá treoirlínte faoin mbealach le theacht ar an gCainéal le fáil ar www.acadamh.ie -CRÍOCH-   Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilgeand COGG win National e-Government Award A project developed in Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge at NUI Galway was presented with an Ireland eGovernment Award at a ceremony in Dublin Castle recently. The iTunes U–COGG channel was developed with with funding provided by An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta (COGG). The iTunes U–COGG channel, which won the in the Irish language category award, comprises of video and sound resources to promote the acquisition and enrichment of the Irish language in all-Irish schools both within and outside the Gaeltacht. In this initial stage of the project, three hundred media clips have been carefully selected and are aimed at 5th and 6th classes. These learning clips cover genres such as song, poetry, stories, factual, puzzles and historic. The clips are presented in different dialects selected from the rich archive materials of RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta and NUI Galway.  Niall Mac Uidhilin, Computer Executive with Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge, said: “We at NUI Galway are delighted that the iTunes U-COGG channel has received this eGovernment award. This award recognises the expertise that the Acadamh has accumulated in the digital humanities, and particularly in the centre in Carna. The partnership with RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta played a central role in the project as the channel’s digital learning resoures for national schools were developed from the rich archive materials and resources of RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta as well as from the archives of NUI Galway. The project builds on the digitisation work that was previously done on the archive on the campus in An Cheathrú Rua.” A panel of experts were consulted for the project including Máire Uí Dhufaigh, Scoil Náisiúnta Inis Oírr and Bairbre Ní Thuairisg, Scoil Náisiúnta Chamuis who wrote the learning guides to be included with the clips. Anna Ní Chartúir, Scoil Náisiúnta Leitir Mucú and Mairéad Ní Chualáin, Scoil Náisiúnta Leitir Mealláin, were also central to the development of the project. Both have an acute understanding of the language learning requirements of national school children in the target schools and gave freely and voluntarily of their time to forward the project. Inniúlacht Cartlainne Meán were responsible for the technical and design work on the channel.  The channel is available at  itunes.cogg.ie. Guidelines on how to access the channel can be found at  www.acadamh.ie. -ENDS-

NUI Galway will lead Ireland’s involvement in the first ever international Fascination of Plants Day which will be held on Friday, 18 May. The Fascination of Plants Day will be celebrated by 39 countries worldwide, with the common goal getting people enthused by the importance of plant science. A photography and art exhibition celebrating ‘Our Fascinating Flora’ will officially open at the NUI Galway Art Gallery on Friday, 18 May at 2pm and run until Wednesday, 23 May. Featured exhibits willinclude works from botanical artist Margareta Pertl, and artists Miriam de Burca, Alan Crowley and Peter Sherry. Ceramic art will include exhibits from Veronika Straberger, Anna Pielach and Louise Browne, and wood turning from Ambrose and Bríd O’Halloran. Winners of the national Fascination of Plants Day photography competition will also feature. Stories, all featuring the theme of plants, will be told by renowned storyteller Rab Fulton in the Art Gallery on Friday, 18 May at 11am and by Dr Maria Tuohy and members of Biochemistry at 3pm.  Another feature of the celebration of plants will be a tree climbing session, on Wednesday, 23 May outside Áras de Brún, near the Quadrangle Building, with Keith Browne and experts from NUI Galway Mountaineering Club. Volunteers from the club will help the public get up into the trees using harnesses and ropes, to see what goes on at canopy level. Dr Zoë Popper, Lecturer in Botany and Plant Science at NUI Galway, said: “Plants are fascinating, and beautiful.  Having the ability to directly synthesise their own food has enabled plants to successfully colonise, adapt to, and diversify within almost every niche on the planet.  There are over 250,000 plant species and they are vital for us in terms of agriculture, food, horticulture and forestry. Plants also play a role in non-food products such as paper, timber, chemicals, energy, and pharmaceuticals.” Other themed events are taking place around the country, with participation by the National Biodiversity Data Centre, National Botanic Gardens, Trinity College Dublin and Burrenbeo. For more information regarding events in Ireland visit http://www.plantday12.eu/ireland.htm# and http://fascinationofplants.blogspot.com -Ends-

Mar chuid de cheiliúradh ceathracha bliain RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, reáchtáilfear seimineár poiblí,  i gcomhar le hAcadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge, OÉ Gaillimh, Dé Sathairn 19 Bealtaine le scrúdú a dhéanamh ar fhís agus feidhm RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta ó bunaíodh é.   Déanfar an seimineár a reáchtáil i Seanscoil Sailearna, Indreabhán, Contae na Gaillimhe idir 10am agus 4pm Dé Sathairn 19 Bealtaine agus beidh fáilte roimh an bpobal freastal ar an ócáid.   Le linn seisiúin na maidine, scrúdóidh seisear léachtóirí ó ollscoileanna éagsúla in Éirinn gnéithe éagsúla de chraoladh an stáisiúin agus an tionchar atá ag an tseirbhís ar phobal na Gaeltachta agus na Gaeilge.   Déanfaidh painéal eile scagadh ar a bhfuil bainte amach ag Raidió na Gaeltachta agus pléifear na dúshláin atá roimh an tseirbhís le linn imeachtaí an tráthnóna. Beidh deis ag an bpobal a bheith rannpháirteach sa phlé i gcaitheamh an lae.   I measc na n-ábhar a phléifear i gcaitheamh na maidine, beidh:   An ceol dúchais agus an chraoltóireacht – Róisín Nic Dhonncha Ról an Raidió i gcruthú pobail – Steve Coleman Teanga an Raidió, teanga an phobail – Siobhán Ní Laoire Féiniúlacht agus féinmhuinín agus ár bpobal féin – Rosemary Day Raidió na Gaeltachta agus scaipeadh na téarmaíochta – Gearóid Ó Cleircín Leas na Gaeilge, an náisiún-stát agus an t-iltíreachas – Iarfhlaith Watson   Beidh plé ón urlár tráthnóna agus caibidil ar fhís agus feidhm an Raidió i gcuideachta na gcainteoirí:   Dónall Mac an tSíthigh Máire Mhic Niallais Joe Steve Ó Neachtain Seán Tadhg Ó Gairbhí   Déanfar imeachtaí an tseimineáir a thaifeadadh agus a chraoladh ar Raidió na Gaeltachta amach anseo. Tá an seimineár seo á reáchtáil i gcomhar le hAcadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge agus le cúnamh urraíochta ón Roinn Ealaíon, Oidhreachta agus Gaeltachta.   --CRÍOCH--   A Public Seminar celebrating 40 years of Raidió na Gaeltachta                                                                            The vision and role of RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta will be critically examined and discussed at a public seminar on Saturday 19 May as part of the station’s calendar of events to mark the foundation of the service in 1972. The seminar, jointly organised with Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge, NUI Galway, will take place in Seanscoil Sailearna, Indreabhán, in the heart of the Galway Gaeltacht from 10am-4pm on Saturday, 19May and the event will be open to the public.   Six academics from various Irish universities will analyse aspects of the station’s output and its influence on the Irish language community nationally and particularly in the Gaeltacht:   Broadcasting and traditional music – Róisín Nic Dhonncha, Mary Immaculate College, UL RnaG and the creation of community– Steve Coleman, NUIM A community and broadcasting medium – Siobhán Ní Laoire, DIT Identity, self-confidence and our own community – Rosemary Day, Mary Immaculate College, UL Raidió na Gaeltachta and terminological dissemination – Gearóid Ó Cleircín, DCU Which most benefits the Irish language: cosmopolitanism or the nation-state? – Iarfhlaith Watson, UCD   The founding vision of the station and contemporary challenges facing the service will also be discussed by a panel of speakers who broadly represent the diversity of the RnaG audience with a view to an open, general discussion among seminar participants about future directions for Raidió na Gaeltachta. Invited speakers during the afternoon session include:   Dónall Mac an tSíthigh Máire Mhic Niallais Joe Steve Ó Neachtain Seán Tadhg Ó Gairbhí   The talks and discussions at the seminar will be recorded and broadcast on Raidió na Gaeltachta later this year. This seminar is being jointly organised with Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge, NUI Galway and with sponsorship from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. --ENDS--

NUI Galway student Eve-Marie Costello has been awarded The Outstanding Young Person of Ireland award from Junior Chamber International (JCI), and has been put forward as a candidate for the Outstanding Young Persons of the World title, which will be announced in Taiwan later this year. Originally from Ballyglunin, Athenry, Co. Galway, Eva Marie is a third-year Science student at the University. NUI Galway’s Lorraine Tansey, ALIVE Volunteer Coordinator, and Riona Hughes, Societies Officer, nominated Eva-Marie for the coveted award in recognition of her significant achievement in the area of contribution to children, world peace and/or human rights. According to Riona Hughes: “Students like Eva-Marie and Melanie Hennessey, our most recent winner of the world title in 2010, who set up an orphanage and brought medical support to Nepal through her society Draíocht, show the impact that one person can make to bringing about positive change which impacts so profoundly on the students who they support and inspire to volunteer.” Eva-Marie began her volunteering in India during transition year in secondary school and has built on this by setting up the Ashirbad Society in NUI Galway. The Ashirbad Society focuses on sending NUI Galway students to India during the summer months to volunteer in areas of need including education, medical and agricultural. It also hopes to raise awareness of the needs of the people in the emerging sub-continent of India and to fundraise in order to improve the living and educational conditions for the under-privileged children of Kalimpong, West Bengal. Since 2007, Eva-Marie has travelled to India each year to work with the Cluny Sisters in Kalimpong, India. Eva-Marie now acts as a project instigator with the Sisters and is currently in the process of fundraising and planning for the development of the Declan Resource and Research Centre. She also volunteered at an Aids Centre run by the nuns, and was instrumental in producing an annual musical with the children and students. With her fellow volunteers they have raised over €45,000 in the last four years. Eva-Marie volunteered with SUAS homework club and has also been a key player in the NUI Galway musical society since she started at the University. Lorraine Tansey, Student Volunteer Coordinator at NUI Galway, said; “What sets Eva-Marie apart is her vision and commitment for the future, not only volunteering herself, but setting in place a structure which will see NUI Galway students into the future work with the Cluny Sisters on their great work in Kalimpong, and through this experience learning and growing as active citizens of the world. We are delighted to support JCI as they seek to recognise the valuable contribution volunteers make to society and congratulate Eva-Marie on exemplifying the NUI Galway civic graduate.” At the Regional JCI Top Outstanding Young Person of the Year awards, NUI Galway final year Occupational Therapy student Méabh Healy won the Regional Award in the Academic Leadership and/or Accomplishment category. From Mount Talbot, Co. Roscommon, Méabh was presented with her award for her two year research programmes with Enable Ireland. The Outstanding Young Persons program of Junior Chamber International serves to recognise up to ten individuals between the ages of 18 and 40 who exemplify the best attributes of the world’s young people. NUI Galway students have previously won The Outstanding Young Persons of the World award in 2007 and again in 2010. -ENDS-

Over 100 delegates attended a one-day conference on Planning for Smart Cities and Regions of the Future hosted by NUI Galway last week. The conference, opened by Galway City Mayor, Hildegard Naughton, focussed on describing advanced technologies and highlighting how they can be used to make informed decisions during planning and day-to-day living. Attendees at the conference comprised of a cross-section of interest groups including: public and private sector planners; decision makers; engineers; technology entrepreneurs; and owners of small and medium enterprises.  Speakers included engineers, IT specialists, geographers, policy makers and industry specialists. Keynote speaker, Dr Emanuele Ragnoli from IBM, highlighted the worldwide growth of urbanisation and gave a preview of likely problems facing planners in the areas of traffic congestion, water security and energy security. He described how IBM's Smarter Cities research centre in Dublin is using advanced computer models to enable them to plan the cities of the future in a sustainable way. Presentations included talks on the use of computer models which could be used to advise bathers of water quality at Blackrock beach in Salthill through the use of electronic signage along the prom. Other discussions focused on models which could be used operationally to forecast coastal flooding events and help with emergency response planning. A presentation by NUI Galway’s Dr Jim Duggan described how computer modelling can be applied to human habitation behaviour illustrating how a city can plan for social integration during periods of increased growth and diversity. Chaired by Professor Gerry Lyons, NUI Galway’s Dean College of Engineering and Informatics, the aim of the conference was to stimulate debate on the future of our region and how technology and infrastructure will help shape the future.  Dr Mike Hartnett, Vice-Dean of the College of Engineering and Informatics and one of the conference organisers, said:  “The conference has shown the depth of expertise that exists between NUI Galway and the local community in the area of sustainable and efficient planning of our region and of Galway City. It is likely that over the next 20 years or so Galway City will expand relatively fast. It is our intention to increase our activities in the area of sustainable planning and development. We are keen to develop greater links between the regional partners and NUI Galway to improve the quality of life for the people living in this region.” -ENDS-

The tenth Galway Symposium on Higher Education will take place at NUI Galway from 7-8 June in Áras Moyola. The two day symposium, entitled The Written Word: Writing, Publishing and Communication in Higher Education, will be comprised of papers, short presentations, workshops, panel discussions and posters. Essays, reports, papers, books, journals, and even blogs are all at the heart of higher education, and the ability to write clearly and intelligently is deemed a hallmark of a successful graduate. For those working in academia, the need to publish journal papers, monographs and other emerging media forms is vital, with performance metrics based on output and citations. To navigate the complex world of the ‘information age’, powers of discrimination and judgement are essential to the enterprise of sense-making. Academics increasingly need to be able to communicate with a wider audience, to reach out and share their passion and expertise with the public and engage with debate and critique in educational, scientific, cultural and political spheres. The focus of the symposium will be on nurturing the skills of writing amongst students and fine-tuning our own approaches and adapt to new media and new audiences. Questions such as what can we do to challenge the increasing costs of publication, journal subscription charges and the ‘paywalls’ that block access to knowledge, and how can we weave together the skills of communication, critical thinking and public engagement, will also be discussed.   Keynote speakers will include: Professor Adrian Frazier, NUI Galway; Dr Brian Hughes,Senior Lecturer in Psychology, NUI Galway; Catherine Cronin, Academic Coordinator on eLearning programmes at NUI Galway, and advocate of social and digital media for learning; Dr Adam Rutherford, writer and broadcaster; William St. Clair, Senior Research Fellow, Universities of London, Cambridge and Harvard, and Chairman of Open Book Publishers; Dr Mary R. Lea, Reader at the Institute  of Educational Technology and researcher on academic literacies, Open University; andDr Aileen Fyfe, University of St. Andrews and author of Steam-Powered Knowledge. Dr Iain Mac Labhrainn, Director of CELT said: “It is vital that graduates have high levels of writing skills, and the ability to share, critique and communicate knowledge and ideas to a wide range of potential audiences is at the heart of higher education.” Registration for the event is available at http://www.nuigalway.ie/celt/conference/conference12.html -ENDS-

On the weekend of June 8-10, the largest group of quilts ever to be assembled in the history of Ireland will be on display on the campus of NUI Galway, as the first annual International Quilt Festival of Ireland creates a “Quilter’s Village” atmosphere and welcomes thousands of international visitors to Ireland. Over two hundred and eighty quilts will be on display at NUI Galway, in addition to Irish craft workshops, quilt classes, entertainment and activities being offered throughout the weekend.  A silent auction will be held each day during the weekend, benefiting the ISPCC, Console and NBCRI. Also the Make a Wish Foundation will receive €1 per wish that is written and placed on the ‘Giving Tree’ in the exhibit My Quilted Garden. Award winning set designer and artists Dara McGee and Daniel O’Sullivan have even constructed a façade to be placed in front of some of the University buildings to create a replica of a 17th century Irish village. According to managing director of the festival, Jim West, this Disneyland atmosphere of the Quilter’s Village will impress everyone who comes to enjoy the ground-breaking endeavour: “We are inviting everyone who lives in Ireland to come to NUI Galway to see this extraordinary event, and families especially are invited on Sunday, June 10th, where we will offer free admission to children and providing all kinds of craft activities and workshops for everyone to enjoy! It is history in the making, and is something that has never been seen or done before inIreland.” For more information on the quilt festival visit www.IQFOI.com NUI Galway Conference Centre, set in 230 acres of picturesque grounds, offers the very best that the Ireland has to offer event organisers with a stunning and varied range of facilities and amenities available. ENDS

NUI Galway President, Dr Jim Browne, officially launched The case of the Craughwell Prisoners during the Land War in Co. Galway, 1879–85 by Pat Finnegan last night (Thursday, 17 June). Pat Finnegan is Professor Emeritus of Medicine at NUI Galway and a retired consultant physician, University Hospital Galway. Published by Four Courts Press, The case of the Craughwell Prisoners during the Land War in Co. Galway, 1879–85examines the wrongful conviction of Patrick Finnegan and RIC Constable Michael Muldowney. At the height of the Land War in 1881, a dispute over land led to the shooting dead of a young man called Peter Doherty near Craughwell, Co. Galway. Intense police investigations discovered two informers whose perjured testimony before packed juries resulted in the conviction of two innocent men, Patrick Finnegan and Constable Muldowney. This book features a forensic analysis of the trials that resulted in such a grave miscarriage of justice. Original research in primary sources has uncovered the role of informers, payments made to them and their eventual ‘disposal’ by the Dublin Castle authorities. Following commutation of the death sentences, each of the prisoners served a term of twenty years penal servitude and became known as the ‘Craughwell prisoners’. The experiences of the prisoners in Mountjoy and Maryborough jails are revealed from the prison files, which also contain their heartfelt pleas for release and pardon and affirmations of their innocence. The case of the Craughwell Prisoners during the Land War in Co. Galway, 1879–85 is available to purchase at the NUI Galway Bookstore or at www.fourcourtspress.ie. -ENDS-

Plans for a new device to help interventional radiologists  improve  vessel embolisation was one of 40 ’unmet clinical needs’ discussed at a biomedical symposium at NUI Galway today. Colin Forde, Product Development Engineer and Wayne Allen, Business Development Manager, 2011 BioInnovate Ireland Fellows, plan to commercialise a new medical technology designed to permanently close blood vessels, targeted at an existing surgical procedure termed embolisation. The idea for their technology was developed while observing surgery in St James Hospital and University Hospital Galway; where it was noticed that multiple devices were required to close the vessel, which was time intensive, costly and posed risk. Colin and Wayne plan to commercialise a one-shot device that will immediately occlude any vessel.  Launched last year, BioInnovate Ireland is a specialist training and collaboration programme in medical device innovation. It is modelled on Stanford University’s prestigious Biodesign Programme. These top 40 'unmet clinical needs' have been processed by the first cohort of BioInnovate fellows, who have participated in an intensive clinical immersion in teaching hospitals to help identify potential medical device development opportunities. Throughout a 10-month period, they have availed of the expert advice, direction and guidance from dedicated industrial mentors and serial entrepreneurs, along with national and international clinicians with an interest in enhancing patient care through medical device innovation. The BioInnovate Ireland Symposium heard a keynote address by Stanford University’s Professor Jack Linehan, a leading expert in the US on innovation and the biomedical sector.  In his address Professor Linehan said: “BioInnovate is already serving as an effective connector between universities (faculty and students) and indigenous and global medical device companies in Ireland. Universities are neutral grounds for business, clinical and academic players to meet and share ideas. I fully expect these connections to grow and flourish following in the steps of the successful Stanford Biodesign programme.” Ireland’s medical technology sector has evolved into one of the leading clusters for medical device and diagnostic products globally. The sector employs more than 25,000 people, which makes the country, per capita, the biggest medical technology employer in European Union. With exports of €7.3 billion in 2011, Ireland is now confirmed among the largest exporters of medical technology products in Europe. 11 of the world's top 13 manufacturing companies manufacturing here, the medical device and diagnostic industry in Ireland is a vibrant growth sector and a cornerstone of the Irish economy. The sector consists of 250 companies involved in developing, manufacturing and marketing a diverse range of products and services; from disposable plastic and wound care products to precision metal implants including pacemakers to micro-electronic devices, orthopaedic implants, diagnostics, contact lenses and stents. Approximately 50% of these companies are indigenous. According to Sharon Higgins, Director, IMDA: “Ireland is centrally placed to capitalise on the growing global market for medical technology products and services. We see BioInnovate Ireland as a critical mechanism in continuing to develop and integrate the broad range of strategic competencies and support systems that will enable this island to compete as a mature, high value added economy, with innovation at its core.” The BioInnovate Ireland Fellowship Programme is delivered by a consortium of four Higher Education Institutions which include NUI Galway, University of Limerick, Dublin City University and University College Cork. This initiative has received funding and support from Enterprise Ireland and several key medical device players including: Medtronic, Creganna-Tactx Medical, Lake Region Medical, Boston Scientific and SteriPack. Speaking about the programme, the Fellowship Director, NUI Galway’s Dr Mark Bruzzi, said: “BioInnovate Ireland has successfully brought together industry, academic and clinical leaders to support a training environment for innovation in the medical device sector. Through this network and with the support of Enterprise Ireland, the Irish Medical Device Association and BioInnovate industry sponsors, a platform has been established that enables the next generation of medical device leaders to emerge. BioInnovate has captured the imagination of industry, clinicians and academics in believing that through collaboration, Ireland has an immense opportunity to emerge as a global place of choice for medical technology start-ups.” -ends-

The annual meeting of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland (RAMI), Section of Biomedical Sciences, will take place in the Bailey Allen Hall at NUI Galway on Thursday, 14 June. This annual meeting is the premier Biomedical Science meeting in Ireland and provides a platform to showcase novel biomedical research. The meeting will feature a high calibre scientific programme covering biomedical research currently ongoing around Ireland. Submissions in any area of Biomedical Sciences are welcome and the meeting represents a particularly good forum for PhD students, undergraduate students and early career post-doctorate researchers to present their work in oral or poster form. Authors will have the option of having their abstracts published in the Irish Journal of Medical Sciences, and there will be a number of prize presentations throughout the meeting. First time presenters are eligible to apply for The Donegan Medal Competition, while the Barcroft Medal competition is open to presentations from early post-doctoral researchers.  The annual Conway Review Lecture will be delivered by Dr John O’Connor, Conway Institute at UCD, who will present a lecture entitled ‘Targeting TNF in hypoxia and synaptic signalling’. During the meeting Dr O’Connor will also be presented with the annual Conway medal. Founded in 1882, the Section of Biomedical Science of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland presents the Conway medal in commemoration of Edward J. Conway, F.R.S., one time Professor of Biochemistry in University College Dublin. The medal is awarded annually to an outstanding scholar in the biomedical sciences and the recipient is given the opportunity to present a lecture on their research. The conference is being organised by NUI Galway academics and researchers including: Dr Michelle Roche, Physiology and NCBES Centre of Pain Research; Dr Jill McMahon, NCBES; and Dr David Finn, Pharmacology and NCBES Centre of Pain Research. Speaking about the upcoming meeting, Dr Michelle Roche said: “We expect this to be one of the best attended and most vibrant RAMI Biomedical Sciences Section conferences in recent years. The conference will bring together researchers from across the full spectrum of the biomedical sciences and provide a forum for the sharing of ideas and knowledge. It is appropriate that the conference is being held at NUI Galway at this time, where biomedical sciences has been identified as a major priority area of research for the University.” For full details, registration and abstract submission visit http://www.eventelephant.com/RAMI_BMS_2012 . -ENDS- 

His Excellency, the Ambassador of Italy, Dr Maurizio Zanini, recently launched a new online Diploma in Italian at NUI Galway, first university in Ireland to launch such a programme. Run by the Discipline of Italian Studies at the University, the new course will commence in September and is open to students all over the world. Speaking at the launch, Ambassador Zanini, highlighted the importance of thinking of Europe as the coming together of multiple cultures and languages, “Studying Italian will enhance the knowledge and understanding of Europe as a whole, and will make individuals more competent European citizens.” The course concentrates on all four main language skills, listening, speaking, reading and writing, and provides a gradual introduction to the structures and functions of the language. In addition, a module on oral and intercultural skills will introduce various aspects of Italian life from an intercultural perspective. Unlike many distance learning programmes designed for independent learning, this new course is based on a collaborative, communicative approach and students are encouraged to participate in virtual class activities with their peers and e-tutors. NUI Galway President, Dr Jim Browne, said: “The online Diploma in Italian is a groundbreaking experience employing the latest skills in e-learning and will enable learners to study Italian in their own time, wherever they are, and as part of a community of e-learners.” The online course has been designed and developed by Dr Laura McLoughlin and recently graduated PhD student Dr Silvia Bernabei. Dr McLoughlin is the winner of prestigious European Awards for innovation in the teaching of languages, and has a particular expertise in the area of technology enhanced pedagogical approaches. The new course has been tailored to suit the requirements of students who need flexibility in their time and mode of study, and/ or who do not live in Galway. The Diploma in Italian is open to everybody and is designed for those who have no previous knowledge of the language. In order to facilitate interaction and create a supportive learning environment, face-to-face on campus sessions will take place as part of the course. A practical introductory session in the use of computers will also be given at the beginning of the course to ensure that all students have basic computer skills. Professor Paolo Bartoloni, Head of Italian at NUI Galway, said: “Learning a new language will provide invaluable skills. There is no doubt that the profile of the professional of the future will be that of a person who can adapt quickly and effectively to new situations and environments, who speaks more than one language, and who is at home in more than one country. Language students will be mobile, cosmopolitan, and ready and happy to embrace and negotiate different cultures and traditions.” Closing date for applications is Friday, 13 July and full details of the online Diploma in Italian are available on www.nuigalway.ie/italian/onlinediploma.html. For further information or queries contact the Course Director, Dr Laura McLoughlin, at 091 492240 or laura.mcloughlin@nuigalway.ie. -ENDS-

The International AAAI Conference on Weblogs and Social Media (ICWSM) comes to Ireland for the first time, bringing with it keynote speakers from Google, Twitter, the University of Oxford and other top research groups from around the globe. 300 of the world's top social media researchers will descend on Dublin from 4-7 June to attend a series of workshops, tutorials, invited talks and top accepted research papers from an interdisciplinary mix of computer science and social science research. The event is being organised by the Digital Enterprise Research Institute (DERI), which is based at NUI Galway. Andrew Tomkins, Engineering Director at Google, will speak about the first year of Google's social networking and identity service Google+. Robin Dunbar, Head of the Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Oxford, will present one of the keynote addresses in a talk titled 'Why Facebook Won't Get You Any More Friends'. Professor Dunbar is the originator of Dunbar's number, a theoretical cognitive limit to the number of people with whom one can maintain stable social relationships. Lada Adamic, University of Michigan and award-winning researcher, will present on 'The Information Life of Social'. As part of the conference, ICWSM will host an industry and commercialisation event designed to bring delegates from local and international industry and academia together. The event will consist of two focused discussion panels interleaved with a coffee and stands session where industrial delegates can present their business or service, seek business and recruitment opportunities and exchange ideas with a national and international audience. The first panel on business networking and enterprise collaboration will be entitled 'I Want to (Net)work with You, But I Don't Know What/Where/Who You Are'. Speakers include Connor Murphy, CEO and co-founder of Datahug, Stuart McRae, Executive Collaboration and Social Business Evangelist with IBM, and Keith Griffin, Principal Engineer in Cisco's Collaboration Technology Group. The second panel on news and social media will focus on 'News Generation and Consumption through Social Media'. Speakers include: Howard Mortman, Communications Director and member of the executive leadership team at C-SPAN; Gavin Sheridan, Innovation Director with Storyful; Paul Quigley, founder of NewsWhip; Hugh Linehan, Online Editor of The Irish Times; and Hannah Waldram, Community Coordinator with The Guardian. This year's conference papers cover both old and new ground, from the advancement of techniques to extract, summarize, and detect information from social streams, to understanding phenomena in society by how they are reflected in and shaped by social media. Some of the social media research work that will be presented at ICWSM include: An analysis of the YouTube social network will show how it differs from traditional social networking sites but bears some resemblance to Twitter in terms of its network properties. In a very large study of browsing behaviours, web histories for a quarter of a million anonymised individuals are paired with user-level demographics to examine behaviour change over time online, to revisit notions of the digital divide, and to show that user attributes may be inferred from browsing histories and potentially used for ad targeting. A method that can identify experts in social question-and-answer sites through evolutionary pattern detection will be presented. A framework that accurately identifies sick individuals from the content of online communication will be presented and evaluated based on a large Twitter dataset. Research on the World of Warcraft multiplayer system will describe how destructive group dynamics can be predicted with medium-to-high accuracy. A model for studying the structure and composition of a city, based on the social media its residents generate, will be described and tested using 18 million check-ins collected from a location-based online social network.         Tutorial sessions at ICWSM will cover how to analyze a massive social network; how to map networks found on social media sites and in email collections; how to design an online community using evidence-based social design principles; and how to carry out sentiment mining and extract relevant information from user-generated content. Workshops are in the areas of social media visualisation, the news media industry, real-time mining of social streams, and when the city meets the citizen. According to the General Chair, Dr John Breslin who is a social media expert and researcher with DERI at NUI Galway: “Whatever the future may hold for online social media, there are sure to be hints embedded in this year's topically-diverse set of research papers. We're truly honoured to have such a high-calibre set of speakers, from research and academia but also from industry and media companies.” ICWSM is sponsored by Science Foundation Ireland, Google, Bing / Microsoft Research, Fáilte Ireland / Meet in Ireland, Tawlk, Knoesis at Wright State University, Yahoo! Research, IBM, and Church & Duncan Group. The local organisers are John Breslin, NUI Galway, Conor Hayes, DERI at NUI Galway, and Derek Greene, UCD.  ICWSM will be held in Dublin at the Trinity Bio Sciences Institute from 4-7 June 2012, for further information visit www.icwsm.org. Ends

NUI Galway’s Professor of Midwifery, Declan Devane, will deliver his Inaugural Professorial Lecture on Friday, 8 June at 6pm in Áras Moyola, NUI Galway. Hosted by the School of Nursing and Midwifery at NUI Galway, Professor Devane’s lecture entitled Evidence Based Midwifery: Its Heritage, Our Future, will focus on the contribution of evidence, and in particular research based evidence, to the provision of high quality maternity care. By considering the historical context of maternity care and by examining key pieces of research and aspects of clincial practice, Professor Devane will examine how the application of what we know can prevent and minimise some of the widespread problems we face in maternity care. The opening address will be delivered by NUI Galway President, Dr Jim Browne. The guest lecture, Implications of the Birthplace in England Research Programme: Adding to the Evidence Jigsaw about High Quality and Safe Maternity Care, will be presented by Professor Jane Sandall, Professor of Women’s Health and Programme Director at Kings College, London. Speaking ahead of the lecture, Professor Devane said: “Evidence based practice involves the explicit use of best evidence, clinical expertise and the preferences and perspectives of those accessing our health services. Over the past 20 years, research has moved from being marginal to practice to transforming the care women and their infants receive by providing high quality evidence to inform healthcare decisions. The implementation of evidence based practice is not, however, without its challenges. If practice is to be based on high quality evidence then not only is research evidence needed but it needs to be disseminated and implemented. To RSVP for the lecture please contact Mari Moran, School of Nursing and Midwifery at NUI Galway, at 091 493740 or mari.moran@nuigalway.ie. -ENDS-

Programme is part of the Government’s strategy to improve the teaching and learning of maths  The Minister of State for Research and Innovation, Seán Sherlock, TD, today officially launched the Professional Diploma in Mathematics for Teaching, which is aimed at ‘out-of-field’ teachers of maths. The programme is aimed at improving the skills of maths teachers at post- primary level. It covers mathematical content and knowledge, and teaching and learning strategies/approaches relevant to the Project Maths syllabi, which are being rolled out in schools.    Under the NUI Galway-UL Strategic Alliance, a team from the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Applied Mathematics and School of Education, NUI Galway has worked closely with the National Centre for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching and Learning (NCE-MSTL, UL) to develop the new professional mathematics education programme. Speaking of the announcement, Dr Tony Hall, NUI Galway, said: “This new programme constitutes a significant and historic development in the enhancement of post-primary mathematics in Irish education. The principal focus of this unique new course is to enhance teachers’ mathematical content knowledge and their understanding of the subject of mathematics.” Dr Hall added:  “Now, this unique, specialist professional mathematics education programme at graduate level will facilitate upskilling of the mathematical subject knowledge of teachers in schools, helping to support the wider national reforms currently taking place in mathematics education in Ireland.” Jointly accredited and designed by NUI Galway and UL, the programme will be delivered nationwide, free of charge through a national consortium of higher education institutions and the Association of Teacher Education Centres in Ireland. The course will be a blended learning programme based on a part-time (2 year) university accredited professional diploma, delivered locally and through online modules. Google will support the flexible online delivery of the programme as the chief technology partner in the NUI Galway-UL, Alliance-led consortium. The new programme is aligned with the national curriculum reform, Project Maths (2008-2015); the requirements of the Teaching Council as the statutory body for teaching in Ireland; and latest developments in innovative educational technology and mathematics education research. There will be specific provision for teachers in Irish-medium schools through a Dioplóma Gairmiúil sa Mhatamaitic don Mhúinteoireacht, supported by NUI Galway and Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge, Gaillimh. The BA Mathematics and Education was introduced by the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Applied Mathematics and School of Education, NUI Galway in 2008 specifically to address the demonstrated need for excellent mathematics teaching in Irish schools. It was at the time the first, and only specialist teaching programme of its kind in the Irish State, focusing to honours university level on the mathematical sciences, within a full, concurrent, four-year initial teacher education degree. The BA Mathematics and Education will graduate its first cohort of specialist mathematics and applied mathematics teachers in autumn 2012. Commenting on the launch, Minister for Education and Skills Ruairí Quinn T.D.,  said: “The provision of this course provides further evidence of my personal commitment, and that of my Government colleagues, to supporting maths teaching in post primary schools. We are providing over €2million to fund this course, and are making it available at locations across the country and free of change, to maximise accessibility and participation.” Minister Sherlock said “The teaching community has shown significant interest in this course since my announcement last September. I am pleased that the course will facilitate teachers who are working during the day, with convenient local and online access.” John Herlihy, VP and Head of Google in Ireland said; “Government, industry and academia all agree on the need for more students to study Maths, Science and Engineering subjects at third level and on the need to produce graduates with strong analytical and problem solving skills. The introduction of a Professional Diploma in Mathematics for Teaching is an important step in augmenting how we teach maths in our secondary schools. I believe that providing ‘out of field’ teachers with the specialised skills to teach maths in an enthusiastic and knowledgeable way will be a catalyst for more students pursuing maths based subjects at third level.” ENDS

The Sudanese Medical Association, UK and Ireland, will hold its first conference in Ireland in the Salthill Hotel, Galway on Saturday, 9 June. The papers presented during the conference will focus considerable attention on the migration of Sudanese doctors, its impact and the many opportunities for collaboration between Sudan and Ireland. Delegates will include health policy makers in Ireland and Sudan, health care professionals, and academics to discuss issues related to the migration of medical professionals and analyse the whole issue of health workers migration in local and global contexts. The conference will be addressed by the Republic of Sudan’s Federal Minister of Health, along with keynote speakers from NUI Galway, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and the Irish Forum for Global Health. Speakers will address and examine the overall impact of migration of health care professionals on the Irish health system.  Dr Abobakr Shadad, Lecturer at the Discipline of Medicine at NUI Galway and Deputy President of the Sudanese Medical Association, UK and Ireland, said: “This conference will provide an opportunity for participants from Ireland, Sudan and the UK to meet, network and examine opportunities of joint work.The Sudanese Medical Association was established a result of our awareness of the many opportunities available for us as Irish Sudanese and British Sudanese to be an agent of change and a voice of reason both in Ireland, UK as well as in our home country Sudan.” NUI Galway will be represented at the conference by: Professor Martin Cormican, Professor of Bacteriology; Dr Sean Dinneen, Senior Lecturer in Medicine; and Dr Diarmuid O’Donovan, Senior Lecturer and Vice-Dean for Internationalisation, who will be participating in the conference activities and chairing the sessions as well as in the post conference activities. This is the fourth International Conference for the Sudanese Medical Association, UK and Ireland, since its inception in 2010. The conference program is available at https://www.eventelephant.com/ee/images/event/14573/SMA_program(1).pdf. For more info on the conference visit https://www.eventelephant.com/SMA -END-

Sebastian Barry, Maureen Dowd, Irial Finan, The Honourable James Flaherty PC, MP NUI Galway today (Monday, 28 May) announced the recipients of the 2012 Honorary Degrees. The four individuals to be conferred on Friday, 29 June are playwright and novelist, Sebastian Barry; The New York Times opinion columnist, Maureen Dowd; Executive Vice President, The Coca-Cola Company, Irial Finan; and Canadian Finance Minister, The Honourable James Flaherty PC, MP. Speaking on the announcement, NUI Galway President, Dr Jim Browne said:  “NUI Galway is fortunate to be associated with many outstanding honorary graduates throughout its history and those being honoured this year form a particularly distinguished group. Each one has made an outstanding and distinctive contribution to the diverse fields of literature, journalism, business, public administration and government. NUI Galway is very pleased to be in a position to recognise these exceptional individuals.” Sebastian Barry will be conferred with a Degree of Doctor of Literature (honoris causa). Born in Dublin in 1955, he began to write in 1977, publishing a number of books of fiction and poetry, and in 1986 became increasingly involved in theatre work. He published a novel The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty (1998), followed by Annie Dunne (2002) and then two Man Booker Prize shortlisted books – A Long Long Way (2005) and The Secret Scripture (2008). The latter earned him the Costa Book of the Year award, the Independent Booksellers’ Prize, and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, among others. Barry’s most recent novel, On Canaan’s Side, was also longlisted for the Booker, and shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize, the Irish Book Awards and the Galaxy International Author of the Year. He has written twelve plays, among them the award-winning The Steward of Christendom (1995), Our Lady of Sligo (1998), and The Pride of Parnell Street (2007). He won the Ireland Fund Literary Award in 1997. He has been Writer in Association at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin and was Heimbold Visiting Professor at Villanova University in 2006. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of East Anglia in 2010, and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. His work is translated into more than thirty-five languages. Maureen Dowd will be conferred with a Degree of Doctor of Literature (honoris causa). She is a 1999 Pulitzer Prize winner, in the commentary category, for her “unsparing columns on the hypocrisies involved in the Lewinsky affair and the effort to impeach President Clinton”. She was appointed a columnist of The New York Times’s Op-Ed page in January 1995 (where she joined in 1983). Previously, she served as a correspondent in its Washington bureau since August 1986. There, she covered two Presidential campaigns and served as White House correspondent, gaining a wide following of admirers and imitators for her witty, incisive and acerbic portraits of the powerful. She also wrote a column, "On Washington", for The New York Times Magazine. She began her career in 1974 as an editorial assistant for the Washington Star where she later became a sports columnist, metropolitan reporter, and feature writer. A Pulitzer Prize finalist for national reporting in 1992, Ms Dowd received the Breakthrough Award from ‘Women, Men and Media’ at Columbia University in 1991 and a Matrix Award from New York Women in Communications in 1994. She was named one of Glamour’s Women of the Year for 1996 and won the Damon Runyon award in 2000 for outstanding contributions to journalism. Dowd is the author of two bestselling books Bushworld:  Enter at Your Own Risk (2004) and Are Men Necessary? When Sexes Collide (2005). Born in Washington, D.C., on January 14, 1952, Miss Dowd received a BA degree in English from Catholic University (Washington) in 1973. Irian Finan will be conferred with a Degree of Doctor of Laws (honoris causa). He is Executive Vice President, The Coca-Cola Company and President of Bottling Investments responsible for managing a multi-billion dollar bottling business, Bottling Investments Group (BIG), which has operations on four continents (South America, Europe, Africa and Asia), with revenues of over $8 billion and employs over 85,000 people. Additionally, he is responsible for stewarding The Company’s Equity Investments and leading Global Supply Chain. Irial has over 29 years experience in The Coca-Cola System. From 2001 to 2003, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola HBC, during which time he managed the merger integration of Coca-Cola Beverages plc and Hellenic Bottling SA, and led the combined company's operations in 26 countries. Irial joined the Coca-Cola Company in 2004 as President, Bottling Investments and Supply Chain and was named Executive Vice President of the Company in October 2004. From 1995 to 1999, he was managing director of Molino Beverages, with responsibility for expanding markets, including the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Romania, Moldova, Russia and Nigeria. Prior to that role, Irial worked in several markets across Europe. From 1991 to 1993 he served as managing director of Coca-Cola Bottlers Ulster, Ltd., based in Belfast. He was finance director, Coca-Cola Bottlers Ireland, Ltd., based in Dublin from 1984 to 1990. Irial serves on the board of directors of Coca-Cola FEMSA, Coca-Cola HBC, Coca-Cola Central Japan, the Supervisory Board of CCE AG (Germany), Smurfit Kappa Group, and the American Ireland Fund. He also serves as a non-executive director for Co-operation Ireland and NUI Galway Foundation. Irial holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from NUI Galway and is an Associate (later Fellow) of the Institute of Chartered Management Accountants. The Honourable James Flaherty PC, MP will be conferred with a Degree of Doctor of Laws (honoris causa). He is a third-term Member of Parliament for Whitby–Oshawa (Ontario). He serves as Canada’s Minister of Finance and Minister Responsible for the Greater Toronto Area. He is a Governor of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. As Minister of Finance he is an ex-officio member of all Cabinet Committees. Minister Flaherty was recently awarded Euromoney Magazine’s Finance Minister of the Year award. Euromoney credited him with enhancing Canada’s reputation for sound fiscal policy while taking full account of social justice and overseeing a strong regulatory regime that has kept the financial sector out of chaos. He has also been described as a pillar in both the G-7 and the G-20. In 2010, Minister Flaherty was chair of the G-7 Finance Ministers and chair of the annual Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting. Previously, for more than 10 years, he served as the Member of Provincial Parliament for Whitby–Ajax (Ontario). He served as Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance, Attorney General and Minister of Labour. He graduated from Princeton University cum laude and then graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School. He was called to the Bar in Ontario with honours and practised law for more than 20 years before being elected to public office. These four graduands join the ranks of previous honorary alumni which include, among many others, Nelson Mandela, Hilary Clinton, Christy O’Connor Snr and Jnr, Enya, Anjelica Huston, Fionnuala Flanagan and Margaret Atwood. For more information on this year's recipients click -ends-   Céimithe Oinigh 2012 Fógartha ag OÉ Gaillimh Sebastian Barry, Maureen Dowd, Irial Finan, an Uasal Onórach James Flaherty PC, MP D’fhógair OÉ Gaillimh inniu na daoine a mbronnfar Céimeanna Oinigh 2012 orthu. Is iad an ceathrar a gheobhaidh céim oinigh Dé hAoine, an 29 Meitheamh an drámadóir agus úrscéalaí, Sebastian Barry; colúnaí tuairimíochta an New York Times, Maureen Dowd; Leas-Uachtarán Feidhmiúcháin, The Coca-Cola Company, Irial Finan; agus Aire Airgeadais Cheanada, An tUasal Onórach James Flaherty PC, MP. Ag labhairt dó faoin bhfógra, dúirt Uachtarán OÉ Gaillimh, an Dr Jim Browne:  “Tá an t-ádh le OÉ Gaillimh céimithe oinigh den scoth a bheith aici in imeacht na mblianta ach is eisceacht céimithe oinigh na bliana seo. Tá a c(h)ion féin déanta ag gach céimí oinigh daoibh i réimsí éagsúla na litríochta, na hiriseoireachta, an ghnó agus an riaracháin phoiblí agus an rialtais. Tá an-áthas ar OÉ Gaillimh a bheith in ann aitheantas a thabhairt do na daoine eisceachtúla seo.” Bronnfar Céim Dhochtúireachta le Litríocht (honoris causa) ar Sebastian Barry. Rugadh é i mBaile Átha Cliath i 1955, agus chuir sé peann le pár den chéad uair i 1977. D’fhoilsigh sé cúpla leabhar ficsin agus filíochta, agus i 1986 thosaigh sé ag díriú ar an amharclannaíocht. D’fhoilsigh sé na húrscéalta The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty (1998), agus Annie Dunne (2002) agus ansin dhá leabhar a cuireadh ar ghearrliosta do Dhuais Man Booker – A Long Long Way (2005) agus The Secret Scripture (2008). Bhuaigh The Secret Scripture an duais Costa Book of the Year, Duais na nDíoltóirí Neamhspleácha Leabhar, agus Duais Chuimhneacháin James Tait Black, i measc duaiseanna eile. Cuireadh an t-úrscéal is deireanaí a scríobh Barry, On Canaan’s Side, ar an liosta fada do dhuais Booker, agus ar an ngearrliosta do dhuais Walter Scott, Duaiseanna Leabhar na hÉireann agus Duais Galaxy d’Údar Idirnáisiúnta na Bliana. Tá dhá dhráma dhéag scríofa aige, ina measc The Steward of Christendom (1995), Our Lady of Sligo (1998), agus The Pride of Parnell Street (2007) a bhfuil duaiseanna buaite acu. Bhuaigh sé Duais Litearthachta Chiste na hÉireann i 1997. Bhí sé ina Scríbhneoir i gCompántas in Amharclann na Mainistreach i mBaile Átha Cliath agus ina Ollamh Heimbold ar Cuairt in Ollscoil Villanova in 2006. Fuair sé dochtúireacht oinigh ón Ollscoil in East Anglia in 2010, agus rinneadh Comhalta den Royal Society of Literature de. Tá a shaothar aistrithe go breis agus tríocha cúig teanga. Bronnfar Céim Dhochtúireachta le Litríocht (honoris causa) ar Maureen Dowd. Bhuaigh sí Duais Pulitzer i 1999, sa chatagóir tráchtaireachta, mar gheall ar a "unsparing columns on the hypocrisies involved in the Lewinsky affair and the effort to impeach President Clinton." Ceapadh ina colúnaí í ar an leathanach trasna ón eagarfhocal sa New York Times in Eanáir 1995 (áit ar thosaigh sí i 1983). Roimhe sin, d’oibrigh sí mar chomhfhreagraí i mbiúró Washington ó Lúnasa 1986. Bhí sí ina comhfhreagraí ar dhá fheachtas Uachtaránachta agus ina comhfhreagraí sa Teach Bán, áit a raibh lucht leanúna mór aici mar gheall go ndéanfadh sí cur síos barúil, gonta agus searbhasach orthu siúd a bhí i gcumhacht. Scríobh sí an colún, "On Washington," don New York Times Magazine. Thosaigh sí ag obair i 1974 mar chúntóir eagarthóireachta don Washington Star agus ina dhiaidh sin bhí sí ina colúnaí spóirt, ina tuairisceoir cathrach, agus ina scríbhneoir gné-alt leis an bpáipéar céanna. Bhí Maureen Dowd san iomaíocht do Dhuais Pulitzer as tuairisciú náisiúnta i 1992, bhuaigh sí an Breakthrough Award ó "Women, Men and Media" in Ollscoil Columbia i 1991 agus an Matrix Award ó New York Women in Communications i 1994. D’ainmnigh Glamour í ar dhuine de Mhná na Bliana i 1996 agus bhuaigh sí duais Damon Runyon in 2000 as a cuid oibre i saol na hiriseoireachta. Tá dhá leabhar sárdhíola scríofa ag Dowd Bushworld:  Enter at Your Own Rish (2004) agus Are Men Necessary?  When Sexes Collide (2005). Rugadh Maureen Dowd in Washington, D.C., an 14 Eanáir 1952. Bhain sí céim BA amach sa Bhéarla ó Catholic University (Washington) i 1973. Bronnfar Céim Dhochtúireachta le Dlíthe (honoris causa) ar Irian Finan. Tá sé ina Leas-Uachtarán Feidhmiúcháin ar The Coca-Cola Company agus ina Uachtarán ar Bottling Investments áit a bhfuil sé freagrach as gnó Buidéalaithe ar fiú na billiúin dollar é, Bottling Investments Group (BIG), a bhainistiú. Tá BIG ag feidhmiú i 4 mhór-roinn (Meiriceá Theas, an Eoraip, an Afraic agus an Áise), agus ioncam os cionn $8 billiún aige agus fostaíonn sé os cionn 85,000 duine. Chomh maith leis sin, tá Irian freagrach as Infheistíochtaí Cothromais agus Slabhra Soláthair Domhanda na cuideachta a mhaoirsiú. Tá breis agus 29 bliain taithí ag Irial i gcóras Coca-Cola. Ó 2001 go 2003, bhí sé ina Phríomhoifigeach Feidhmiúcháin ar Coca-Cola HBC. I rith an ama sin bhainistigh sé comhcheangal Coca-Cola Beverages plc agus Hellenic Bottling SA, agus bhí sé i gceannas ar obair na cuideachta i sé tír agus fiche. Thosaigh Irial ag obair sa Coca-Cola Company in 2004 mar Uachtarán ar Infheistíochtaí Buidéalaithe agus Slabhra Soláthair agus ainmníodh é mar Leas-Uachtarán Feidhmiúcháin na Cuideachta i nDeireadh Fómhair 2004. Idir 1995 agus 1999, bhí sé ina stiúrthóir bainistíochta ar Molino Beverages, agus é freagrach as margaí a leathnú, fiú i bPoblacht na hÉireann, i dTuaisceart Éireann, sa Rómáin, sa Mholdóiv, sa Rúis agus sa Nigéir. Roimhe sin, d’oibrigh Irial i margaí éagsúla ar fud na hEorpa. Idir 1991 agus 1993 d’oibrigh sé mar stiúrthóir bainistíochta ar Coca-Cola Bottlers Ulster, Ltd., lonnaithe i mBéal Feirste. Bhí sé ina stiúrthóir airgeadais ar Coca-Cola Bottlers Ireland, Ltd., lonnaithe i mBaile Átha Cliath idir 1984 agus 1990. Tá Irial ar bhord stiúrthóirí Coca-Cola FEMSA, Coca-Cola HBC, Coca-Cola Central Japan, Bord Maoirseachta CCE AG (sa Ghearmáin), Smurfit Kappa Group, agus Ciste Mheiriceá na hÉireann. Tá sé ina stiúrthóir neamhfheidhmiúcháin chomh maith ar Co-operation Ireland agus ar Fhondúireacht OÉ Gaillimh. Tá céim Tráchtála ag Irial ó OÉ Gaillimh agus tá sé ina Chomhpháirtí (Comhalta ina dhiaidh sin) d’Institiúid na gCuntasóirí Bainistíochta Cairte. Bronnfar Céim Dhochtúireachta le Dlíthe (honoris causa) ar an Uasal Onórach James Flaherty PC, MP. Is é seo an tríú téarma aige mar Theachta Parlaiminte do Whitby–Oshawa (Ontario). Is é Aire Airgeadais Cheanada é agus is é an tAire Freagrach as Mórcheantar Toronto é. Tá sé ina Rialtóir ar an mBanc Domhanda agus ar an gCiste Airgeadaíochta Idirnáisiúnta. Mar Aire Airgeadais tá sé ina chomhalta de bhrí oifige ar gach Coiste Comh-Aireachta. Bhronn an tIris Euromoney an gradam Aire Airgeadais na Bliana ar an Aire Flaherty le gairid. Deir Euromoney go bhfuil cáil Cheanada maidir le dea-bheartas fioscach feabhsaithe aige agus ag an am céanna go bhfuil ceartas sóisialta curtha san áireamh aige chomh maith le réim rialála láidir tugtha isteach aige agus go bhfuil an earnáil airgeadais coinnithe as anord aige dá bharr. Cuireadh síos air mar chrann taca sa G-7 agus sa G-20. In 2010, bhí an tAire Flaherty ina chathaoirleach ar Airí Airgeadais an G-7 agus ina chathaoirleach ar chruinniú bliantúil Airí Airgeadais an Chomhlathais. Ar feadh breis agus deich mbliana roimhe sin, bhí sé ina chomhalta den Pharlaimint Réigiúnach do Whitby–Ajax (Ontario). Bhí sé ina Leas-Cheannaire Rialtais agus ina Aire Airgeadais, ina Ard-Aighne agus ina Aire Saothair. Bhain sé a chéim amach ó Ollscoil Princeton le honóracha agus ansin ó Scoil Dlí Osgoode Hall. Cháiligh sé mar dhlíodóir le honóracha in Ontario agus bhí sé i mbun an dlí ar feadh breis agus scór bliain sular toghadh chuig oifig é. Beidh an ceathrar seo anois i measc céimithe oinigh mór le rá roimhe seo cosúil le Nelson Mandela, Hilary Clinton, Christy O’Connor Sinsear agus Sóisear, Enya, Anjelica Huston, Fionnuala Flanagan agus Margaret Atwood. -Críoch-

Research also explores the attitudes, fears and preferences of young people towards chlamydia testing New research carried out by researchers from NUI Galway, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and the Health Service Executive (HSE) has found that a national screening campaign for chlamydia in young people would not prove cost effective.  The research also explored the attitudes, fears and preferences of young Irish men and women aged 18-29 years old towards accepting tests to detect chlamydia. The Chlamydia Screening in Ireland Pilot Study, which was funded by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre and supported by the Health Research Board, looked at the feasibility of opportunistic screening in a general practice setting for chlamydia, which is a sexually transmitted infection (STI). Like other countries, Ireland is experiencing a steady increase in the numbers of young women and men presenting to the health services with STIs; the annual numbers of cases of chlamydia rose from 1000 in 1997 to around 6000 in 2008-09. Chlamydia is the most commonly reported bacterial STI in Ireland, with highest numbers reported among 20-29 year olds. More often than not it is silent and causes no symptoms – especially in women – but can cause serious complications such as infertility and ectopic pregnancies. Dr Emer O’Connell, Consultant in Public Health Medicine in the HSE presented study findings at Ireland’s first ever Sexual Health Awareness Week, which was officially launched in the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland today. “Screening for chlamydia is available in many countries. However, some countries such as Australia are reviewing the effectiveness of this measure. In Ireland, due to our small population and the strain already on our health service, a screening programme for chlamydia would not be cost effective because it would be difficult to achieve the necessary coverage levels to reduce the level of infection.” The research found that the main barrier reported by young people to seeking or accepting an STI test was the stigma associated with chlamydia and other STIs.  This stigma was greatest among women especially those from rural backgrounds and in urban working class areas who feared the consequences of being publicly exposed – to their families and peers –through asking for an STI test. Despite the stigma associated with an STI test, there was a high level of willingness among young men and women to take a chlamydia test if offered by a health professional. 95% said it would be acceptable to be offered the test and 75% of students said they would accept the test if offered. The research also found that 80% of those involved in the study said they would inform their current partner if they tested positive for chlamydia but this rate fell to 55-60% in the case of previous partners. Professor Ruairi Brugha, Head of the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health Medicine, RCSI said: “While this study demonstrated that a national chlamydia screening programme would not be cost-effective in Ireland, it reports important positive findings. Young people are aware of the risks and are anxious that STI testing services be made accessible and acceptable.  We also found that there are primary care providers who are willing to provide such services.”  Dr Diarmuid O’Donovan, College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, NUI Galway said “The study findings provide evidence of how to protect the sexual health of young Irish people.  Given these findings, a national sexual health plan should include primary prevention activities such as sex education, condom distribution and the provision of information on how to seek care for STIs. Therefore, we recommend the inclusion of primary care-delivered chlamydia detection and case management services as part of a national action plan to promote sexual health.” The research from The Chlamydia Screening in Ireland Pilot Study will be presented today during Ireland’s first ever national Sexual Health Awareness Week (SHAW). SHAW is being hosted by the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI). A range of public meetings, debates and interactive workshops promoting sexual health awareness at a national leave are taking place in RCPI from 28 -31 May, all of which are free and open to the public. ENDS