RTÉ news correspondent Tommie Gorman presented two awards to NUI Galway journalism graduates at the University yesterday. The Fourth Annual Donna Ferguson Memorial Award and the Connacht Tribune Medal were presented to the top achieving students in the MA Journalism class of 2010. Lorraine O'Hanlon received the Donna Ferguson Award for achieving the highest mark in the broadcasting module of the MA programme. The Connacht Tribune Medal was presented to Antoinette Giblin who achieved the highest overall mark in the MA in Journalism at NUI Galway. Donna Ferguson was posthumously conferred with an MA in Journalism at NUI Galway, following her untimely death in a car accident in December 2006. The Donna Ferguson Memorial Award was initiated by her family and community in Belleek, Co. Fermanagh, and commemorates Donna's achievements while she was a student on the journalism programme in 2006. Tommie Gorman, Northern Editor for RTÉ News, was conferred with an Honorary Degree from NUI Galway in 2009 for his dedication and accomplishment in the profession of Journalism. He began his career at the Western Journal based in Ballina, Co Mayo and has since become a household name having been RTÉ Europe Editor and carried out many high profile television interviews including one with Roy Keane in 2002. He has also reported extensively on issues pertaining to Northern Ireland. Claregalway native Lorraine O Hanlon graduated from the MA in Journalism with first class honours and now works as a journalist with the Galway Independent Newspaper. Antoinette Giblin from Elphin in Co Roscommon also graduated with first class honours from the MA in Journalism and now freelances with Shannonside Radio. -Ends-

An NUI Galway master's student is to become the first female judge in the history of Seychelles. Mrs Mathilda Twomey is currently undertaking an LL.M. in Public Law at NUI Galway. James Michel, President of the Seychelles, has approved the appointment of Mrs Twomey as a Justice of the Court of Appeal, following the recommendation of the Constitutional Appointments Authority. The President said he hoped that other young women will look to her for inspiration for a career in the judiciary. Marie McGonagle is Director of the LL.M. in Public Law at NUI Galway: "I am delighted at Mathilda's appointment. She is a very skilled lawyer, who has participated fully in, and contributed immensely to, the LL.M. programme. I wish her every success in this important new role." Mrs Twomey (née Butler-Payette) is a Seychellois Barrister-at Law, who practiced law in Seychelles between 1987 and 1995 as a Senior State Counsel and Official Notary, as well as a Barrister/Attorney undertaking Criminal and Civil Litigation in courts and tribunals. From 1992 to 1993, Mathilda Twomey was a member of the Seychelles Constitutional Commission that drafted the Constitution of the Third Republic. Since 1995, Mrs. Twomey has been living and working in Ireland. In 1996 she was a regional coordinator for Multiple Sclerosis Ireland, a non-governmental organisation working in advocacy, policy development and legal advice for people with disabilities. Mathilda Twomey is completing a Masters in Law at NUI Galway, and also has a Degree in French Law from the University of Paris Sud, France, as well a Bachelor's Degree in English and French Law from the University of Kent, UK. -ends-

From the Ireland of the 1960s arose a generation of writers that created a cultural revival that compares with, and perhaps exceeds, the 'Irish Renaissance' of the early 1900s. This second flowering contributed to Ireland's current reputation as a uniquely creative nation. The papers of all its major creators are in public archives, bar one - those of Thomas Kilroy. To mark the acquisition of the Thomas Kilroy Archive by the James Hardiman Library at NUI Galway, a public interview with one of Ireland's most important living writers was held on campus earlier today. Thomas Kilroy is world-renowned both as a dramatist and as a novelist. His novel, The Big Chapel (1971), received a Booker Prize nomination, and his plays include The Death and Resurrection of Mr. Roche (1968), Double Cross (1986), The Secret Fall of Constance Wilde (1997) and Christ Deliver Us! (2010). The Archive contains research notes, drafts and scripts of his novels and of his plays. All creative work is complemented by correspondence from agents, theatre practitioners, publishers, and members of the public, as well as production material from the stage plays. The Archive contains a collection of correspondence from literary friends and associates, as well as Kilroy's own private correspondence with other members of The Field Day Theatre Company. There are also papers relating to the Abbey Theatre of which Kilroy is a longstanding board member. The Archive complements other purely literary Archives at the Library, such as the John McGahern and Eoghan Ó Tuairisc Collections, as well as theatre Archives pertaining to the Druid Theatre, the Lyric Players' Theatre, and Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe. A live stream of the public interview was relayed to students of the Drama Department of Queen's University Belfast and will be made available as a podcast on the School of Humanities website (http://www.nuigalway.ie/humanities/). NUI Galway's Professor Adrian Frazier, who conducted the public interview, says it was a great opportunity to delve into the mind of one of Ireland's greatest contemporary authors. In congratulating the Library on this acquisition, Frazier remarked that "the Kilroy Archive was the last remaining unhoused treasure of a great generation of writers. It will be a mine of scholarly inquiry for many years to come". Dr. Lionel Pilkington, Chairperson of the University's Archives Group and Head of the School of Humanities, added that "The distinctiveness of Kilroy's papers relates to their scope in time and achievement (a writing career from late 1950s to the present), their range in terms of the material involved (drafts of plays, essays, early versions of published canonical plays) and extensive correspondences and the detail and depth of the material contained in the Archive." University Librarian John Cox, adds; "I can see us welcoming scholars from all over the world to the Library at NUI Galway in order to consult this magnificent archive. Its cataloguing is well advanced and it will be open to researchers from August this year." In welcoming the announcement, NUI Galway President Dr James J. Browne said: "We celebrate today the accomplished writings of Thomas Kilroy and we acknowledge with pride our longstanding relationship with the writer, who was Professor of English here for a period in the late 1980s. As a University we also celebrate the benefit to literary scholarship in the humanities which having these papers in the James Hardiman Library will bring. As a research-focused institution, NUI Galway is constantly striving to support scholars and to build centres of research excellence in specific disciplines. We are fortunate to have enjoyed considerable success in recent years. The Thomas Kilroy Archive will become an incredibly significant attraction to many such international scholars, making Galway a world-leading centre of literary research and study. We look forward to the many new research possibilities that have been made possible as a result of this acquisition." An exhibition of a selection of materials will be on display in the James Hardiman Library and will be open to the public from Wednesday, 23 March to Sunday, 27 March inclusive. The James Hardiman Library is open until 10 pm Monday to Friday, and until 5.30pm at weekends. Admission to the exhibition is free. -ends-

In 2005, Harvard Business Review reported that of 30,000 products launched in the USA, 90 percent failed because of poor marketing. The other 10 percent went on to become successful brands. This stark fact introduces the new edition of the bestselling text 'Creating Powerful Brands', by brand gurus Professor Leslie de Chernatony of Università della Svizzera italiana, Lugano and Aston Business School UK; Professor Malcolm McDonald Emeritus Professor at Cranfield University and Honorary Professor at Warwick Business School and by Dr Elaine Wallace of the J. E. Cairnes School of Business & Economics, NUI Galway. Speaking to world leading branding academics and practitioners at the Thought Leaders International Conference for Brand Management Lugano, Switzerland, Professor McDonald illustrated the value of brands with the book's example of Gillette. In 2006 Proctor and Gamble paid £31 billion for the brand, of which only £4 billion was accounted by tangible assets. The remainder reflected the intangible value of the brand. Providing a road map for brand managers, brand novices, and students of branding, this fully revised edition of the bestselling text explores branding across industry sectors. It tackles the issue of own branding versus manufacturer branding in retailing, and explains the role of the front line employee in services branding. It considers the effect of counterfeiting on world-leading brands, and charts the role of the consumer as brand ambassador in online brand communities such as Facebook and Twitter. Published by Butterworth-Heinemann, the book is available in retailers and online at Amazon.co.uk. -Ends-

Over 15 companies, all actively recruiting third-level graduates, will visit NUI Galway on Wednesday, 30 March. The Graduate Recruitment and Opportunities in the West Careers Fair (GROW), will feature employers based in the West of Ireland. Some of Ireland's leading recruiters of university graduates will be in attendance, including Fidelity Investments, Medtronic, Cisco and Mazars. However, unique to this event, is the range of local and newly established businesses actively seeking talented and qualified graduates, including Bioware (a division of EA Games), Cambus Medical, CSN Stores and Lumension. All exhibitors are particularly keen to meet and recruit NUI Galway graduates from a wide range of disciplines including business, science, engineering, languages and IT. "With all the doom and gloom it is refreshing to know that in the West of Ireland organisations are actively recruiting", says Deirdre Sheridan of the NUI Galway Career Development Centre. "This is the perfect opportunity for alumni and current students to meet with local employers to explore graduate opportunities available on our doorstep, and hopefully kick-start a career in the West of Ireland. My advice for all visitors is to come prepared, with a CV in hand and be ready to network with potential employers". The event is being organised by the NUI Galway Career Development Centre, in conjunction with the NUI Galway Alumni Association. GROW takes place on Wednesday, 30 March from 5pm to 7pm in the Orbsen Building, accessible via Distillery Road. Visitors on the evening can also get useful hints and advice to develop their CVs from NUI Galway Alumni, whilst the NUI Galway Alumni Association will also be present throughout the evening to help 'match' individuals with a mentor in their chosen career area. Information on volunteering and postgraduate opportunities will also be available. GROW is supported by Galway Chamber and IDA Ireland and is an exciting addition to NUI Galway's programme of events for current students and alumni of the University. Further information and details, including a full list of exhibitors are available from the Career Development Centre website www.nuigalway.ie/careers/events.html. -ends-