Pictured at the Ballymun Civic Center Dublin on 6th July 2007 was the presentation of Certificates of Attendance to a group of Ballymun based Students who participated in an NUI Galway Law Course through an interactive video link. The presentations were made by Mr. Pat Carey T.D. Minister for State at the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht. Pictured left to right were Veronica McDonald, student, Mr. Pat Carey T.D. Minister for State at the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht, Dr. Padraic Kenna Faculty of Law NUI Galway and Karen Shannon student Mr Pat Carey T.D, Minister for State at the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs will present a group of Ballymun-based students, who participated in an NUI Galway law course through an interactive video link, with Certificates of Attendance on Friday, 9 July 2007, at the Ballymun Civic Centre, Dublin. The Housing Law & Policy course – the first of its kind in Ireland, was developed and presented by Dr. Padraic Kenna of the Faculty of Law, NUI Galway in conjunction with the Ballymun Community Law Centre. The lectures were videolinked in real time to community volunteers, welfare staff, local authority tenants and their representatives, and other interested parties living in Ballymun. Over 12 weeks, the Ballymun group gathered in the Council Chamber Civic Offices to link via video with some 60 Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Civil Law students at NUI Galway for the interactive weekly classes. Dr Padraic Kenna, law lecturer at NUI Galway is the author of the definitive work Housing Law and Policy in Ireland. According to Dr Kenna; "An innovative use of the latest technology has allowed NUI Galway to reach out into the heart of a Dublin community where housing law and policies have had such an impact". The course covered the traditional housing and property law areas, such as mortgages and conveyancing, as well as social housing and modern approaches to social inclusion in housing. There was also a focus on preparing participants for active input into the forthcoming Housing Bill. This innovative link-up was facilitated by NUI Galway's Community Knowledge Initiative, which promotes civic engagement among academics, students and the wider community. Since its inception, the Ballymun Community Law Centre has consistently sought to empower the residents and community workers of Ballymun. BCLC Solicitor Frank Murphy, a law graduate of NUI, Galway, described the opportunity to tap into NUI Galway's expertise in the area of housing law as "a unique opportunity". "Participants came from throughout the Ballymun area and the interchange between the students, tenants and Dr Kenna was truly enlightening. On the last night all the students and tenants presented their own papers over the video link and this proved a wonderful culmination of the excellent course," he said. "I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr Kenna for his pioneering work in video-linking his course to us here in Ballymun. The law can only be considered our law if the people are actively involved in it and Dr Kenna is leading the way in making it our law by providing such magnificent access to legal education." Plans are under way to continue the collaboration between NUI Galway and the Ballymun Community Law Centre to offer the interactive course next year. ENDS

Leitrim County Council and National University of Ireland, Galway have announced final arrangements for the forthcoming John McGahern International Seminar which takes place in Co. Leitrim on July 26, 27 and 28, 2007 The opening address, John McGahern: The Novel and the Story, will be given by Professor Declan Kiberd, University College Dublin at the Bush Hotel, Carrick-on-Shannon, on 26 July. Other speakers will include Prof. Sylvie Mikowski, University of Reims, France; Dr. James Whyte, NUI Galway; Dr. Eamon Maher, I.T. Tallaght; and Fr. Liam Kelly, Cavan. There will also be a panel discussion including journalists Susan McKay and Belinda McKeon. Seminar sessions will be held in Carrick-on-Shannon, Aughawillan, Ballinamore and Mohill. The Seminar will also include a boat trip on the Shannon and Boyle rivers and a bus tour of the Aughawillan/Ballinamore area. Speaking at the announcement, seminar coordinator, Dr. John Kenny, Department of English, NUI Galway, said "John McGahern was an extraordinary writer in that he was widely admired by other novelists and short story writers across the world for his sheer patient dedication to the craft of fiction, but was also held in great affection by the Irish readers whose country and localities he so keenly examined in his work. He was one of the major Irish artists of the word alongside Joyce and Beckett, and the seminar will be a fitting testament to his legacy". Further lecture topics at the Seminar include: Amongst McGahern's Women; John McGahern: The Local and the Ordinary and John McGahern and Religion. A series of excerpt readings by actress Ms Marie Mullen will also feature throughout the seminar as well as a viewing of the documentary film John McGahern: A Private World. A detailed schedule for the Seminar can be downloaded from www.nuigalway.ie/iss/John_McGahern.html ENDS

Pictured at their recent conferring ceremony are graduates of NUI Galway's first Clinical Psychology Doctoral degree programme. Back row left to right: Judith McBrinn, Blackrock, Dublin; Samira Hayes, Killarney; Eoin Ryan, Newcastle Galway; Marie Claire Lagendijk, Roscam, Galway. Front Row l-r: Hazel Moore, Kingston, Galway; Elaine Curran, University Road, Galway; Treasa Ní Uiginn, Castleknock, Dublin; Claire Hogan, Blackrock, Dublin; Clare Thynne, Cappagh Road, Galway and Joanne Byrne, Culmore Rd, Derry. NUI Galway has conferred 10 graduates with the Doctor of Psychological Science in Clinical Psychology, the first course of its kind at the University, which is addressing the current shortage of clinical psychologists in the Irish healthcare system. Accredited by the Psychological Society of Ireland, the three-year, full-time professional training programme enables graduates to work as clinical psychologists in the health service, and is one of four programmes nationally. Course Director, Dr Brian McGuire said: "The course at NUI Galway is making an important contribution to health care in Ireland by training high quality clinical psychologists to provide much-needed services in hospitals and the community. This is a proud moment for the trainees, the course team and our partners in the health service". All trainees are sponsored by the health service and related health agencies for the duration of their training. The programme involves coursework, clinical placements and a research thesis and following completion, graduates work in a range of settings such as adult and child mental health services, community care, intellectual disability services and other specialized services. The partnership approach to the training course will be confirmed later this year with the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between NUI Galway and the HSE. Mr Pat Brosnan, Health Services Executive, said clinical psychologists are required to provide therapeutic interventions across all aspects of the health sector, including community and acute hospital settings. "In recent years, the HSE, recognising the need for greater capacity in relation to the provision of psychological interventions, has initiated a more systematic and coordinated approach to post graduate training in clinical psychology. Currently, this approach is being further consolidated and expanded in partnership with four national universities; NUI Galway, Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, and the University of Limerick. "It is anticipated that this partnership initiative will facilitate an annual output of clinical psychologists to meet current and future demands within the health sector." ENDS

The promotion and maintenance of population health is the focus of the 11th annual Health Promotion Conference, organised by the Health Promotion Research Centre, NUI Galway in collaboration with the HSE Population Health and the Health Promotion Policy Unit, and the Department of Health and Children, at NUI Galway from 5 - 6 July, 2007. The Building Capacity for Evidence-based Health Promotion conference will address the evidence of Health Promotion effectiveness and its translation into policy and practice. The promotion and maintenance of population health is now regarded as being central to social and economic development in most developed countries. Despite the existence of a substantial body of knowledge of effective health promotion interventions that meets internally recognised standards, it is not routinely used to inform health policy. Keynote presentations from international and national speakers, together with workshops and symposia, will be held over the two day event. "The challenge of ensuring that our health promotion policy and practice is based on best available evidence is critical in realising the government's health improvement goals in Ireland" says Margaret Barry, Professor of Health Promotion and Public Health at NUI Galway. The conference will consider capacity building in relation to health promotion evaluation, including demonstrating value for money, and how the health promotion evidence base can be applied in practice. Among the key speakers at the conference include; Dr Viv Speller, Health Development Consultant, UK; Dr Stephan Van Den Broucke, Public Health Executive Agency, European Commission; and Professor Jane Springett, Director of the Institute for Health, John Moores University. "Evidence on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of health promotion actions must be translated into guidance for policy and practice, clearly communicated and applied," says UK consultant Dr Viv Speller. The conference includes a symposium on Making the Economic Case for Promoting Health, which will be chaired by Mr. Michael Scanlan, Secretary General of the Department of Health and Children. Among those on the panel include; Professor Martin Knapp, London School of Economics and Professor of Health Economics at the Institute of Psychiatry, King s College London; Ms. Janine Hale, Principal Research Officer (Health Economics), Public Health & Health Professions Department, Welsh Assembly and Professor Eamon O'Shea, Department of Economics, NUI, Galway. ENDS

The Paddy Ryan Memorial Lecture, a joint initiative announced recently by Galway Chamber, NUI Galway and GMIT to honour the memory of the late Paddy Ryan will take place on Wednesday, 5 September, 2007 in Áras Moyola, NUI Galway at 8p.m. Declan Kelly, International businessman and President and CEO of Financial Dynamics in the United States, has been named as the guest speaker and will deliver a lecture entitled, Business 2007 - How the lessons of the past will shape the realities of the future. Following the lecture, Mr. Kelly will be presented with a specially commissioned medal designed by the artist and sculptor, Padraic Reaney. The event is sponsored by APC.