October University of Galway celebrates 175 years of students

A Legacy of Learning commemorates the first enrolments in 1849 – four years after the University was established

 University of Galway has today announced a series of creative efforts to mark a milestone anniversary in its history - by celebrating 175 years of educating students.

At midday on October 30, 1849, the first students walked through the historic Archway into the Quadrangle to begin their studying and learning, four years on from the University being founded in 1845 as Queen’s College Galway.

In 1849, 68 students passed their matriculation exams and progressed on to studies in 21 subjects ranging from Greek Language to Logic and Metaphysics in the Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Law, and in the Schools of Civil Engineering and of Agriculture.

To mark the anniversary, the University has launched a number of celebrations under the banner “A Legacy of Learning: 1849-2024".

• Mighty Oaks from Little Acorns Grow

Staff, students and alumni are being invited to “adopt an oak”. Some 68 oak saplings - one to remember each one of our first students - have sprouted from acorns hidden on campus grounds by the local population of jays. One will be planted to the rear of the Quadrangle and the rest are offered to staff, students and alumni to plant in their own gardens, to enhance biodiversity and to symbolise the legacy of 175 years of Galway students. This project is a cross-campus collaboration, led by Dr Caitríona Carlin from the University's Applied Ecology Unit and Diarmaid Mahon, Supervisor of Landscaping and Grounds, with the support of Environmental Science students.

• Historic Photo Re-enactment

Drawing on a number of heritage collections, the University’s Library team have compiled a selection of evocative photos of students and the campus from the earliest years of the University. To mark the continuing Legacy of Learning, a competition has been launched asking students to recreate or situate one of the historic photos in a contemporary setting.

• University Library in 100 Objects

The University Library has launched an exhibition to spotlight 100 objects from its collections, which represent both the working practice of librarians over the decades, as well our unique and rare archives and special collections. The Library’s history and development can be viewed through the prism of these objects, which were drawn together through a project led by Marie Boran, Special Collections Librarian, and include images from books, manuscripts, archival collections, letters, photographs, newspaper issues, library furniture, stationery and artefacts. This exhibition is now open to the public in the foyer of the Hardiman Building.

• Celebrating Graduate Authors

Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop in Galway city centre is renowned for its creative window displays. To mark the University’s anniversary of A Legacy of Learning, a display of books written by Galway graduates over the decades has been created to celebrate the impact of students and scholars over 175 years.

Find out more about these initiatives by visiting: www.universityofgalway.ie/ourhistory

 Professor Peter McHugh, Interim President of University of Galway, said: “At the height of the Great Irish Famine, a moment of profound social and ecological crisis, 68 students began their education at our University, with the courage to hope for a better life and the desire to play their part in improving the world.

“The students of today, including the 3,368 who registered to commence their first year of undergraduate study with us this year, are carrying on that long tradition of courage, hope and desire. Our Legacy of Learning anniversary celebrates those intentions and the pursuit of excellence in teaching, learning and research.”

Professor Becky Whay, Interim Deputy President and Registrar, said: “We have gone from a small group of 68 students to a community of more than 20,000 students who come to Galway City from across Ireland and from more than 100 countries around the world. We are proud of the immeasurable impact that our students and our graduates have made and continue to make for our community, the city and wherever they are in the world, and with them in mind today we are proud to be able to celebrate a milestone of 175 years of education at the heart of the Galway and the west of Ireland.”

 Catriona Cannon, Head of Heritage Collections and Digitisation, University of Galway, said: “The University of Galway Library is proud to be the custodian of the University's earliest records, documenting the beginning of academic life in Galway. The books consulted by our first students form the basis of our Special Collections, which are further enhanced by the addition of unique and varied archive and digital collections. As we look to the future and work towards a move to a new Library and Learning Commons, the Library in 100 Objects exhibition allows us to reflect on and share the significant developments in our history and our professional practice since 1849.”

University of Galway was established by the Colleges (Ireland) Act in 1845. The University was first known as Queen’s College Galway and along with it its sister colleges in Cork and Belfast, was established to provide non-denominational university education to Ireland’s emerging middle class.

The Quadrangle building, built in local limestone in a Tudor Gothic architectural style, is modelled on Christ Church at the University of Oxford. The construction was a Famine Relief Project.

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