The launch of the Midlands Branch of the NUI Galway Alumni Association will take place on Tuesday, 13 March in the Custume Barrack in Athlone, Co. Westmeath. Hosted by the Officers Mess at the Custume Barracks, the launch will take place at 8.30pm and all graduates and friends of NUI Galway are welcome to attend. According to Sinéad Lenehan of the NUI Galway Midlands Alumni Club, “The Midlands Alumni Club will provide an outlet for graduates to keep in touch with other graduates and University staff, renew friendships and keep up-to-date with developments in the University.” Registration for the event is necessary and can be obtained online at www.nuigalway.ie/alumni or by contacting Máire Aherne on 091 492721. -ENDS-

Seolfaidh an Dr Éamon Ó Ciosáin leabhar nua, An Chonair Chaoch: An Mionteangachas sa Dátheangachas, san Aula Maxima, OÉ Gaillimh, Dé Luain 5 Márta ag 6pm. Tá an leabhar eagraithe ag Ciarán Lenoach, Conchúr Ó Giollagáin agus Brian Ó Curnáin. Sa leabhar seo tugtar aghaidh ar thaithí chomhaimseartha chainteoirí Gaeilge ar an dátheangachas comhuaineach. Pléitear go mion sa chnuasach aistí seo an taithí thrioblóideach atá ag cainteoirí mionteanga ar an dátheangachas sóisialta. Maíonn údair an leabhair go ndéanann an dátheangachas aontreoch (.i. aontreoch ón nGaeilge go Béarla) atá á chleachtadh sa phobal mionteanga leas sóisialta agus teangeolaíochta na mórtheanga agus aimhleas na mionteanga. Ach na tuiscintí is nua-aimseartha ar an taithí seo a chur ar fáil, leathnófar an díospóireacht acadúil agus an plé poiblí ar an dátheangachas agus díreofar aird ar na ceisteanna is cinniúnaí i leith inmharthanacht na Gaeilge agus na Gaeltachta mar phobal sainiúil teanga. Is Breac-Ghaeltacht atá fágtha anois den Ghaeltacht stairiúil, nach bhfuil inmharthana mar atá sí. Pléitear anseo mar sin cur chuige réadúil, fearacht na moltaí atá sa Staidéar Cuimsitheach Teangeolaíoch ar Úsáid na Gaeilge sa Ghaeltacht (2007), le dul i ngleic leis na dála seo, chun an Ghaeltacht mar phobal Gaeilge a athnuachan. Is é dea-scéala an phlé atá sa leabhar seo ná go dtuigimid gur drochscéala atá sa dátheangachas comhuaineach sa Ghaeltacht agus nach gcuirimid dallamullóg orainn féin i dtaobh impleachtaí na tuisceana seo don fhéiniúlacht Ghaelach. Le plé eolaíoch macánta agus le léargas fírinneach ar dheacrachtaí ár ndála is ea is féidir linn aghaidh mhisniúil a thabhairt ar an gcinniúint a shárú – coiscéim tosaigh an bheartais dóchais í an tuiscint. “Tá plé oscailte macánta ionraic le fáil sa leabhar seo ar bhuncheisteanna tráthúla (ach achrannacha agus conspóideacha) faoin nGaeilge, agus an plé sin suite i gcomhthéacs scolártha an léinn idirnáisiúnta. Cuirfidh an leabhar seo go mór leis na díospóireachtaí is na dioscúrsaí reatha ar an nGaeilge in Éirinn agus ar mhionteangacha an domhain chomh maith.” An tOllamh Roibeard Ó Maolalaigh, Roinn na Ceiltise is na Gàidhlige, Ollscoil Ghlaschú. D’eascair an leabhar seo as téamaí agus léargais éagsúla a pléadh le linn léachtaí, seimineár agus imeachtaí acadúla eile a reáchtáladh in Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge, Ollscoil na hÉireann, Gaillimh. -CRÍOCH-

Top Marks as 5 Star Rating Awarded from QS Stars NUI Galway has today been awarded a five star rating from the latest QS Stars rating system. NUI Galway recorded top marks in a new international rating, designed as an alternative to university rankings. Three Irish universities competed for the first ever global university rating system and NUI Galway joins University College Cork in securing the overall five star rating. NUI Galway was rated five out of five overall, receiving maximum ratings in several key areas, including research, teaching, internationalisation, facilities, engagement and innovation.  Speaking of the announcement, President of NUI Galway, Dr Jim Browne said: “This is excellent news for NUI Galway and a fitting acknowledgement of the exceptional developments that have taken place at this University in recent years. The award of five stars confirms NUI Galway's position as one of Ireland's leading universities, and a growing force on the international stage.” Dr Browne added: “This five Star rating represents a significant international validation of our performance in teaching, research and other activities, and positions us well alongside other international universities on a global stage. It rewards the vision by the University to continually invest in capital development and it highlights the strength of our industry partnerships and commercialisation activity.  NUI Galway is particularly proud of its achievements in engagement and delighted our leadership in this field is recognised. In a growing competitive market, we are especially happy about our five star rating in internationalisation as this again reaffirms our position within higher education globally.” The first international assessment of its kind, QS Stars has been devised by the research team behind the annual QS World University Rankings. The opt-in scheme assesses an unlimited number of universities in a greater range of areas than any existing international ranking. Designed to cover areas currently beyond the scope of university league tables, rankings expert Dr Ellen Hazelkorn of Dublin Institute of Technology has called the system “a smart and inevitable development in the higher education knowledge business.”  “QS Stars has the potential to revolutionise the way we measure university performance”, says John O’Leary, editor of The Times Good University Guide. “It covers areas that have proved to be beyond the scope of international rankings, such as teaching, employment rates and access, as well as strength in specialist disciplines.” Unlike rankings, QS Stars measure universities against preset international standards, drawing on 30 criteria. As well as an overall rating of zero to five stars (with a 5+ plus rating reserved for a handful of top scorers), universities that opt to take part are rated in up to eight areas including research, teaching, graduate employability, access and innovation QS Head of Research Ben Sowter states: “With concerns about graduate unemployment and rising tuition fees, students need a more comprehensive way of comparing universities than rankings can provide. QS Stars is able to provide a far greater range of evidence about the performance of an unlimited number of universities, helping students make smarter and better-informed decisions.” For more information visit http://www.topuniversities.com/qsstars/ireland  -Ends-

At a ceremony in Dublin Castle, the Chancellor of the National University of Ireland, Dr Maurice Manning conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws (LLD) on the President of Ireland, His Excellency, Michael D. Higgins. In his introductory citation, Dr James J. Browne, Vice-Chancellor of NUI and President of NUI Galway defined the conferring as ‘honouring an extraordinary man who personifies and combines so many decencies that, taken individually, we perceive to be ordinary’.In a phrase used by the late President Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh to characterise the role of President, Dr Browne said that  ‘As the ninth President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins is, somewhat paradoxically, the primus inter pares or first among equals’. Referring to the President’s election, Dr Browne said that his ‘radical egalitarianism animated his claim to be elected as Uachtarán na hÉireann in 2011. It posited a moral choice not between the state and the market but between two versions of the state. We were invited to reconceive the role of government in a re-imagined state and to engage without shame in an ethically informed public conversation about the choices that this would entail’.‘It was an unapologetic claim that placed ethics before competence in what he prescribed as ‘a real Republic’. It challenged the Irish people to accept that adjustment by daring to re-imagine and revive almost-forgotten decencies. Over one million voters rose to that challenge’.Dr Browne summarised the President’s political career in the following terms:  ‘First elected to Dáil Éireann in 1981, he represented Galway-West as a T.D. until 2011. Michael D. Higgins has identified, amplified and championed the rights and interests of communities that he described as “comhluadar faoi bhrón”. He did so without fear, using everything at his disposal: politics, sociology, broadcasting, journalism and poetry. In 1992, he was the first recipient of the Seán MacBride Peace Prize from the International Peace Bureau in Helsinki, in recognition of his work for peace and justice in many parts of the world’.Dr Browne concluded in saying ‘the Presidency of Michael D. Higgins may well reverse the adage of campaigning in poetry but governing in prose. Already, he is asserting the true value of rhetoric, purposefully and forthrightly deployed, evincing the defining quality of this truly extraordinary man – integrity’.Following the conferring, the President addressed the gathering. The large attendance in St Patrick’s Hall included representatives of the Government, the Council of State, the judiciary, the diplomatic corps, in addition to members of the four NUI constituent universities and other Irish universities. Notable amongst the attendants were many former colleagues of the President from NUI Galway where he lectured in the Department of Sociology for over thirty years.  National cultural institutions and the media were also represented.It is a longstanding tradition of the National University of Ireland to confer an honorary degree on the President following his or her inauguration. Dr Douglas Hyde received an honorary degree from the Royal University of Ireland in 1906. NUI has honoured all Presidents since 1952 with the exception of Dr Eamon de Valera, who was Chancellor of the University while in office.See link below for the full version of the conferring address delivered by His Exellency, President of Ireland, Dr Michael D. Higginshttp://www.president.ie/index.php?section=5&speech=1053&lang=engEnds.                ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Céim Oinigh OÉ le bronnadh ar Uachtarán na hÉireann, a Shoilse, Mícheál D. Ó     hUiginn    Bronnfaidh Seansailéir Ollscoil na hÉireann, an Dr Maurice Manning an chéim oinigh, Dochtúir le Dlíthe (LLD), ar Uachtarán na hÉireann, a Shoilse Mícheál D. Ó hUiginn ag searmanas i gCaisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath. Ina thagairt tosaigh, dúirt an Dr James J. Browne, Leas-Seansailéir an OÉ agus Uachtarán OÉ Gaillimh, go raibh an bronnadh ‘ag tabhairt aitheantais d’fhear neamhghnách a thugann chun saoil an oiread sin dea-thréithe, agus dá mbreathnóimis ar gach aon cheann acu sin astu féin níorbh iontach linn iad ar chor ar bith. I ráiteas a d’úsáid an tUachtarán Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, nach maireann, chun cur síos a dhéanamh ar ról an Uachtaráin, dúirt an Dr Browne ‘Mar an naoú Uachtarán ar Éirinn tá Mícheál D. Ó hUiginn, go paradacsúil, mar primus inter pares nó an chéad duine dá leithéid ina chomhluadar’. Agus é ag tagairt do thoghchán an Uachtaráin, dúirt an Dr Browne gurb é a ‘chothromas radacach a chabhraigh lena iarracht a bheith tofa mar Uachtarán na hÉireann in 2011. Leag sé síos rogha morálta idir dhá leagan den stát seachas idir an stát agus an margadh. Tugadh cuireadh dúinn ról an rialtais a athcheapadh i stát athchruthaithe agus páirt a ghlacadh, gan náire, i gcaidreamh poiblí eiticiúil faoi na roghanna a bheadh i gceist leis seo’.‘Éileamh gan leithscéal a bhí ann a chuir eiticí roimh inniúlacht sa rud ar thug sé féin an ‘fhíor-Phoblacht’ air. Thug sé dúshlán mhuintir na hÉireann glacadh leis an athrú sin trí bheith sách dána chun dea-thréithe a bhí ligthe i ndearmad a thabhairt chun beochta arís. Ghlac os cionn milliún den lucht vótála leis an dúshlán sin’.Rinne an Dr Browne achoimre ar ghairm pholaitiúil an Uachtaráin mar seo a leanas:  ‘Toghadh mar bhall de Dháil Éireann ar dtús é i 1981, agus sheas sé do Ghaillimh Thiar mar T.D. go dtí 2011. D’oibrigh Mícheál D. Ó hUiginn ar son leasa na bpobal ar thug sé ‘chomhluadar faoi bhrón’ orthu. Rinne sé é sin gan aon fhaitíos ach ag tarraingt ar an bpolaitíocht, an tsocheolaíocht, an chraoltóireacht, an iriseoireacht agus an fhilíocht. I 1992, ba é an chéad duine é a fuair Duais Síochána Sheáin Mhic Giolla Bhríde ón mBiúró Síochána Idirnáisiúnta i Heilsincí, mar aitheantas ar a shaothar ar son na síochána agus an cheartais ar fud an domhain’.Chuir an Dr Browne críoch lena óráid ag rá ‘tá an nath ann go ndéantar feachtais i bhfilíocht agus rialú i bprós ach le huachtaránacht Mhícheál D. Ó hUiginn d’fhéadfadh a mhalairt a bheith fíor. Cheana féin, tá sé ag baint an leasa chirt as reitric, d’aon turas agus go neamhbhalbh, ag léiriú cad é an tréith is mó atá ag an bhfear iontach seo – ionracas’.I ndiaidh an tsearmanais bhronnta, labhair an tUachtarán leo siúd a bhí i láthair. I measc an tslua mhóir a bhí i Halla Naomh Pádraig bhí ionadaithe ón Rialtas, Comhairle an Stáit, an bhreithiúnacht, an cór taidhleoireachta, chomh maith le comhaltaí ó cheithre chomh-ollscoil an OÉ chomh maith le comhaltaí ó ollscoileanna Éireannacha eile. I measc na ndaoine iomráiteacha eile a bhí i láthair bhí iar-chomhghleacaithe an Uachtaráin ó OÉ Gaillimh, áit a raibh sé ina léachtóir sa Roinn Socheolaíochta ar feadh breis agus tríocha bliain.  Bhí daoine  ann chomh maith ó na hinstitiúidí cultúrtha náisiúnta agus ó na meáin.Is traidisiún fada é go mbronnann Ollscoil na hÉireann céim oinigh ar an Uachtarán i ndiaidh a (h)insealbhaithe. Bhronn Ollscoil Ríoga na hÉireann céim oinigh ar an Dr Dubhghlas de hÍde sa bhliain 1906. Bhronn an OÉ céimeanna oinigh ar gach Uachtarán ó 1952 i leith seachas an Dr Eamon de Valera, a bhí mar Sheansailéir ar an Ollscoil agus é in oifig.Críoch.

NUI Galway has announced the winners of the 2012 Alumni Awards to be presented at the twelfth annual Alumni Awards Gala Banquet on Saturday, 3 March, 2012. The Gala Banquet will again be held in the Bailey Allen Wing located in Áras na Mac Léinn on campus. The Alumni Awards recognise individual excellence and achievements among the University’s more than 80,000 graduates worldwide. The Awards programme boasts an impressive roll call of 68 outstanding graduates who have gone on to honour their alma mater, including, for example, Michael D. Higgins, Ciarán FitzGerald, Sean O’Rourke, Professor Frank Gannon, Dr Luke Clancy and Gráinne Seoige. The winners of the six alumni awards to be presented at Gala 2012: Bank of Ireland Award for Business, Public Policy and Law Máire Whelan, Attorney General of Ireland Bank of Ireland Award for Engineering and Informatics Gerry Kilcommins, VP Global Vascular Operations & General Manager Medtronic Galway and past President American Chamber of Commerce, Ireland. NUI Galway Alumni Award for Science  Professor Fergal O'Gara, Chair of Microbiology UCC; Director, BIOMERIT Research Centre (BRC) AIB Award for Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies Marie Mullen - actress, Druid Theatre Company co-founder Medtronic Award for Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences Professor Tim O'Brien, Director, Gait Laboratory & Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Central Remedial Clinic Duais Hewlett Packard don GaeilgePeadar Mac An Iomaire, Iar-Phríomhfheidhmeannach, Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge, OÉ Gaillimh Speaking on the announcement of the Awards recipients, President of NUI Galway, Dr Jim Browne said: “Our Alumni Awards programme recognises the many Galway alumni who are leaders in their professions and excel in their pursuits at national and international levels. These awards celebrate the life-long value of an NUI Galway education and recognise individual achievements among the University’s more than 80,000 graduates worldwide. I congratulate each of the Award winners and look forward to welcoming them back to their alma mater for the Gala Banquet in March.” For booking information contact Catherine Conroy on 091 492972 or email catherine.conroy@nuigalway.ie. Online bookings at www.nuigalway.ie/alumni-friends  ENDS