The 2011 Census shows that more than two out of every five people aged 65 and over lives in a rural community. Surprisingly, relatively little is known about the situation of this important demographic group. The Rural Ageing Observatory at NUI Galway’s Irish Centre for Social Gerontology is seeking to fill some of the gaps in knowledge on rural ageing. It recently launched the first two reports in a series that, in time, will provide vital information about the ageing population in rural Ireland. The first of the short reports focuses on key demographic trends and issues facing rural older people. The second report summarises evidence relating to income, poverty and deprivation of Ireland’s older rural population. Launching the reports, Professor Thomas Scharf, Director of the Irish Centre for Social Gerontology at NUI Galway, said: “More than 200,000 people over the age of 65 live in rural communities across Ireland. In the autumn, the government will be launching its National Positive Ageing Strategy. It’s important that this is a strategy for older people wherever they live – in rural as well as in urban communities. Greater awareness of the circumstances of rural older people, in particular, is essential if the right policy measures are to be adopted.” Both reports are available online at www.icsg.ie. -ends-

Galway mum-of-two Ann Brehony launched her essential family holiday helper app called Ireland Are We There Yet? last October in the Apple App Store to rave reviews. The idea had come about while studying for her MA in Publishing at NUI Galway. As part of her course Ann completed a business plan for an innovative publishing venture, such was the positive reaction from course tutors that she set about getting the project funded. A mere nine months post graduation an international publishing deal was secured with American digital travel publisher Sutro Media. The app has now sold in over eighteen countries worldwide, feedback has been universally positive leading to a further release on the Android platform in early 2012. “The beauty of this product” explains Ann “is that it is like a living breathing organic publication, I constantly update the material which keeps everything fresh and vibrant”. The app is a 32-county guide to things to do and see with your kids in Ireland, rain or shine. The latest version, which is free to existing customers, has just hit the App Store and is already flying off the digital shelves! The new updated app is packed with over 70 additional entries with a new layout and improved search facilities. “Through the comments section in the App, I can enter into conversation with my customers and respond to their needs and experiences; initial feedback told me that people were looking for more things to occupy teens and older kids so I was able to create a whole new section easily searchable under the same tag. As a mother of two, one of whom has special needs, I know how hard it can be to keep the kids amused all summer, this app was born out of my own need so I do understand what my customers want.” Publishers Sutro Media say: “This app is like the local cousin you never knew you had! It has sussed the best ways to visit Ireland with kids so you don't have to do the legwork;  It's like having a bunch of native kids show you the best stuff to do in this magical country.” App highlights include: Packed with places kids will love to visit. Quirky car games to keep them amused and engaged with the trip along the way.  A full nationwide listing of free outdoor play areas. Scavenger hunts and car bingo will get you working as a team so you get the most of your family time together. Improved layout with Twitter and Facebook links to each entry. An introduction to the Faery World. Listings of nationwide fun activities like Diving, Surfing, Sailing, Whale and Dolphin Watching Horse Riding and Cycling Trails. A guide to famous film locations. Price: €2.39, £1.79, $2.99  Available on iTunes http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ireland-are-we-there-yet/id464158415?mt=8 Available on Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sutromedia.android.guide.ireland.kids&hl=en  ENDS

Higher Education Authority Chief Executive, Tom Boland recently launched a new book, Higher Education and Civic Engagement: Comparative Perspectives. Edited by Lorraine Mc Ilrath and Ann Lyons from the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teachingat NUI Galway and Professor Ronnie Munck, Head of Civic Engagement at DCU, the new book was launched following a round-table discussion on how to move forward the civic engagement agenda in Irish higher education institutions. Welcoming the attendants, DCU President, Professor Brian Mc Craith, praised the publication of the book and supported the round-table discussion around how higher education could build civic engagement. The round table included contributions from Tom Boland, Chief Executive of the HEA, Lorraine Mc Ilrath, Director of the Community Knowledge Initiative at NUI Galway, Dr Helen McQuillan, Manager of DCU in the Community and Madeleine Clark, Founder of Genio and Ashoka Entrepreneur. Lorraine Mc Ilrath, Director of the Community Knowledge Initiative at NUI Galway, said:“The Community Knowledge Initiative began at NUI Galway with external funding and then became embedded within the culture of the University. There are now many initiatives in the area of community based or service learning and around volunteering which are ‘making a difference’ in the lives of students and in the wider community. This work also led to the HEA funded Campus Engage network designed to promote civic engagement across the sector and ‘mainstream’ if possible.” Speaking at the launch Tom Boland outlined the new national higher education strategy and the important role of civic engagement within it. “It could contribute hugely to transforming research, teaching and the student experience. There is also a growing appreciation of the potential of higher education institutions to contribute to social equality and community development with much greater emphasis on principles of partnership, empowerment, participation and capacity building. Civic engagement would be promoted to drive this mission in a way which recognised diversity and distinctive ways of doing engagement and accepted that it could not be an add-on to normal business.” Dr Helen Mc Quillanspoke to the very real problems in driving civic engagement within the higher education sector based on the case of DCU in the Community which is based in Ballymun in North Dublin. These initiatives do have a very real impact on individuals and communities which have, for long, been excluded from higher education. But to be successful and sustainable a very real ‘culture shift’ would need to occur within the institutions of higher education. Madeleine Clark stressed the need to engage with wider social change and the creative ways in which profit-making and non-profit making organisations could work together to combat social exclusion through strategic people-oriented initiatives. She called for civic engagement ‘to become the developing mission of higher education’ and to become much more central in the work which universities to by offering a vision for social transformation. Roundtable Chair, Professor Ronnie Munck, Head of Civic Engagement at DCU concluded that more needs to happen from debating civic engagement to implementing it: “Its potential to change the culture of higher education is clear as is its increased social relevance in a period of crisis. Campus Engage will be re-launched in the autumn to provide support for higher education institutions seeking to build a civic engagement mission and to create a vibrant network or community of practice. Civic engagement is here to stay, it’s not an add-on.” Higher Education and Civic Engagement: Comparative Perspectives is available through Campus Engage, www.campusengage.ie. ENDS

NUI Galway archaeologists and pollen analysts recently participated in a three-day specialist workshop at Kiel University on Neolithic landscapes in Sligo and Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. During the workshop the latest results, generated during the course of a joint Kiel-NUI Galway four-year programme of research, were presented and discussed. The new results, based mainly on detailed investigations of lake cores, provide fresh insights into the earliest farming economies, the changing intensity of farming through time and impacts on the natural environment in both regions. NUI Galway participants included Dr Stefan Bergh and Professor Michael O’Connell, and PhD students Ed Danaher and Beatrice Ghilardi, who are working towards doctorates on various aspects of the Neolithic in Sligo. An overview of the archaeology of Sligo was provided by the Sligo archaeologist, Martin Timoney. According to Professor O’Connell, “The new research, funded by the German Science Foundation, Kiel University and NUI Galway, the results of which are already partly published, will ultimately provide one of the most detailed records of early farming available in these islands.” Pictured is Dr Ingo Feeser, who gained his doctorate at NUI Galway and is now a postdoctoral researcher at Kiel University, presenting his latest data on long-term environmental change at Lake Belau, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. More information is available from Professor Michael O’Connell, Palaeoenvironmental Research Unit, School of Geography and Archaeology, NUI Galway, on 086 3891444 or michael.oconnell@nuigalway.ie. -ENDS-

Crews from NUI Galway were presented with a number of national titles at the Irish Rowing Championships in Cork at the weekend. NUI Galway, teaming up with the University’s graduate club, Gráinne Mhaol, won the Senior Eights Championship of Ireland. In a keenly contested showdown with Queen’s University Belfast, NUI Galway/Gráinne Mhaol edged ahead at 1,250 meters into the race. With only 250 meters remaining Queen’s managed to close the gap but the NUI Galway/Gráinne Mhaol rowers found another couple of gears and crossed the finish line 1.78 seconds ahead of their rivals in a confident and powerful performance. For Dave Mannion and veteran cox Ruadhán Cooke, it was a fifth Senior Eights win. Four of the winning Eight rowing as Gráinne Mhaol took the Senior men’s Coxless Four title. The winning crew included James Wall, Cormac Folan, Alan Martin, Evin Donnelly, Robert O’Callaghan, Jason Wall, Dominic Burke, Dave Mannion and cox Ruadhán Cooke. Also winning at the Championships were the Novice Women’s Coxed Four of Mary Murphy, Michelle Arakgi, Chloe O’Flynn, Anna Power and Sandra Kelly and the Intermediate Men’s Coxless Pair of Conor Egan and club captain Richard Bennett. Commenting on the success at the weekend, Ruadhán Cooke, said: “Our performances show the vibrancy of the club with wins from Novice level right up to the premier event, including success for the men, women and the graduate members. We also have wonderful people involved on the coaching and organisational side without whose unheralded and voluntary contributions we would simply not exist. Tens of other club members competed with pride and distinction across a number of events and look forward to emulating their club mates in the seasons ahead. In a year which saw the untimely passing of our great friend and mentor Tom Tuohy, it was especially emotional and fitting to be able to dedicate these successes to his memory.” -ENDS-