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Recent News

LGBTQ+ Staff Network Raising the Flag: August 2026

The University of Galway LGBTQ+ Staff Network and wider university community proudly celebrated Galway Pride 2026, coming together for a week of visibility, celebration and solidarity.

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As part of the celebrations, the Network hosted its annual Pride Flag Raising Ceremony at the Quad, bringing staff and colleagues together to mark Pride and reaffirm the University’s commitment to equality, inclusion and belonging.

The Network also proudly participated in the Galway Pride Parade, with University of Galway staff and students joining together with the Students’ Union and colleagues and students from ATU to march through Galway in celebration of the LGBTQ+ community. We were delighted that University Management Team member  Prof. Becky Whay, Deputy President & Registrar, also joined us for the parade, alongside staff and students from across our university community.

The parade was a vibrant celebration of visibility, diversity and solidarity, with the University community coming together alongside LGBTQ+ organisations, allies and supporters from across Galway.

Thank you to everyone who took part in this year’s Galway Pride celebrations and helped make them such a meaningful and memorable celebration of our LGBTQ+ community. 

Launch of the First Irish Traveller Heritage Strategy - August 2026

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Owen Ward, University of Galway, Ellen McDonagh, Mr McDonagh, Laura McDonagh, Micheal Ni Donnachta, Meath Traveller Workshop, Ronan Healy, The Heritage Council

Owen Ward project manager for Race Equality attended the Heritage Council recently published Ireland’s first Traveller Heritage Strategy 2026-2030, setting out a national framework to support Traveller cultural heritage. The publication of the Strategy follows the formal recognition of Irish Travellers as an ethnic minority by the Irish Government in 2017 and marks an important step in acknowledging Traveller heritage as an intrinsic part of Ireland’s national identity and shared cultural landscape, Read More

Universal Design Staff and Student Bursary Schemes

Universal Design Staff and Student Bursary Schemes

University of Galway, in partnership with the Centre for Excellence in Universal Design (CEUD), will co-host the 8th Biennial International Conference in Universal Design (UD), part of the calendar of events for Ireland's EU Presidency, and the Universal Design Student Awards in Galway in November 2026. We are offering two bursary schemes to engage lecturers and students with these important events. The UD Staff Bursary Scheme is specifically for lecturers with a design element to their teaching to build capacity to embed universal design principles into university curricula and equips academic staff to engage their students with Universal Design with a view to entering future UD Student Awards competitions.

Three successful applicants will receive full registration for the prestigious UD26: 8th Biennial International Conference at the Galmont Hotel this November, attendance at the Gala Dinner, and a €1,000 travel bursary to support future networking and knowledge exchange.

Applications are now open and will close on 31 July 2026.