COIS
COIRIBE
The Magazine for NUI Galway Alumni & Friends
AUTUMN 2012
Life in the
Fast Lane
Olympian walker
Olive Loughnane
Druid
Murphy
In Hampstead
Theatre London
China Links
Collaborating with
the East
50 Years
in the
Making
Michael D. is ninth
President of Ireland
The Coming
of A Digital
Age
The Semantic Web
CLASS NOTES UNIVERSITY NEWS RESEARCH ALUMNI NEWS EVENTS
NUI Galway
Affinity
Credit Card
You get, we give
You get a great rate and we give a little back to NUI Galway every
time you spend on your NUI Galway Affinity Credit Card. You must
be over 18 to apply for a credit card and lending criteria, terms and
conditions apply.
Talk to us today
NUI Galway branch 091 524 555
or apply online www.bankofireland.com
Bank of Ireland is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
CONTENTS
10
Cover Story
10 Michael D. Higgins
is Uachtarán na hÉireann
News
04
4
6
8
25
The Year in Pictures University News Research Roundup Sport Highlights
Features
16 There’s no place like Galway
26 The Galway Walker
32 Raidió na Gaeltachta 40
38
26
ResearchFeatures
14
18
19
20
The Coming of a Digital Age
Tackling Global Challenges
Collaborating with the East
Why University Research
Innovation Matters
Graduates
28 Life At the Extreme
29 Ireland: Are we there yet?
33DruidMurphy
Galway
University
Foundation
30 NBCRI 34 US Gala
Alumni
38 Alumni Awards 40 Alumni Events Reunions
43
45 Class Notes 47 Obituaries 16
10
28
Editor:
Michelle Ní Chróinín
michelle.nichroinin@nuigalway.ie
Editorial Board:
Caroline Loughnane,
Liz McConnell, John Kenny,
Colm O’Dwyer
Contributors:
Harry McGee, Colm O’Connor,
John Holden, Ruth Hynes, Brendan Smith, John Breslin,
Judy Murphy, Larry Donnelly,
Fergus Fahy, John Kenny, Joyce
McGreevy, Cillian McGovern,
James Cunningham, Dónall
Ó Braonáin, Marketing &
Communications Office.
Disclaimer: Cois Coiribe is an annual magazine published by the Alumni Office
for alumni and friends of NUI Galway. While every care is taken in compiling the
magazine, NUI Galway accepts no responsibility for the effects arising thereof. The
views expressed are not neccesarily those of NUI Galway. All material is copyright.
36
Cover Shot:
Michael D Higgins during the visit
of President Ortega to Ireland.
Taken at the National Concert
Hall in Dublin (Mid 1980s).
Design:
Allen Design Consultants
www.allendesign.ie
Print:
Castleprint www.castleprint.ie
Photography:
Aengus McMahon, Sportsfile,
NUI Galway.
Cois Coiribe 1
Wherever you are, join the RE:CONNECT
community now and open the door
to new customers and markets.
visit
www.lookwest.ie/reconnect
connect
http://linkd.in/lookwestreconnect
RE:CONNECT is an initiative of the Western Development Commission and Local Authorities
of Ireland’s Western Region – Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, Mayo, Galway.
Cois Coiribe page 2
Interesting times
in Irish higher education
FOCAL ÓN
UACHTARÁN
The Chinese have a saying: “May you live in interesting times”. As is frequently
the case, something is lost in translation. The Chinese use “interesting” to mean
“changing” and “challenging”. Well, these are certainly times of change and
challenge for those of us involved in third-level education.
head of the Defence Forces and the Irish Naval
Service. I was honoured last January to give the
citation on the occasion of President Michael D.
Higgins’ conferring with an honorary doctorate
from the National University of Ireland. This
followed his election as President of Ireland, and
marks the first time a Galway graduate has held
the office of First Citizen.
Our University continues to make great progress
and I look forward to working with colleagues
in partnership with the wider regional, national
and international community
in order to deliver future success.
At NUI Galway we are at the heart of this
change. In this article I’d like to give you my
views on some of the major changes facing Irish
higher education, as well as share some of this
year’s highlights with our graduates and friends
around the world.
Review of the year
But these are interesting time in Irish higher
education. Many readers will be aware of the
recommendations of last year’s Hunt Report,
which offered a vision of the future for Irish
higher education. We have a Minister for
Education & Skills who is intent on reform and is
taking on some of the critical issues facing the
third-level sector, while operating within very
tight financial constraints.
Last February, the Higher Education Authority
(HEA) published an important document,
Towards a Future Higher Education Landscape,
which diagnoses a number of problems with
the HE sector.
NUI Galway has enjoyed success over the
past year at national and international levels
across all areas of our activity. Our research
profile is developing, with the establishment
of new centres, the acquisition of important
archival collections and the development
of international research partnerships. Our
international profile was further enhanced by
the improved performance of NUI Galway in
both the QS World University and Times Higher
Education (THE) international ranking, which
now places us in third place nationally.
The document argues that there is a need to
move “towards a system of coherent, diverse
and well co-ordinated Higher Education
Institutions capable of meeting the social and
economic needs of the country. I applaud this
vision.
In February 2012 we were awarded a 5-star
rating from the QS Stars international rating
system, confirming that our position globally is
on the rise.
We need to create a network of collaborating
institutions, each of which focuses on selected
complementary areas appropriate to Irish
society. With 40 publicly-funded educational
institutions serving a population of c.200,000
third-level students, this approach makes great
sense. Clarity and diversity of institutional
mission will ensure that the overall system is
greater than the sum of the parts.
Partnerships
We continue to build effective partnerships on
a national and international level with partners
including Stanford University and Shanghai Jiao
Tong University. These strong and dynamic
partnerships highlight our commitment to
strategic collaboration in order to leverage the
most from our resources.
Our recent partnerships with Druid Theatre
Company, Galway Arts Festival and Volvo
Ocean Race continue to position the University
in innovative ways before new audiences
globally. Our commitment to volunteering and
service-learning has enriched the experience
of our students and benefitted a range of
organizations and events.
Our alumni too continue to distinguish
themselves in national life. We take great pride
in the recent appointment of our graduates and
former students to the positions of President of
Ireland, Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Attorney General,
Regional and missionbased clusters
The HEA’s Landscape document argues that
Irish higher education should focus more
on PhD education and points out a need to
“enhance the quality and cost effectiveness
of provision through shared provision at
undergraduate and postgraduate level”. This
is to be achieved through the development of
regional and mission-based clusters. Regional
clusters allow higher education providers within
a region to come together to examine the
scope for rationalisation of programmes and the
effective use of current and capital resources.
Technological
universities
Perhaps the aspect of the HEA Landscape
document which has created the most public
debate is the possibility of technological
universities.
Interestingly, technological universities are
envisaged as providing a range of programmes
from certificate to doctoral level. These
programmes are intended to be vocationally
and professionally oriented, to involve work
placement, to maintain an active research policy
focused on applied research, working closely
with regional business and enterprise. It is
unfortunate, in my view, that the debate has
focused so much on technological universities.
The real value of the paper is in its proposal to
create regional clusters of higher education
providers, each with distinctive missions, but all
working together to serve their students and
other stakeholders in the community.
I agree that there may be a case to develop
a technological university. However, the
important point is that a technological
university must meet those internationallyrecognised standards. I suspect that this will
mean a very small number of technological
universities. I believe that for the majority of
Institutes of Technology (IoTs) participation
in regionally-based clusters would serve our
country and our students better.
The IoTs were originally established to meet the
need for level 6 and 7 graduates; it would be
unfortunate if, in a rush to create technological
universities, we lost sight of this continuing
need. Furthermore, creating more universities,
technological or otherwise, will create an
unsustainable drain on already stretched
resources. All of the evidence shows that the
Irish universities are underfunded compared to
their international counterparts and any further
dilution of resources can only compromise
standards even more.
The Landscape document sets out a sound
blueprint for the third-level sector for the
coming years. Its commitment to creating
collaboration between institutions is very
positive.
In short, the policy position is clear. We now
move to implementation. Have we - the
Department of Education & Skills, the Higher
Education Authority, the third-level institutions
– the capacity to implement the policy? Or
will we be content, as so often in the past, to
compromise on the implementation in order to
satisfy local political need?
Only time will tell!
Indeed, a recent review of the Irish Higher
Education sector by an international panel of
experts went one step further, recommending
wholescale mergers across the sector.
James J. Browne
PhD, DSc, MRIA, C.Eng
Uachtarán - President
Cois Coiribe 3
NEWS
The Year in
Science & Technology Festival
The 2011 Galway Science and Technology Festival Exhibition, part
of Discover Science’s National Science Week, was held on the NUI
Galway campus in November 2011 and attracted 24,000 visitors.
The event was officially opened by the European Commissioner for
Research, Innovation and Science, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn.
World Autism Awareness Day
The Quadrangle turned blue for 24 hours to mark
World Autism Awareness Day 2, April 2012. Lights
were turned on as part of the Autism Speaks campaign
‘Light it Up Blue’ which works with a range of partners
to light up major global landmarks in order to draw
attention to the issue of autism.
Family Focus at Spring Open Day
Rare
Newspaper
Edition
Getting ready for Open Day in April were
students outside the new Engineering Building.
Over 3,000 prospective students and their parents from across Ireland attended
the Spring Open Day. Tailored towards Leaving Certificate and mature students
interested in studying at NUI Galway, the Open Day gives the opportunity for
students, along with their parents and families, to sample university life.
Cois Coiribe 4
Pictured at the presentation of an
original 1691 edition of the London
Gazette, which features an account
of the Battle of Aughrim, by Cllr
Norman Morgan to NUI Galway
(l-r): Councillor Norman Morgan;
President of NUI Galway, Dr Jim
Browne; and John Cox, University
Librarian.
pictures
Sea2Sky
Over ten thousand visitors descended on
Salthill in September 2011 for Ireland’s
first participation in European Researchers
Night. Billed as ‘Sea2Sky’ by organisers
NUI Galway, the celebration of science and
research ran in parallel with events across
320 cities in Europe. The event took place
again in Galway in September 2012 with
Máire Geoghegan-Quinn officially opening
the event.
NUI Galway Biomaterials Conference
In September 2011 a taste of
Galway street theatre hit Dublin
for the opening ceremony of
the European Conference on
Biomaterials. Enjoying the
event were University of Ulster’s
Professor Brian Meenan; Minister
of State Brian Hayes; President
Browne; Director of the NFB at
NUI Galway, Professor Abhay
Pandit; and NUI Galway’s VicePresident for Research, Professor
Terry Smith.
Drama Studies
Take Centre Stage
Pictured at the launch of NUI Galway’s new BA degree in Drama,
Theatre and Performance Studies were students Pamela Joyce and
Laura Doherty. The new course commenced this September.
The exciting new four-year degree programme is designed for
students with a keen interest in all aspects of drama and performance.
Students will benefit from the dynamic partnerships forged by
NUI Galway with key arts organisations including Druid Theatre
Company, the Galway Arts Festival and Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe.
A University Experience for
10-year-olds
Over 60 primary school children from across Galway City and County
successfully completed NUI Galway’s Youth Academy at a special ceremony in
June.
The Youth Academy worked with high-ability primary school children in the
local community to support their learning and academic development. The Youth
Academy programme ran over a six-week period and received funding from the
University’s Bright Ideas Initiative.
Joining the ranks at NUI Galway as part of the University’s Youth Academy are Pedro
Quaresma and Maeve Quinn, both ten-year-old students at Scoil Chaitríona Senior in
Renmore, Galway.
Cois Coiribe 5
NEWS
UniversityNews
Universities Honour Chuck Feeney
The universities of Ireland jointly conferred an
honorary Doctorate of Laws (LLD) on Charles
F. “Chuck” Feeney, founder of The Atlantic
Philanthropies in September. This is the first
time such an honour has been conferred jointly
by all the universities on the island of Ireland, a
testament to a remarkable contribution to Irish
society and in particular to our universities. The
Atlantic Philanthropies, which he founded in 1982,
identified Irish universities, which of their nature
are devoted to the transmission of knowledge and
the generation of new knowledge, as institutions
central to this purpose. Since 1990, Atlantic has
donated nearly €770 million to Irish universities
North and South.
Charles F. “Chuck” Feeney, founder of The Atlantic Philanthropies
Rise
in World
Rankings
NUI Galway has jumped to third place in Ireland
in this year’s Times Higher Education (THE) World
University Rankings.
NUI Galway is now ranked 336th in the The
Rankings 2012/2013, an increase of 31 places
on last year’s position. NUI Galway was one of
only two universities improving their world ranking
this year, with TCD also increasing their position
by seven places to 110.
This increase in position follows on from a similar result in the QS World
University Ranking 2012, where NUI Galway was again one of only two
Irish universities to increase our position, with a rise of 11 places to
287th in the world.
Earlier this year, the University also achieved the top award of a five star
rating by the QS Stars system, a new rating system designed to provide
a more detailed comparison of world universities than the rankings
provide.
President Browne commented: “This is all very good news for NUI
Galway as it confirms that our position globally is on the rise and that
we are succeeding in our efforts to achieve international recognition in
selected priority areas. In spite of substantial cuts in overall funding at
third level in Ireland, our University has gone against the tide to secure a
marked improvement in these very competitive rankings.”
Bioinnovate Training Begins, Stanford
University Style
Launched in Autumn
2011, BioInnovate Ireland
is a specialist training and
collaboration programme
in medical device
innovation. It is modelled
on Stanford University’s
prestigious Biodesign
Programme.
The BioInnovate Ireland
Fellowship Programme is Pictured are the BioInnovate Fellows 2012/13, Kiel
delivered by a consortium McCool, Ashwin Kher, Caroline Gaynor, David Brody,
of four Higher Education Sarah Loughrey, Michael Morrissey, Christopher
Institutions which include McBrearty and Conor Harkin.
NUI Galway, University of
Limerick, Dublin City University and University College Cork. This initiative
has received funding and support from Enterprise Ireland and several key
medical device players including: Medtronic, Creganna-Tactx Medical, Lake
Region Medical, Boston Scientific and SteriPack.
Cois Coiribe 6
NUI Galway MBA
Wins Prestigious
National Competition
The winning team (l-r): Mike Parkinson, Myles McHugh,
Suzanne Ryan, Ahswin Kher and Roger Sweetman
In July, a team from the NUI Galway Executive MBA
class were announced All-Ireland Champions of
the MBA Association of Ireland National Strategy
Competition 2012. Organised by the MBA Association of Ireland, the
competition is open to all MBA programmes across
Ireland. The win follows NUI Galway’s success in 2010,
when it last entered the competition. Major Architectural Award
In June, the new Engineering Building, designed by
Taylor Architects/RMJM, was voted Ireland’s favourite
new building.
The building was the Public Choice in this year’s RIAI
Irish Architecture Awards 2012. The Award is set up
to raise awareness of architecture in Ireland and over
40% of the total votes cast went to the Engineering
Building.
New
Autism
Research
Centre
President of Ireland,
Michael D. Higgins
New Campus bridge
The new O’Shaughnessy bridge, which
crosses the Eglinton Canal, is a suspension
bridge of about 50 metres and is designed
for use by both pedestrians and cyclists
as part of a wider scheme to encourage
sustainable travel in Galway City and is
a vital link between Fisheries Field and
the campus. Michael O’Shaughnessy
(1864-1934), whom the bridge is named
after, graduated in Civil Engineering
from NUI Galway (then Queen’s
College Galway) in 1884. In 1912 he was
Galway City
Mayor, Cllr Terry
O’Flaherty, and Mr
Keith Warnock, Vice
President for Capital
Projects, NUI Galway
walk over the new
O’Shaughnessy Bridge
with members of NUI
Galway and Galway
City Council.
appointed Chief Engineer of the City of
San Francisco. He undertook the building
of new infrastructure for the city after
the disastrous earthquake and fires of
1906, including the construction of the
Twin Peaks tunnel, the famous Seashore
Wall, the streetcar (tramway) system
and the San Francisco Water-Supply
and Electric-Power project, involving
dams, powerhouses and 160 miles of
transmission towers, pipelines and tunnels
the whole way to the City.
An archive on
negotiating peace
President of Ireland, Michael D.
Higgins, officially opened NUI Galway’s
new Irish Centre for Autism and
Neurodevelopmental Research (ICAN)
in February.
It was his first official visit to NUI Galway as
President of Ireland. ICAN is dedicated to ensuring
improvements for individuals with autism spectrum
disorder (ASD) and their families not only through
scientific research but also through education and
providing services to the community.
Cancer Care
West Scholars
NUI Galway was delighted to announce that in a
joint initiative Cancer Care West and the Galway
University Foundation donated €1 million to provide
fully funded scholarships for ten PhD students.
The Cancer Care West Hardiman scholars will
perform translational and clinical research in the
area of Cancer Biology, Therapeutics and all aspects
of oncology at NUI Galway and the associated
University Hospital Galway. Pictured making the
€1 million presentation to NUI Galway President, Dr
Jim Browne, is Chairman of Cancer Care West, John
McNamara.
Outstanding Young Person
NUI Galway science student EvaMarie Costello has been awarded
The Outstanding Young Person
of Ireland award from Junior
Chamber International (JCI), and
has been put forward as a candidate
for the Outstanding Young Persons
of the World title, which will be
announced later in 2012.
JCI President, Michelle Daly-Hayes, with award winner Eva-Marie Costello
from Athenry, Co. Galway.
John Cox, University Librarian; Dr Niall Ó Dochartaigh, School of Political
Science and Sociology; Brendan Duddy; President Browne of NUI Galway,
Dr Jim Browne; and Kieran Hoare, University Archivist.
The full text of the ‘red book’, intermediary Brendan Duddy’s
handwritten account of the 1981 hunger strike negotiations, was
made available online by the James Hardiman Library in January
2012. The document is held as part of the extensive Brendan
Duddy Archive, which has been deposited at NUI Galway, and
provides a unique insight into the resolution of the ‘Troubles’,
during which he secretly acted as an intermediary between the
British government and the IRA.
Brendan Duddy, along with many family members, came to the
University in November 2011 to officially mark the receipt of the
archives and participated in a symposium called ‘Negotiating
Peace’.
In May, Galway girl and
NUI Galway student
Móna Wise launched her
first book The Chef & I
which began life as an
assignment for Móna’s
studies on the BA with
Creative Writing Degree.
Móna now also writes her
NUI Galway student Eve-Marie Costello has been
awarded
own lifestyle and food
The Outstanding Young Person of Ireland award
from
Junior
column for
the Sunday
Chamber International (JCI), and has been put
forward
as a Móna’s
Times
Magazine.
wisewords.ie,
candidate for the Outstanding Young Personsblog,
of the
World title,also
won the overall award
which will be announced later in 2012.
at the Irish Blog Awards
Eva Marie is a third-year Science student. She2012.
set up the
Wise Student Serves
Up Cookery Book
for End of Year
Assignment
Ashirbad Society on campus, which focuses on sending NUI
Galway students to India during the summer months to
Móna and husband Ron
improve the living and educational conditions for the
under-privileged.
Cois Coiribe 7
NEWS
Huntington Disease
Discovery
Researchers at NUI Galway made a significant scientific
discovery in the fight against Huntington’s disease. The
novel findings were published in February in the online,
open access journal PLoS Biology.
Chromosomes carry our genetic information
Huntington’s disease is an incurable, inherited,
neurodegenerative disorder that causes uncontrolled
movements, emotional disturbances and severe mental
deterioration. It affects over 100,000 people worldwide,
with another 300,000 likely to develop symptoms
in their lifetime. There is currently no way to halt
progression of the disease, and available treatments are
designed only to manage the symptoms.
The new research identifies specific enzymes called
HDACs, or histone deacetylase complexes, as positive
agents for the mutation that underlies Huntington’s
disease. When HDACs are active, they exacerbate the
disease-causing mutation in cells, possibly contributing
to the severity of the disorder. The new research found
that blocking these HDACs with experimental drugs
greatly reduced the risk of further mutation. The
research is led by Professor Robert Lahue of the Centre
for Chromosome Biology.
Study on Sodium Intake
For years, doctors have warned that too much salt
is bad for your heart. Now a new study co-led by an
NUI Galway clinical researcher suggests that both
high and low levels of salt intake may put people
with heart disease or diabetes at increased risk of
cardiovascular complications.
The study, published in the Journal of the American
Medical Association (JAMA), found that moderate
salt intake is associated with the lowest risk of
cardiovascular events, whereas higher intake of
sodium was associated with an increased risk of
stroke, heart attack and other cardiovascular events,
and low intake was associated with an increased
risk of cardiovascular death and hospitalisation for
congestive heart failure.
The research was co-led by Professor Martin
O’Donnell, Professor of Translational Medicine,
NUI Galway and Dr Salim Yusuf, Population Health
Research Institute (PHRI) at McMaster University
in Canada and Hamilton Health Sciences. Professor
O’Donnell is also Associate Director of the HRB
Clinical Research Facility at NUI Galway and
University Hospital Galway.
Cois Coiribe 8
Genome sequencing
Last November, a research breakthrough was made which could benefit some of
the world’s poorest citizens. A global scientific team, including Science Foundation
Ireland-funded scientists from the Plant and AgriBiosciences Centre at NUI Galway,
announced that they had succeeded in sequencing the entire DNA genome of a
legume crop called pigeonpea.
Pigeonpea is a staple food for millions of the world’s poorest people who live in
semi-arid regions where only drought-tolerant crops such as pigeonpea can be
cultivated. Pigeonpea is grown on about five million hectares in Asia, sub-Saharan
Africa and South-Central America. It is known as the ‘poor people’s meat’ because
of its high protein content, and because it provides a well-balanced diet when
accompanied with cereals.
An improved understanding of the pigeonpea genome will have a major impact on
improved crop productivity, tackling pests and disease constraints in production,
and improved resistance to harsh
environments and the future variable
climate.
The completed genome sequence
of pigeonpea was published in the
scientific journal Nature Biotechnology,
with NUI Galway’s involvement led by
Dr Charles Spillane.
Pigeonpea is a staple food for millions of the
world’s poorest people
Research
Clinical Trials
for New Cancer Drug
NUI Galway is part of
a clinical study which
opened last November
on a rare but devastating
type of bone marrow
cancer. Irish patients with
advanced myelofibrosis
were given access to a
new study of combined
oral medications for their
disease.
Myelofibrosis is a life-threatening cancer
of the bone marrow that results in bone
marrow failure because the normal
spaces in which blood cells are formed
become progressively filled with fibrous
tissue.
In an attempt to maintain normal blood
cell counts, the body then begins to
make these cells in abnormal sites
including the liver and spleen. In turn,
these can then become enlarged and
painful. Patients are not alone at risk from
marrow failure, but in some patients
myelofibrosis changes into a particularly
aggressive form of acute leukaemia.
Frank Giles, Professor of Cancer
Therapeutics at NUI Galway and Trinity
College Dublin, and Director of the
HRB Clinical Research Facility Galway, is
leading the study with Eibhlin Conneally,
Consultant Haematologist at St James’s
Hospital, Dublin. The study is being run
in conjunction with centers in France,
Italy and the UK. The clinical trial is one
of many in which NUI Galway and the
HRB Clinical Research Facility Galway are
involved.
Super-sized Heart
Valve
Researchers at NUI Galway have
developed a super-sized model of a
heart valve which may lead to a new
generation of cardiovsacular devices.
Every year, mechanical valves are
inserted into approximately 125,000
patients with heart valve disease around
the world. However, the valves can lead
to unnatural blood flows, which can
trigger a clotting reaction. Because of
this, patients with prosthetic heart valves
must take medication daily, which can
lead to side effects.
The work at NUI Galway is trying to
better understand how blood flows
through prosthetic valves and in
particular through the valve hinges,
so that the clotting reaction can
be ameliorated. Researchers have
developed a working model valve which
is six times the size of a normal valve
and runs 100
times slower.
They use laser
light and digital
imaging to
measure flow
accurately
and calculate
the stresses
experienced
by blood cells
as they move
through the
valve.
The work has been carried out by Dr
Nathan Quinlan and Dr Alessandro
Bellofiore of the Biofluid Dynamics group
at the National Centre for Biomedical
Engineering and Science (NCBES).
Roundup
Rise in Sea Levels and
Temperature Predicted
for Irish Sea
The Irish Sea will experience a rise in sea
levels of almost half a metre and significant
changes in temperature according to research
by engineers at NUI Galway’s Ryan Institute.
The research suggests that by the end of the
century the Irish Sea will be warmer, with
sea-surface temperature increases of around
1.90C. Such temperature increases may have
significant impact on physical and transport
processes within the Irish Sea, as well as
implications for ecosystems and fishing.
The research presented was the first
model-based projection of the Irish Sea’s
future climate and in this regard it is the
most comprehensive study of this region.
The research was led by Dr Mike Hartnett
and carried out under funding from the
Environmental Protection Agency, Ireland
and the Higher Education Authority/
Programme for Research in Third-Level
Institutions.
NUI Galway is home to The Ryan Institute
for Environmental, Marine and Energy
Research
Migraine
Mysteries
Scientists have explained why eating ice
cream too quickly can cause a painful
headache, commonly known as brain
freeze. It is hoped the discovery can
be used to develop new treatments for
migraine.
In experiments carried by researchers at
Harvard Medical School and NUI Galway, a
team of 13 healthy volunteers deliberately
induced the brain freeze so the headache
effects associated with it could be studied.
It was found that the headache pain was
brought on by a rapid increase in blood
flow through a major blood vessel in the
brain, the anterior cerebral artery. The
ache subsided again once blood flow was
restricted.
The experimental work is led by Professor
Jorge Serrador and carried out at the
Cardiovascular Electronics Laboratory in the
School of Engineering & Informatics at NUI
Galway.
Dr Nathan Quinlan
Risks of
social exclusion
for rural older
people
A new report from NUI Galway found that
while growing old in rural areas can be a positive
experience, there are also a number of factors
which may lead to older people experiencing social
exclusion. The report, ‘Social Exclusion and Ageing
in Diverse Rural Communities’, from the Irish
Centre for Social Gerontology was the first of its
kind on the island of Ireland. It took an in-depth
look at exclusion for older people living in rural
settings across Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Older people in the study were generally happy
with their lives and with where they lived and were
optimistic about the future. However, it was clear
to the authors how service depletion, weak social
connections and older people’s low expectations
were significant issues.
Cornea transplants
Success rates for cornea transplants could be
greatly improved following a major advance in
genetically modifying donor corneas. In February
2012, scientists at NUI Galway’s Regenerative
Medicine Institute (REMEDI) determined a method,
in pre-clinical trials, to genetically modify donor
corneas so that they are less likely to be rejected by
the host immune system.
With more than 100,000 procedures a year
worldwide, cornea transplantation (keratoplasty) is
the most frequent transplant procedure. Although
keratoplasty is a procedure with good success
rates, incidence of graft rejection still exists. For
some high-risk patients, rejection rates can be as
high as 50%.
Using their breakthrough technique on the donor
corneal tissue before grafting, the REMEDI team
showed success in laboratory trials of decreased
inflammatory response and protection against
rejection. The research team at NUI Galway, funded
by Science Foundation Ireland, was led by Dr
Thomas Ritter.
Cois Coiribe 9
FEATURE
Michael
D.
Higgins
in conversation
with Harry McGee
Y
ou take a step into Áras an Uachtaráin and immediately
see that Michael D. Higgins has made his mark. In the
grand hallway of this exquisite period building, a new
painting has been mounted. It is an enormous abstract
work, painted by a Chinese artist and commissioned by
the President’s godson for his inauguration.
The colours are vibrant and electric: oranges, purples, tangerines.
And yet for all its boldness and modernity it doesn’t look out of place
here, alongside the more formal portraits of past presidents, or the
nearby hallway of busts, each also depicting former residents of the
house.
In one sense, Michael D. Higgins is also an unusual president, given his
reputation in the past for being outspoken, radical and, occasionally,
incendiary in his speechifying. But then, neither does he look out of
place here; rather the opposite. He is hosting a party of third-level
educationalists and students and as they take afternoon tea he moves
around the room and chats with the same enthusiasm as those who
feel privileged to have been invited here. And a little later in his study –
surrounded by books on South and Central America which he is about
to visit – he says he has relished his first year in office although he had
underestimated the sheer volume of the workload he has had.
For Galwegians and for the National University of Ireland Galway alike
– the town and the gown – his elevation to presidency in late 2011 was
a very special moment as he is synonymous with both. Indeed, when
he returned to Galway and to NUI Galway for the first time as president
in February, it marked the 50th anniversary of his arrival through the
portals of UCG (as it was then) as a student.
Cois Coiribe 10
“I think the first thing is that NUIG is
something central in my own life. When
I enrolled in 1962 I have very clear memories
of that. Coming in that first day
was extraordinary.
“Going back 50 years after, as President, was really like going home for
me. The friendships that were the most central in my life were founded
and endured in NUIG.
Some of my colleagues had passed on. The first person I shared an
office with was the late Pat Sheeran. They were wonderful days. Tony
Christofides in the maths department was best man at my wedding.
I remember those who had passed on and those who have continued
on and given great service to the college and to Ireland, people like
Gearóid Ó Tuathaigh and others.”
The President recalls that the first person who told him he had been
elected was an army officer, a graduate of the university. Quite a few
of the army cadets who passed through NUI Galway did sociology
and politics, he says, including the likes of John Ging who has built
an international reputation as a humanitarian, both in Gaza and in the
United Nations.
He says it was important to him as President to visit the Law Faculty
in NUI Galway and recognise the work done by one of his former
students, Gerard Quinn of the Law Faculty. This was particularly in
relation to his ground-breaking work on the rights of the disabled and
who was instrumental in drafting the United Nations Convention on
the Rights of the Disabled. President Higgins also appointed Professor
Quinn to the Council of State.
His first year in office has comprised, inter alia, of a memorable
inauguration speech, a successful operation on his knees, a visit to
New York and Boston, as well as the commencement of his first series
of citizens’ workshops (these ones involving young people). On the
day of the interview, he was preparing for his 10-day tour of Latin and
South America, revisiting some of the countries where he campaigned
for human rights and the rule of law in the 1980s.
A leading light as a student in the Lit ‘n’ Deb Society
He said he underestimated the work but has found it all very
fulfilling. He does four functions a day. And then there was the rush
of legislation before the Dáil broke for the summer. He said he gave
serious consideration to one or two Bills before signing them into law.
“The part of it that
I enjoy most is the
public part”
“I have enjoyed that without a doubt. I have chosen deliberately on
the protocol side to extend periods (for meeting people) according
to my own judgement. I meet people and have no difficulty with
photographs.”
As President of the Student Council while studying at UCG
Pat Carroll, Michael D. Higgins and Mary Robinson. The launch of the campaign for the
Family Planning Bill. Taken in Dublin (1970s).
“What I also enjoy is that I have gone to the odd league game in
soccer as well as the internationals! That is the part I have to adjust to.
I have found it takes about 20 minutes. I can’t spontaneously head for
Richmond Park or Dalymount Park.”
With a wry smile he adds: “I have been very ecumenical in my
post-Galway United existence. I have been in Tallaght more than once
or twice.”
He also admits to “having made a modest lift out of his seat” at Croke
Park when Joe Canning scored the equalising point for Galway in the
All-Ireland.
Inauguration Day
Michael D. and the late Tony Christofides
“I think the inauguration was a very wonderful day. I prepared for it.
I had very little time to prepare for it. I went back to Galway and we
really had only seven days. I went down to Glenstal Abbey and wrote
the speech on a Saturday night and Sunday morning.
“The speech was very important and very deliberately structured to
include themes that would recur in major speeches that would follow.
I am happy that my decision to operate on the basis of producing three
or four substantive speeches associated with events, and then doing
the interviews off those, has served me well.”
Bono; Michael D. Higgins; Rosario Ortega; the late Brian McKeon (Trocaire); Sally O’Neill
(Trocaire) and Miguel D’Escoto (Foreign Minister of Nicaragua). Taken in Malahide Hotel,
County Dublin. (Mid 1980s)
Cois Coiribe 11
On the day he assumed the role, he spoke about inclusive citizenship
and a Real Republic. In addition he pledged to hold workshops and
consultations each year on a particular theme and deliberately said the
first would be about what it is like to be young in Ireland (the second, in
2013, will focus on the theme of ethics).
“All of this will feed into a seminar held here in Áras an Uachtaráin.
At that stage the findings are shot off to different agencies and departments
that are affected as well as a single document being produced.”
Has he received any indication from Government that it will act on
the findings and recommendations that emerge from the workshops,
seminars and written reports?
Yes, he replies, pointing out that representatives of all relevant
Government Departments will be present at the seminar and the
Government has been very supportive of the initiative.
Another theme that emerged from the speech was an aim to foster
creative communities. That was unsurprising given the President’s own
background – his stature as a poet; the fact that he was the State’s first
full Minister for Arts; and his involvement with the arts and literature
throughout his adult life.
“I made a decision that I would give priority to community groups that
were working in an interdisciplinary way.”
He has visited the Recovery Through Arts and Education project
(in Dublin’s inner city) twice and the prisons and in mental health
institutions (places where art and creativity are encouraged).
“I have more or less said that I will give priority in the first year to the
places where I can be most of help. That’s the reason I have been picking
locations that fall into that category.”
And his aspiration, also contained in that speech, to create a ‘real
Republic’? “What I am free to do is reflect on the lost content of real
With Enya at NUI Galway on the conferral of her Honorary Doctorate of Music in 2007
republicanism which I derive from the French experience and the idealist
period of republicanism that had an egalitarian core to it. Where I make
my critique is that I see the development of Ireland through independence
and see the loss of egalitarianism. “What I have studied in my academic
work is the creation of the new State, and the introduction of censorship
and so forth. What is interesting is the treatment of land.
“To understand the property bubble you can actually go back to the
time of the post-Famine adjustment as it’s called. Now you have peasant
ownership established. This is okay in terms of giving security of tenure
but at the end of the 19th century, the grazier phenomenon shows that
people will never be satisfied with what is sufficient for them. You end up
with some of the graziers in the western counties having as much as some
of the absentee landlords. And they can’t be dislodged because they are
nationalists and Catholic.
“Where does this impulse come from to want to own more and more,
and to be reputed to own more and more. I see that as contradictory
to every notion of nationhood that would be driven by the concept
of republicanism.”
A Political Scientist
During his long political career, Michael D. Higgins had a reputation for
being radical and also for being outspoken. He lost his seat in 1982 on
a contentious issue. How difficult has it been for him to be constrained
in expressing his views, of having to be seen to be above politics and
nonpartisan?
“I anticipated it because I was asked questions about it during the
campaign. I had the advantage of those who had gone before me,
particularly the interviews that Mary Robinson gave in the early days of
her presidency.
“I have a great strength in that I said explicitly
what I believed in during the campaign. The
vote I ended up with that put me in here. I
did not create an artificial version of
Michael D. Higgins for the campaign.”
Pictured in Dublin Castle at the Honorary Conferral of a degree of Doctor of Laws (LLD) by the NUI with President
Browne and the Chancellor of the National University of Ireland, Dr Maurice Manning
“Also I had another advantage, the fact that I had been a political scientist.
I had given a lot of thought to it. I am very much of the view that the
presidency is a living office, that it changes according to who the incumbent
is.
“I have a great strength in that I said explicitly what I believed in during the
campaign. The vote I ended up with that put me in here. I did not create an
artificial version of Michael D. Higgins for the campaign.
“In office, what I have to do is that I have a relationship with the public and
also with the presidency as an office. It’s a partnership that has to be crafted
and it takes time. It is worth it.”
He says that he has not had difficulty with that. He also said that he is not
choosing to be “contrary” about issues. He said his role will be to generate
the “values debate, the conscience debate”, the debate on the kind of
Irishness that will work at home and abroad.”
He adds that he has not retreated from his views, just “moved up a few
scales”. He says the additional time has actually allowed him to think
more deeply, and even more radically, about things And what about the
other pursuit, his poetry? “I have not finished any poems since becoming
President. I have found an occasional instinct.”
He says he misses the fact that he is not writing poetry but that he has been
keeping notes. “It’s something to which I will return. I can’t promise it won’t
be as stark as the other stuff!”
It is the use of language that has proved “one of the most rewarding things”
about his first year in office. He hears the phrases he used in his inaugural
speech being used by others, particularly young people, as they talk about
‘transformation’ and ‘emancipation’. These are signs that the themes have
resonated and have had purchase.
He concludes on a philosophical note: “That’s what it’s all about. You drop
your contribution in. And life moves on.”
Cois Coiribe 13
RESEARCH
THE
COMING
OF A
DIGITAL
AGE
by Ruth Hynes
2013 will be the tenth anniversary of an initiative
spearheaded by the Irish government’s Science
Foundation Ireland, which has allowed Irish web
science research take a global lead.
A strategic investment was made in 2003 which
began the Digital Enterprise Research Institute
(DERI). Now, in global terms, DERI is the largest
centre of its kind, researching the semantic web
since its inception in 2003.
The 140 researchers based in DERI here at NUI
Galway have been recently called ‘rock stars’ by
members of the US government. Their work is
revolutionising the World Wide Web as we know
it, with their pioneering research taming and
transforming the vast amounts of data on the web.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, an Advisory Board Member
with DERI, is often referred to as the creator of
the World Wide Web (most recently during his
star turn at the opening ceremony of the London
Olympics). His vision for the web involves it
becoming more useable and intelligent, with data
having more meaning - what the industry refers to
as the ‘semantic web’.
In effect, it is this vision for the semantic web
which DERI is making happen. DERI’s work is
focused on bringing about this kind of networked
knowledge by developing and applying a range of
web technologies and standards. Professor Stefan
Decker, Director of DERI, is one of the leading
scientists in the semantic web field. He explains
that the discovery, integration and exploitation
of the vast amount of the web’s information is
an important challenge. DERI is taking on these
challenges by “enabling and supporting people,
organisations and systems to collaborate and
interoperate on a global scale using semantic web
technologies”.
It does not work in isolation; it engages
with companies, from start-ups through to
multinationals, to develop new web solutions.
Its newest partner is Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd.,
a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujitsu, the global
ICT giant. The Japanese multinational made a
significant investment in a research programme
Cois Coiribe 14
with DERI which will be led by Professor Decker.
His research team will be investigating models
and approaches for integrating and validating
data available on the web to enable innovative
applications and businesses to be designed and
brought to the market across numerous industries.
Other industry names which work with DERI read
like a who’s who of the industry, and include
names like Microsoft, Avaya, Cisco, Ericsson,
Google, Alcatel-Lucent, IBM, Storm Technologies
and CelTrak.
Another exciting area of research for DERI is
that of Open Data. The Open Data movement
is a global initiative with the goal to motivate
governments to make public information freely
available and easily accessible online. DERI is
at the forefront of the movement, developing
tools and technologies that are being adopted
around the world. One of the leading examples of
opening up government data in this way is being
pioneered by the current US administration, with
its data.gov website. Technologies developed at
DERI are being deployed by the web portal which
has been developed to bring an unprecedented
level of transparency to the US government.
In the area of healthcare, its work is focused
on connecting data in a meaningful way to
advance life science research and patient care.
For example, by connecting isolated knowledge,
we can generate and detect new scientific facts
that would otherwise have been lost in paper.
DERI is also heavily involved in semantic search
engines, social media as well as sensor network
technologies.
For Professor Decker, these are exciting times: “a
true spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship is
engulfing the IT world as networked knowledge
begins to come into its own. Undoubtedly, ten
years from now when we look back, we will
wonder how we managed with the volumes of
unconnected data we have now”.
Pictured: Professor Stefan Decker, Director of DERI
SOCIAL WEB
CONNECTIVITY
THROUGH MULTIMEDIA GADGETRY
I
John Breslin, Engineering and Informatics / DERI
n the past year we’ve seen a huge shift in the
way that people are using social networks
and media sharing platforms, moving from
traditional desktop or laptop computers towards
all manner of mobile devices. For example, over
500 million of Facebook’s users now access the
platform on mobile phones and tablets (that’s
nearly two thirds of their user base).
As people want to keep up-to-date with what their
friends are up to wherever they may be, we are also
starting to see Facebook, Twitter and other social
services starting to pervade our lives through an
‘Internet of Things’, including consumer electronic
devices like TVs and new ambient systems sitting
in our living rooms and kitchens.
Intelligent TVs enable you to update your
Facebook or Twitter status using a standard
remote control. The cute-looking rabbit-shaped
device called Karotz reads out tweets or news
updates from the Web, but it can also be used
to perform certain activities based on voice
commands such as social photo sharing through
its built-in camera.
Even if you don’t have a fancy TV that plugs into
the Internet, the new MK802 is a €60 cigarette
lighter-sized Android computer with WiFi that
plugs into the HDMI port on most TV sets and
that allows you to use any Android app on your
TV (YouTube, Facebook, RTÉ Player, etc.).
At NUI Galway, in DERI and the College of
Engineering and Informatics, we are carrying out
research into this ‘Internet of Things’, such that
information relevant to a particular context can
be sent by us or shown to us through the various
devices we use in different places (at work, in
homes, on holidays).
NUI Galway-based
Technology Museum
Becomes a Major Success Story
by Brendan Smith, DERI
One of the surprise success stories of the
recent Volvo Ocean Race Festival was
the enthusiasm generated for a heritage
exhibition whose theme and displays are
something not normally associated with
history.
The NUI Galway-based Computing and
Communications Museum of Ireland was
relocated to the Global Village in the Claddagh
for the duration of the festival where it
provided a fascinating insight into advances in
communications from ancient hieroglyphics to
today’s Internet. The array of electronic artefacts on
display included such iconic computers/consoles
as the Apple II, IBM PC, Amiga, Atari 2600, BBC,
Sinclair ZX81, PDP 11 and the Commodore Vic20.
“Its presence at the festival touched an emotional
chord with so many visitors,” according to Brendan
Smith, curator and co-founder of the museum
in his capacity as Education Outreach Officer of
the Digital Enterprise Research Institute (DERI),
where it is permanently located.
“It is fitting that the country’s only museum
dedicated to computers and associated
communication technologies is found in this
city,” according to Brendan. “For Galway can
proudly boast that it is Ireland’s first ‘digital city’,
due to the fact that it is here in 1971 that one of
the global giants of the computer industry opened
its first manufacturing operation outside the
USA. Influenced by the presence of a university
which could provide a skilled, creative, educated
workforce, Digital Equipment Corporation
(DEC)
established
an
export-orientated
enterprise in Mervue which produced a range of
mini-computers and software that became the
backbone of many industrial and engineering
plants across Europe. Numerous other US hightech companies soon followed suit, opening up
new and exciting job opportunities in the areas
of science, engineering and commerce for young
Irish people and significantly transforming the
nation’s economy and society in the process.
“Hundreds of ex-DEC employees flocked to the
museum to enjoy a trip down memory lane and to
see once again the PDPs and VAX units that they
made and worked on during the 1970s and 1980s.
“But there were many other attractions in the
museum that also captured the public imagination
during the festival, including exhibits such as
‘Retro Gaming–Pacman Returns’, ‘Marconi and
early Radio’, ‘Science Fiction becomes Science
Reality’, ‘History of Irish Computing’ and ‘Women
in Technology–Hidden Histories’.”
Cois Coiribe 15
FEATURES
There’s no place like
Galwa
says Larry Donnelly
I was lucky enough to attend
the second weekend of this
summer’s Volvo Ocean Race
Festival in Galway. Having been
on leave of absence from my
teaching post in the School of
Law for the past two years, I was
delighted to get off the train
from Dublin at Ceannt Station
and again experience the
extraordinary and ever-present
buzz in the air that is unique
to Galway.
Galway is incredibly special to me
because of the way the city and its people
took me in when I relocated there from
my native Boston in September of 2001.
After two years as a practising lawyer in
Boston, I took up a visiting fellowship
teaching legal skills to undergraduate
and postgraduate law students at NUI
Galway. The all-round merits of this
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity were not
lost on me as someone with strong family
roots and many cousins in north Galway
and whose uncle, former United States
Congressman Brian Donnelly, had been
a great friend of the university and who,
through his Donnelly Visa legislation, had
afforded many NUI Galway graduates the
chance to live and work in the United
States.
I ultimately became a permanent
member of academic staff and founded
the School of Law’s now highly-regarded
clinical legal education programme in
2007. In September 2010, NUI Galway
facilitated my taking a temporary step
away from academic life to work as
Manager of the Public Interest Law
Alliance (PILA), a Dublin-based project
of the Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC),
which endeavours to expand the use of
law and the legal system to vindicate the
rights of marginalised and disadvantaged
people in Ireland.
It is with this as life experience that I
stepped off the train and strolled down
Shop Street on that Friday evening in
July. To my surprise, I was stopped no
less than seven times as I meandered my
way down the even-more-bustling-thanusual Galway streets. Old friends from
all walks of Galway life greeted me with
genuine warmth and expressed delight
that, after two years in the “big smoke,” I’d
made the decision to come “home.”
Cois Coiribe 16
I had travelled to Galway that weekend
specifically to meet relations from
Boston who were excited to get a feel
for the small city in the west of Ireland
that they had grown up hearing so
much about. Needless to say, given the
weekend that was in it, they were not
disappointed. They were blown away
by the atmosphere and indicated early
on that Galway had somehow exceeded
their high expectations.
On the weekend, the city was teeming
with people from all over Ireland and all
around the world. Thanks in large part to
the efforts of “Let’s Do It Global,” the Volvo
Ocean Race Festival attracted 900,000
visitors to Galway and approximately
€100 million to the city and county. And
the Volvo Ocean Race Festival was a great
kick-off for the annual events – the Film
Fleadh, the Arts Festival and Race Week
– that make Galway the place to be in
Ireland during the summer.
NUI Galway plays an eminent and
extremely important role in drawing
visitors to the city and uses the various
festivals and events to showcase all the
great things that are happening at the
university. The following are just some
of the ways in which the University made
special contributions to each and every
major event in Galway this summer.
For the Volvo Ocean Race Festival, a
team of experts at the University’s Digital
Enterprise Research Unit (DERI) created
a free mobile phone ‘Volvo Ocean Race
Galway’ app for all visitors to the city
providing maps, a full festival programme
and a wellspring of information about
the city.
ay!
Pictured are NUI Galway graduates John Killeen of Let’s Do It Global and An
Tánaiste, Eamon Gilmore TD, at the University pavilion at the Volvo Ocean
Race Finale
The University, as official education partner and through its
volunteering programmes, recruited a “small army” of volunteers to
support the overall festival. The campus almost temporarily relocated
as a replica of the Quadrangle was created to front an NUI Galway
pavilion it constructed as part of the Global Village that was open for
the duration of the festival. The pavilion highlighted the innovative,
cutting edge and globally recognised research currently being
undertaken by NUI Galway academic staff and played host to a speaker
series featuring an array of the University’s top experts. Among the
visitors to the Quadrangle and pavilion was the President of Ireland,
Michael D. Higgins, himself a former student and lecturer, as well as
An Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore and Minister for
Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte, who all
studied at the University.
In the run-up to the Galway Arts Festival, Galway saw the opening of
the new O’Shaughnessy Bridge. The bridge, a joint venture between
the University and Galway City Council, crosses the Eglinton Canal and
is designed to encourage sustainable travel in the city. The launch of
the bridge was quite timely in that it allowed for easy access between
the University and Fisheries Field for all those looking to attend major
events under the well-known Big Top.
Also in conjunction with the Galway Arts Festival, the NUI Galway
Societies Office invited all primary school children in the area to
make a one-page submission, using any type of media, as part of
an exhibition, “Festival Time in Galway.” The top 40 submissions
were displayed throughout the city during the month of July. And
NUI Galway students, under the auspices of the successful ALIVE
programme which fosters student engagement and volunteering
across a wide spectrum of activities, were actively involved in the Arts
Festival. SELECTED, a new initiative between the University and Arts
Festival organisers, organised formal internships for postgraduate
students in Drama and Theatre Studies, allowing them the chance to
see how the festival is put together while attending shows and gaining
a deeper understanding of the experience of performers and directors.
This quick survey of what NUI Galway has been doing to promote the
city in the summer of 2012 makes clear that the University, as well as
other groups and institutions in the city, is an active and indispensable
partner in efforts to make Galway a great place to live and work in, to
study in, to do business in and to visit. The importance of these efforts
can’t be understated as Ireland, and the west of Ireland in particular,
continues to tackle a myriad of challenges – economic and otherwise
– in an era of worldwide uncertainty.
For me personally, it is heartening to know that the university I work
at is so committed to the city and region to which I have such strong
familial ties and to which I myself have become so attached. Is it any
wonder then that, notwithstanding the unquestionable rewards of my
work while on leave of absence from NUI Galway, I am delighted to
be returning to the School of Law and to Galway life this September?
This piece is based on one of Larry Donnelly’s regular columns,
“A Boston Irishman in Ireland,” for IrishCentral.com.
Cois Coiribe 17
RESEARCH
TACKLING
Global Challenges
By Ruth Hynes
W
orld leaders have defined several
global challenges for mankind,
including food security, energy
security and climate security. A new
chapter in scientific endeavour, The Ryan
Institute, has been launched at NUI Galway
to help to unlock creative solutions to some of
these pressing resource problems.
Here in the west of Ireland, on the fringes
of the Atlantic Ocean, researchers at
the University have been engaged with
environmental and marine issues for decades.
Marine research was consolidated in the
early-1990s when a donation from Dr Tony
Ryan, founder of Ryanair, was made in
memory of his father Martin and led to the
establishment of the Martin Ryan Institute.
In the year 2000, the Environmental Change
Institute was formed with funding from the
Higher Education Authority and Atlantic
Philanthropies.
Special areas of research focus have included
climate change, environmental technologies,
water resources, marine ecosystems,
biodiversity and sustainability. In more recent
years, research in the fields of bioenergy and
the built environment have become a strength
at NUI Galway.
Now, the Ryan Institute for Environmental,
Marine and Energy Research brings together
the combined expertise of the Martin Ryan
Institute and the Environmental Change
Institute. With over 300 researchers, it is
Ireland’s largest research institute to focus on
some of the most critical environmental and
energy issues of the 21st century.
The Ryan Institute’s ethos revolves around
an interdisciplinary approach, encouraging
problem-solving among disparate disciplines,
including physics, biology, engineering,
medicine and chemistry. These disciplines now
work with their colleagues in fields such as
economics and other social sciences to address
problems from different perspectives, in a
holistic way. There is also huge engagement
with state agencies and the private sector to
Cois Coiribe 18
shape policy and technologies for Ireland’s
future. In addition, the Institute has a very
active Outreach Programme. The Ryan
Institute was officially launched by Máire
Geoghegan-Quinn, EU Commissioner
for Research, Innovation and Science on 10
July. The official launch featured a day-long
symposium with special guest Pat Rabbitte
TD, Minister for Communications, Energy
and Natural Resources, President Jim Browne
and Professor Colin Brown, Director, Ryan
Institute.
The launch was also attended by former
Under Secretary for Energy with the Obama
administration, Dr Kris Johnson, who is
one of the newly appointed Advisory Board
for the Ryan Institute. Dr Johnson is joined
on the board by Dr Lisa Amini of IBM, Dr
Niall McDonough of the Marine Board of
the European Science Foundation, Dr James
Cunningham of NUI Galway and Dr Aaron
Bernstein of Harvard Medical School.
During his keynote address at the symposium,
Dr Bernstein addressed “the greatest
accounting problem ever known” which relates
not to the value of money but the “value of
nature”. He said “The depletion of natural
capital makes clear that we have as yet been
unable to balance the biospheric books even if
our survival depends on it”.
According to Dr Bernstein: “The Ryan Institute
at NUI Galway has many worthy goals in
research and education, and it is noteworthy
that despite the financial turmoil that besets
Ireland, the Institute has moved ahead. Surely
at a time when we must know so much more
about the life that sustains us, and must
redouble our efforts to educate ourselves
about why nature matters, this reflects a deep
wisdom, the kind of which we must use to
meet the challenges that lie ahead and that will
enable us to find the accounting we need to do
business better with the biosphere.”
Pictured is Máire Geoghegan-Quinn at the launch of
The Ryan Institute, July 2012
Collaborating
RESEARCH
with the East
W
hy would
the largest,
most rapidly
developing
country in the
world want to increase links
with a university in the west
of Ireland? Because of the
niche expertise in specific
areas that can only be found
at NUI Galway, writes John
Holden.
DERI has been forging links with
Chinese institutions in the hope
that expertise can be shared in
the study of the next generation
web. However, getting such links
off the ground can take a very
long time because of financial,
regulatory and even human or
personal circumstances.
Everybody wants a piece
of the action in China right
now. The world’s fastest
growing economy will shortly
supersede the USA as the
Pictured is President Browne and President Wei Cai, Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
largest economy on the
Back row: Professor Lin He, Director of Bio-X Institutes; An Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD;
planet and it may soon be the Minister Richard Bruton TD; and Professor Sanbing Shen, REMEDI, NUI Galway.
leading international player
“We can take a piece of skin, as
Engagement with NUI Galway
in science and technology
little as three millimeters and
comes in the form of interest in
research. It’s no wonder other
convert it into a variety of cells
a
number
of
niche
areas
where
countries want to get to know
like brain cells, cardio cells for
Irish
researchers
are
setting
their Asian neighbours a little
the heart, or beta cells for the
the standard internationally.
better.
pancreas to potentially help in
“There are a number of areas of
discovering new treatments for
increasing
potential
links
with
Academic research has
diabetes. This kind of research has
China including biomedical
become a top priority in
never been done before.”
engineering,
civil
engineering,
China, particularly in the fields
geography and through the
of science, engineering and
REMEDI recently signed
Digital Enterprise Research
technology. All foreign visitors
collaborative agreements
Institute (DERI),” says Browne.
to Chinese institutions agree
with the Shanghai Institute for
“Links in some areas are already
on one thing: their increasingly
Pediatric Research, Bio-X Institutes
very strong, while others are at
sophisticated lab facilities
and the Tangdu Neurosurgery
early stages.
for students, researchers and
and Neurology Hospital, research
investigators alike, along with
their dedicated work ethic and
enthusiasm for new research,
are fast becoming the envy of
many academics in the west.
But one of the main reasons
why China continues to develop
so quickly is because it is acutely
aware of its own knowledge
gaps in areas like science and
engineering. As such, academics
and industry stakeholders are
not afraid to look elsewhere to
gain insight from those who are
more advanced.
“China is currently making
huge advances in science and
technology, largely because
they are now fully engaged
with the outside world,” explains
NUI Galway President, Dr
Jim Browne, who has been a
frequent visitor to China since
the 1980s.
“Our regenerative medicine
institute, REMEDI, is currently
awaiting approval for a Good
Manufacturing Practice (GMP)
facility for manufacturing adult
stem cells, which would be one
of only a handful in Europe,”
he says. “This would give us a
neat competitive edge as there
is only one equivalent facility
in China and we want to share
with them our results, clinical
trials and expertise. Thankfully
they want to do the same. We
also have a Chinese professor of
stem cell biology, Sanbing Shen,
based here on campus.”
Based in REMEDI, Sanbing
Shen is working on cutting
edge research into induced
pluripotent (IPS) stem cells.
“These cells act very much like
embryonic stem cells but they
are not from embryos, they’re
from the skin,” explains Shen.
institutes based in two leading
Chinese universities, Shanghai
Jiao Tong University and the
Fourth Military Medical University,
Xi’an.
Similar forges are being tied
at another NUI Galway leader:
the Network of Excellence for
Functional Biomaterials (NFB).
Science Foundation Ireland
(SFI) Stokes Lecturer, Wenxin
Wang, is making huge progress
in his research into polymer
design. Some of his research is
co-funded by DEBRA Ireland,
the organisation which funds
the development of treatments
and cures for all forms of
Epidermolysis Bullosa.
Having people on the ground is
very important to forging longstanding relationships. While it
may seem like interest in China
– form a research perspective – is
a relatively new phenomenon,
these links have taken years to
formulate.
The good news is that, thanks to
the Science Foundation Ireland
(SFI), Programme for Research in
Third-level Institutes (PRTLI) and
EU funding, Chinese academics
are taking bodies like DERI
and REMEDI very seriously and
actively seeking out opportunities
to share, collaborate and improve
relations.
Professor Seamus Grimes of
the Institute for Business, Social
Science and Public Policy has
been a visiting professor to the
East China Normal University in
Shanghai since 2008. Over there,
they’re really interested in taking
an international as approach as
possible to their research activity.
But they have the resources to do
it. The geography department I
visit in Shanghai is huge. There’s
approximately 200 people on
their staff. It’s one of the biggest
geography departments in
China and they have a lot of PhD
students who are now professors
of geography in the USA.
One of NUI Galway’s longest
standing Chinese academics is Dr
Chaosheng Zhang, a lecturer in
Geographic Information Systems
(GIS) at the GIS Centre in the Ryan
Institute. “We just launched the
new centre this summer, as part
of a conference on Sino-European
symposium where 100 Chinese
experts came to visit Galway.” Dr
Zhang has been at NUI Galway
for 12 years now. “My expertise
is in pollution, particularly of the
soil. While the scale of pollution in
Ireland and China is very different,
many of the same challenges
are faced by both countries and
much can be learned from each
other.”
Cois Coiribe 19
Universities and their researchers are key players in the development and exploitation of
new knowledge. Worldwide, universities are now focused on the commercialisation of
research and transfer of knowledge. From the creation of new companies, products or
services, to industry standards and protocols, knowledge transfer is booming. A survey
carried out by the Association of University Technology Managers of 157 universities in
2011 showed they generated more than $1.8 billion in licensing revenue, over 12,000
patent filings and 617 company formations
International evidence and experience tells us,
however, that university research commercialisation
is a complex business. A whole innovation
eco-system needs to be in place to nurture and
support university research commercialization.
A society that is open and adaptive plays an important influencing role in
supporting research commercialisation. Universities require a broad range
of supports and skills from the public and private sectors, from funding to
legal supports.
Entrepreneurship is currently supported and valued by Irish society. A
similar value needs to be placed upon university commersialisation for it to
thrive.
Stateside Success
US universities have been commercialising research for over three decades
and significant investments have been made in publicly funded research.
Consequently, they are experienced in commercializing research from
universities and public research labs, and they have significant experience
and learning advantages. It has also highlighted the importance of
exploiting third-level research for economic, public good and society
purposes.
Playing the long game
However, we must also understand and accept that not all technological
breakthroughs will lead to commercial success. Yet the learning, experience
and collaboration engendered in conducting research and evaluating its
commercial potential can be utilized for future research programmes and
endeavors. Such experience is not wasted.
Moreover, we remind ourselves that not all research needs to be measured
by commercial impacts. It is just one metric of success. This view is reflected
by current debates in Europe, the UK and the US about broadening the
measurements of university performance to embrace all aspects of their
core missions of teaching, research and commercialisation.
The benefits of publicly funded university based research are not obviously
seen in our day-to-day lives. Such research can significantly influence
national research priorities to support key industries of importance, such as
medical device sector based in Galway. It can also support the professional
and scientific development of a range of academics from doctoral students
to established research leaders that can engage with challenging scientific
problems relevant to society. These might include climate change,
glyoscience and regenerative medicine.
It can also provide the physical infrastructure to enable fundamental and
Why University Research
Commercialisation Matters
Innovation by James Cunningham
A fundamental lesson from the US experience is the need for consistent
and sustained public investment in fundamental and applied research. This
gives certainty to research groups and companies that seek to collaborate,
develop, invest and exploit new market and technology opportunities.
Another lesson we can draw from the US experience is that researchers
should be empowered to exploit their research with flexible supports
and structures within and outside their own organizational environment.
Organisational contexts and supports matter. Well-executed research
commercialisation can lead to technology leadership in key technology
areas and industry sectors. It also requires a blend of accessible scientific,
technical, business and other professional expertise to successfully exploit
university research commercialisation.
applied research to be undertaken that may ultimately lead to a market
applications that influence or potentially change people’s lives such as the
drug Warafin developed in University of Wisconsin in the USA. Over the last
few years NUI Galway continues to outperform other Irish universities in
many areas of technology transfer. In 2011, NUI Galway’s TTO filed 8 new
patent applications, licensed and optioned 19 technologies and created
4 start-up companies. The TTO have also supported 26 different R&D
contracts.
University research commercialization is significant and important because
it impacts on societies and citizens. All of us are ultimately the beneficiaries
when ideas from universities translate into products or services, some in
mission-critical areas such as health, environment and security.
Already some best practice is transferring from the US. BioInnovate Ireland
Fellowship Programme is a specialist training and collaboration programme
in medical device innovation. Supported by NUI Galway along with
other universities, industry players and Enterprise Ireland, it is envisaged
that BioInnovate will act as a catalyst for enhancing innovation and
entrepreneurship in medical device development within Ireland.
Some of these ideas emanate from the experience of participating in
a third-level environment which facilitates the appropriation of new
‘knowledge and experience’ the social aspects of curiosity and the
exchange of ideas. Others come from public investment in research
and support from many stakeholders in commercialized research that is
deliberate and focused on specific needs.
Success has already been seen. From the inaugural BioInnovate
programme in 2011, three of the eight fellows have secured funding
through Enterprise Ireland’s Commercialisation Fund to develop a next
generation vascular embolization platform technology and to develop a
technology for improving coronary artery bypass grafting.
This confluence has an enduring quality that is not temporally bound. It
is dynamic and powerful, expanding our knowledge base, sustaining and
improving our existence. Despite the challenges associated with university
commercialisation our researchers are the heart of this confluence and
ambitiously seeking to make a difference to our society.
Dr James Cunningham is Director of the Whitaker Institute. He is co-editor
of a forthcoming special issue of the Journal of Technology Transfer on the
Growing Role of Principal Investigators as Science, Technology Shapers. His
latest book, Strategy and Strategists is published by Oxford University Press.
Cois Coiribe 20
GATHERING GALWAY GRADS
CALLING ALL GALWAY ALUMNI BACK TO IRELAND
Anyone who has visited Ireland in recent times will know something
is afoot for next year. There is a buzz of activity at national and
community levels and a sense of anticipation and of
intense preparation.
Why? Because next year is the year of
The Gathering Ireland 2013, a national
endeavour that will reach far beyond
Ireland’s shores.
The Gathering Ireland 2013 will be a
spectacular, year-long celebration of Ireland
and all things Irish. The key idea behind
The Gathering Ireland is straightforward – it
begins with an invitation. The Gathering is
about urging the people of Ireland to invite
friends and relatives home for The Gathering
Ireland 2013.
This means that, throughout 2013, the
people of Ireland will throw open their arms,
extending a personal invitation to their
friends and loved ones overseas to return to
visit Ireland throughout 2013.
A packed calendar of local gatherings is
planned with communities, towns and
villages across Ireland already busy planning
events and festivals. Corporations have
organised conventions and reunions.
Families and clans are reaching out to their
namesakes far and wide. Ireland’s favourite
festivals have developed exciting new
programmes to help visitors truly be part
of it. Special events are planned including
a spectacular New Year’s Eve launch and a
series of events around St. Patrick’s Day. A
national choral festival will take place, with
visitors from across the world. And there is
more to come.
have to be an integral part of The Gathering
Ireland, and in NUI Galway preparations are
already under way. CEO of the The Galway
University Foundation, Tom Joyce, says:
“encouraging former alumni to participate
in the life and development of NUI Galway
is an integral part of what we do. Next year
will see a special effort on our part to drive
visitors back to NUI Galway, through some
special alumni events.”
Even to the casual observer it is clear The
Gathering Ireland is imminent. Galway
and Kilkenny fans at the hurling All-Ireland
were treated to a special pageant before
the game started with giant versions of the
county flags draped on the pitch while giant
Gathering inflatables drifted over the crowds.
The previous weekend The Gathering was
a title sponsor of the Emerald Isle Classic,
with Notre Dame and Navy clashing in the
Aviva stadium. Millions of viewers in the US
watching the match would have received
The Gathering invitation to come to Ireland
next year. Inevitably, Ireland’s universities will
Gathering Project Director Jim Miley stated:
“we very much welcome NUI Galway’s
commitment to help make The Gathering
Ireland a success. Galway is one of Ireland’s
great destinations and NUI Galway is at
the heart of it. NUI Galway alumni span the
world over. We look forward to seeing them
in the City of the Tribes next year!”
Want to find out more?
Want to organise your own Gathering?
Then log on to
www.thegatheringireland.com
GALWAY AS GLOBAL GAME CHANGER:
President Browne Promotes NUI Galway’s Key Role in Global Economy
by Joyce McGreevy
He came, he saw, he got down to work and made us proud. On a recent visit to the US,
President Browne was an educator on a mission – to represent Ireland’s entrepreneurial,
artistic and scientific achievement and to build strategic partnerships for the University.
From meetings with Silicon Valley technology leaders to discussions at
the White House, Dr Browne delivered a powerful message – NUI Galway
is producing the top-tier graduates and the breakthrough research that
will drive the global knowledge economy. “NUI Galway is the epitome
of what third-level education should be about. Its graduates are sought
after throughout Ireland and beyond, and the NUI Galway name is
synonymous with high quality.”
It was a message he also carried to Galway’s sister city of Chicago. An
example of the connection between the cities emerged during a meeting
with Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Dr Browne reminded him that “his niece
Rebekah Emanuel completed her masters degree in Galway in 2010. A
small world,” says Browne, “and NUI Galway grads are everywhere.”
GALWAY’S GLOBAL NETWORK
Maintaining high levels of growth for the University, including in the
expansion of research and technology collaboration, was the driving force
of Dr Browne’s US visit. While in Chicago, he visited Hollister, a global
Medical Technology company. Chicago is one of five global hubs for
medical technology companies, and, as Dr Browne points out, Galway is
fast becoming the sixth.
So what’s next for NUI Galway? Says Dr Browne: “Resting on our laurels
is not an option. I continue to be ambitious for our University. Despite
a challenging economic climate, and with the tremendous support of
friends and alumni, through Galway University Foundation, we will
continue to build on this success. In September 2009 we published
our Strategic Plan 2009 - 2014 which sets out our ambitious vision for
development and partnership. Guided by a principle of excellence in key
areas and informed by a spirit of strategic collaboration, I am confident we
will achieve our vision.”
Cois Coiribe 21
GRADUATIONS
GRADUATES 2012
2
1
4
3
5
1. Stan Shields, Connacht Tribune Photographer, who was conferred
with an Honorary Masters of Arts. Also pictured is Stan’s wife
Kathleen.
2. Peadar O’Dowd, local historian, author, contributor to local
media and tour guide of Galway city, who was conferred with
an Honorary Masters of Arts.
3. Kathleen Villiers-Tuthill – who received an Honorary Masters of Arts
honoris causa. A native of Clifden, Co. Galway, Kathleen has
published five books on the history of Connemara, West Galway
and Alexander Nimmo.
Cois Coiribe 22
4. Martin Ward, who was conferred with an Honorary Masters
of Rural Development.
5. William Henry who was conferred with an Honorary Master
of Arts Degree.
GRADUATIONS
GRADUATES 2012
1
2
5
3
4
6
7
8
1. Dr Brian Ó Donnchadha who was conferred with a PhD. Also pictured is Dr Kevin Davison, School of Education, NUI Galway.
5. Tipperary Hurler Seamus Hennessy who was conferred with an Honours Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting).
2. Receiving an Honours Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, and Bachelor of Obstetrics (MB, BCh, BAO) at the Summer Conferring were (l-r): Kate Fitzpatrick, Brian Moloney and Julianne O’Shea.
6. Marcus O’Donoghue, Áine Fitzpatrick and Shaun Brennan who were conferred with an Honours Bachelor of Corporate Law degree.
3. Pictured at the Winter Conferring Ceremonies were
(l to r): Mary Louise Walsh and Maria Ní Chonghaile who were conferred with a Master of Science in Industrial Relations and Human Resources Management.
4. Maeve Carr and Aleisha Charlton, who were conferred with an Honours Bachelor of Commerce.
7. Terence Lyons, who was conferred with an Honours Bachelor of Engineering degree. Also pictured is his father, Professor Gerry Lyons, Dean of the College of Engineering and Informatics at
NUI Galway.
8. Receiving a PhD at the Summer Conferring was Dr Ciara Fitzgerald.
Cois Coiribe 23
QUALITY YOU CAN TRUST, SERVICE YOU CAN RELY ON
Liosbán Industrial Estate, Tuam Road, Galway
T: 091 757799 l F: 091 752670 l E: info@castleprint.ie
Big or Small,
We Print it all...
For all your printing needs
Display Stands
Flyers
Brochures
Business Cards
Compliment Slips
l
l
l
l
l
Posters
Invitations
Books
Letterheads
Duplicate/Triplicate Books
Digital & Lithographic Print
THINK LOCAL,
THINK CASTLEPRINT
www.castleprint.ie
Bank of Ireland
Manager Dave Barry
describes the new campus branch
and approach to banking
Our core role in the branch is to help and advise
customers in whatever area they need advice.
Every customer is different and their needs are
very personal to them.
• Students: from managing money, budgeting, grant advances and
travelling abroad we help students plan for what to expect after
We’ve just invested in a brand they graduate
new branch on campus. It’s
twice the size of the original • Staff: our ‘Bank at Work’ proposition, with a wide range of products and
branch and full of the most up
services from savings to mortgages is ideal for staff. With our new bigger
to date technology.
branch on campus we are even better placed to service the needs of staff
on campus
In my view advancements
in technology have reached
a tipping point in that it • Graduates: we can help graduates with all aspects of their banking
needs on leaving college, to getting on the property ladder or starting
has now become much
their own business. Thousands of graduates bank with NUI Galway
easier for customers to use
branch for life
the technology and more
customers want to use it. It’s Managing your money is not a very exciting topic but it’s really
practical and efficient and important that we help students with this challenge. The earlier we
eliminates human error. Our get to talk with students the better we can help and our dedicated
new mobile banking app has team of Student Advisors are crucial to this.
proven particularly popular!
The range of innovative and market leading products specifically
However, personal designed to support students now include products to fund
relationships are very undergraduate and postgraduate study; travel products including
important and our approach loans and credit cards at zero percent interest; and bespoke products
is to encourage customers to for some faculties to allow students to borrow interest free until they
come into the branch and we graduate.
will help them get comfortable
In addition, the NUI Galway Affinity Credit Card enables graduates
with the technology. give something back to their Alma Mater. When you become an NUI
Galway Affinity Card holder we will make an additional donation to
the Galway University Foundation and as you continue to use your
card a percentage of the annual spend on your card will also go to the
University. All at no cost to you!
Cois Coiribe 24
SPORT
HIGHLIGHTS
Rowing Success
Crews from NUI Galway were presented with a number of national titles
at the Irish Rowing Championships this year. 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. 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.
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.
NUI Galway Rowers Win National Titles at Irish Rowing Championships
From L-R: John Walsh (Coach), Sean Carolan (Coach), James Wall (Stroke), Cormac
Folan, Alan Martin, Evin Donnelly, Rob O’Callaghan, Jason Wall, Dominic Burke, David
Mannion, Ruadhán Cooke (Cox), Eoghan Cooke, Paul Giblin (Coach)
Students in 2012 Round Ireland Yacht Race
NUI Galway Yacht Race Crew students and graduates finished
sixth place in the overall standings, and first in their class, in the
2012 Round Ireland Yacht Race. The team, one of the youngest to
compete in the competition, was the second Irish boat to cross
the finishing line in their 38-ft racing yacht which they chartered
especially for the race.
The Round Ireland Yacht Race is a 1400km non-stop
circumnavigation of Ireland by sea and is held every two years.
The NUI Galway crew completed the race in 5 days, 2 hours and
6 minutes. The NUI Galway crew was made up of students and
graduates from various disciplines including engineering, science
and commerce.
Crew: Ben Scallan, Eoghan
MvGregor, Joan Mulloy, Mark
Armstrong, Cathal Clarke, Eoin
Breen, Conor Kinsella, David
Fitzgerald, Louis Mulloy, Ruaidhri
De Faoite.
Sigerson 2012
In February Dr Mick Loftus, former Sigerson
winner with UCG and former GAA President,
launched the Irish Daily Mail Sigerson Cup Finals
which were hosted by the Gaelic Club at NUI
Galway. NUI Galway has won the prestigious
Sigerson Cup on no less than 22 occasions, the
last being 2003. Loftus was a member of the
University team on three of those occasions.
Pictured at 1962/63 Sigerson Cup Champions Reunion.
Front Row - Left to right: Christy Tyrrell, Sean Davitt, Hugh McGonigle, Ann Colleran,
Eamonn Slattery, Jimmy Jordan, Sean Donnelly. Back Row - Left to right Kevin Moyles, Sean
Gannon, Seamus Kilraine, John Boner, Roddy Killeen, Mick O’Shea, Kieran Taaffe, Paddy
Nangle, Ray Niland, Tom Gilmore, Michael O Malley, Michael Mylotte
NUI Galway Gaelic football club also honoured
the 1962 and 1963 Sigerson winning teams
with a Sigerson reunion dinner during the
tournament. Ten of the players being honoured
on the night were the backbone the legendary
Galway three-in-a-row team of 1964 –1966. 2012
is also the centenary of the very first Sigerson win
in 1912, and a bespoke colour programme was
published to honour this centenary and other
great wins and memories of Sigerson cup in NUI
Galway over the decades.
Cois Coiribe 25
Q: How have you put your university
experience to use as an athlete?
A: “The qualities you learn at university
are relevant to performance in high level
sport. One of the key things is developing
the ability to be self-sufficient but you also
nurture skills which help you deal with
people of different backgrounds. We hear
a lot about the phrase ‘High Performance
systems’ after the Olympic Games. Athletics
is less formal - I would be more or less
responsible for creating my own team in
the same way that a manager in a company
would pick their own team. I would work
very closely with a physiotherapist, a
psychologist, a doctor and my coach. You
are leading a team to a certain extent. Like
anything you are going to have good days
and bad days but it is that tenacity which
helps you get through the setbacks.
As with business you would be ambitious,
have goals and be very focused on achieving
those goals. It is a very different office which
I go to every day. There is the glamorous
side of things which people see such as
the recent London Olympics. But there is
a massive amount of work which goes in
to achieving the performance on that given
day, or any day of competition. I train twice
a day. I have a session in the morning, then
rest, and train again in the evening. But I am
not complaining about the life. I have had
fantastic opportunities and seen so much of
the world. Like a lot of graduates who would
travel with their companies, you get to see
a different side of life and actually get under
the skin of a country.”
London 2012
in conversation with Colm O’Connor
Olive Loughnane
Cois Coiribe 26
graduated from UCG with
a BComm degree in 1996.
Since then the race walking
star has represented Ireland
in four Olympic Games
including London 2012 and
won a silver medal at the
World Championships three
years ago.
Q: Will the talents you have developed
translate into the ‘real world’ post
athletics?
A: “I am very conscious of that term ‘real
world’. The ‘real world’ is very different in
a lot of ways to my life as an athlete. You
draw the parallels but yes the skills I have
developed as an athlete will stand to me
when I go back to the workplace.”
Olive competing in London 2012
Q: How much of sporting success is
down to natural ability or sheer hard
work?
A: “You need a certain level of ability but
beyond that is it is your personality and
your personal characteristics that will set
you apart. Some kids are athletic. Some
kids are born to run but they don’t have the
interest to take it further. But then you see
those other kids who are pretty average but
they want to be the best. They are the ones
who will be successful. I was one of those
average kids. But I wanted it more than the
next person. Maybe that is why things have
gone well for me.”
Q: What words would you use to
describe Olive Loughnane?
A: “I don’t lack ambition and I am very
goal orientated. I remember going to
the Olympic Village at my first Games in
Sydney in 2000 and watching two athletes
in the dining hall both going for the same
apple. Now there were about 200 apples
in the same box but neither stood back.
That is the thing about athletes – we
are ultra, ultra competitive. Athletics has
shaped me as a person to a large degree
but I was always one of these people that
if I wanted something badly enough then
I had to have it. I did everything I could to
get what I wanted in athletics. It has made
me competitive. I always had drive but as
an athlete, that drive has been multiplied.
I have that commitment to working hard.
Someone said recently athletics is the
talent for hard work. I work hard to get
what I can from that effort. Of course
everything is not 100% within your own
destiny and no matter how well you train
and how hard you work, you wouldn’t
necessarily stand on the rostrum. That was
something I discovered this time around at
the Olympics. Despite the fact that I was in
fantastically good shape there were people
who had done even better than me and
there was nothing I could do on the day.”
Q: What goes through your head
before a major race such as London
2012?
A: “Given my preparations I went to
London expecting to be competing at the
very top end of the race. During the race,
I was racing very, very fast but I was well
off where I expected to be in terms of
position. Initially I was a little shocked by all
Olive, the 2010 World Silver Medallist
in the 20k Walk, produced her best
time over the distance since picking up
that medal to finish in 13th place at the
London Olympics. This was Olive’s fourth
Olympics; she finished an excellent 7th
place in Beijing in 2008. London 2012
provided the fastest 20k walk ever for
Women. Olive went through 5km in just
over 21 minutes and 10k in 44 minutes.
The first six places were dominated
by the Russians and Chinese and the
winner Elena Lasmanova of Russia
set a new world record.
Olive pictured in Croke Park
following her Silver Medal
performance at the World
Championships in 2010
of this so I spent a certain amount of the
race trying to adjust. I did a huge amount
of preparation. Scenario analysis was a big
part of this but this was one scenario that
we didn’t think could happen, that people
could be even faster. I rallied then and just
fought for every place and it was a matter
of pride after that. Some people would say
‘who cares about the difference between
4th and 24th?’ But I did care. I wanted to
get every position I could. The event has
moved on and it moved on a lot at my race
on that day at the Olympics. Unfortunately I
wasn’t strong enough to go with it.”
Q: Have you returned to racing since
London?
A: “I raced in China which was an
interesting experience. I competed there
at the Beijing Olympics and had a great
Games. I was seventh and did a personal
best time, which remains my personal
best. But it is interesting to see how much
China has changed and how much more
westernised they have become. I was in
Inner Mongolia which is fairly off the beaten
track but even there I could see the country
has developed.”
Q: Would you consider a media career
after your work as a panellist on
Setanta Ireland’s Paralympic coverage?
A: “I have done my fair share of interviews
over the last 12 years. So it is good to be
on the other side and see how it works.
The Paralympics is something I have a
strong interest in and there were some
outstanding Irish performances. It was
good to see it from the other side. We will
see what happens.”
NUI Galway medical student Paul
Hession competed in the 200m and
just narrowly missed repeating his
achievements of four years ago where
he made the semi-final in Beijing. His
time of 20.69 in the heats was just shy
by a tenth of a second that would have
allowed him to progress. Paul had
narrowly missed gaining a place in the
final in the 2008 games and was coming
into form for London having reached
the final of the 200m at the European
Championships. But the event was
dominated by the Jamaicans with Usain
Q: Has it been difficult to combine a
family with an athletics career?
A: “Since I had my daughter, Eimear, it
has been interesting. People used to ask
me ‘do you work?’ Being an athlete was
my job and I treated it like that. I was
like any working parent but my hours
varied a lot more. When I was at home
it was fantastic as I was able to drop
her to school, pick her up, help with
homework. But then there were times
when I would have to go away for a three
or four week stretch. It is difficult but no
more difficult than what any parent in
any job would have to deal with. I have a
very supportive husband, Martin, but we
are like any typical family trying to juggle
work and home life. But we juggle it a
little differently.”
Q: Will the downturn help or hinder
athletics?
A: “Athletics typically does well during the
downturn - all you need is a pair of shoes
to go for a run or walk. Because of that I
expect the numbers of people out running
to grow in the next couple of years. I’m
not as optimistic about the elite side of
the sport. The superpowers in my event
are China and Russia and those athletes
will be unaffected by the world downturn
while athletes in countries such as ours
are going to have funding cut. It depends
what we prioritise as a nation. At the end
of the day, desire will only take you so
far. If people want results at the elite level
then money has to be invested.”
Bolt leading a clean sweep of the medals
for them.
Joanne Cuddihy competed in the
Women’s 400m in London. Working as
a doctor in University Hospital Galway,
Joanne trained with the University
Athletics Club, and Gary Ryan, NUI
Galway’s Elite Sports Development
Officer (and former Irish Olympian) was
part of her coaching team.
Cois Coiribe 27
Life at the
extreme
An inside view
By Cillian McGovern
For us, as part of the organising team, it was just
the beginning of the festival that we had been
working for over two years to create.
For me, it had been the culmination of a rollercoaster, all-roads-and-tides-lead-to-Galway
adventure.
Since graduating with a BA LLB (hons) degree
and postgraduate degree from NUI Galway in
2008, securing a full time job in any field was a
challenge, let alone the legal sector. However, NUI
Galway is quite adept at producing well rounded
students, a must for the world we currently live in.
Hilary Clinton famously stated “never waste a
good crisis”, and a deviation in my career path
was inventible.
In working with LDIG Management Ltd throughout
the last two years, the exposure I received was
invaluable. The collective will and sheer desire to
make the event succeed cannot be understated.
In challenging financial times and with a difficult
financial model, the event delivered an estimated
€80m in revenue to the West of Ireland.
Notably, there were many NUI Galway graduates
involved in the project.
Cois Coiribe 28
It’s 2am and close to 30,000
people have turned Galway’s
docks into a coliseum to
welcome the gladiators who
have just completed the
39,000 nautical mile race
around the globe.
That we may not see the event on Irish shores
again is an indictment to the thinking of a modern
Ireland. No other event leverages the entire
coastline of Ireland around the globe quite like
it. Leading professional sailors were fizzing with
excitement on returning to Galway!
My role within LDIG centered on operating the
Green Dragon (sailing boat) as Project Director.
This covered every aspect of maintaining the
vessel and ensuring it was operational at all
times: budget, communications, marketing, crew
selection, branding, provisioning, logistics and
safety at sea are the key areas for the boat. They
are all mutually dependent on each other. At
times, it can be a 60-70hr week - quite different to
the prescribed reading from my time studying Irish
as part of my B.A. or researching material for an
essay in Legal Science!
That said, helming a Volvo Open 70 is the best
sailing you can do and clocking up miles offshore
in all conditions, 24 hours a day with speeds
reaching 30knots+ is an experience like no other –
a lot like going to NUIG!
Cillian McGovern was Green Dragon Project
Director, Let’s Do It Global, Volvo Ocean Race
2012
GRADUATE
Ann Brehony
wouldn’t necessarily thank
anybody for describing her
as superwoman...
but it’s safe to say the
achievements of this mother
of two are extraordinary.
FEATURES
Cillian McGovern VOR
writes Judy Murphy
Nine years ago Ann and her husband Niall Barrett, who
were already parents to two-year-old Jessie, welcomed
their baby son Rory into the world. But there were
problems. Rory had been born without kidneys – and
the prognosis was not good.
N
ine years on, his
achievements have been
beyond anybody’s wildest
expectations. That he is alive
at all is a miracle, but now this
bright, lively boy is attending
Scoil Iognáid in Galway City, where he
recently won Gaeilgoir na Seachtaine and
is regarded as the class joker. Not bad,
given that one “expert” some years ago
stated he had an IQ of less than 70.
But getting this far was no easy journey
for the boy who took all of his food by
a nasogastric tube until recently. Five
years ago, Rory received a kidney from
his father Niall. Until then, Rory, Ann and
Niall had to take the “red-eye” Aer Arann
flight to Dublin for dialysis at Temple
Street Children’s Hospital three times a
week. Their daughter Jessica, who “has
been brilliant”, was minded by their family
and friends – both Ann and Niall are
from Galway and have a great support
structure, she says. When Rory was a
baby, there were several occasions when
he had to be rushed to Dublin as his
life was in danger. Looking back, it was
tough, she says, but adds: “absence of
choice is a great thing”.
The care they have received in Temple
Street has been and continues to be
fantastic.
However, ensuring Rory received support
from other State bodies to help his
development hasn’t always been easy.
Ann has fought countless battles on her
son’s behalf and has the documentation
to prove it. Many of these struggles have
been recorded on her brilliant blog called
“Transplant News” (www.newkidney.
blogspot.com) which was shortlisted for
the Irish Blog Awards in 2010 and again
this year it has been nominated in the
Grafton Media Irish Blog Awards for Best
Health/Wellbeing blog.
Until Rory’s birth, Ann had worked in
film production, while Niall works as
tour/production manager for The Saw
Doctors. Their training in production and
scheduling stood them in good stead
during Rory’s young years. She gave
up work to care for him, something she
found difficult initially, as her identity was
tied up in her job. But she has moved
way beyond that now.
Despite her mammoth work with
Rory, Ann undertook an MA in
Literature and Publishing at NUI
Galway in 2010.
As part of her course she completed a
business plan for an innovative publishing
venture and after getting great feedback
from course tutors for her “holiday helper
app”, she set about getting the project
funded. This summer Ann secured an
international publishing with American
digital travel publisher Sutro Media for
a phone app, entitled Ireland: Are We
There yet? (http://itunes.apple.com/ie/
app/ireland-are-we-there-yet/)
It’s designed for families who are
holidaying in Ireland – something
she is familiar with as Rory’s medical
paraphernalia makes it difficult for the
family to go abroad.
The app features 200 entries covering the
32 counties, and these aren’t confined
to places – some relate to the rules of
hurling, others are games designed to
keep kids entertained while they are in
the car.
Meanwhile, Ann is also continuing her
battle to ensure that Rory can live up to
his potential and that any other child who
is born with the same condition, will not
face the same difficulties he did.
Cois Coiribe 29
FOUNDATION
Invaluable
financial
support and
continued
fundraising
has been vital in the
continued achievements
of the National Breast Cancer
Research Institute at the
University College
Hospital in Galway.
anna o’coinne - Photograph by Martina Regan
Everyone in Ireland will have been touched
in some way by breast cancer. Up to 2000
new cases are diagnosed in this country
every single year. Since 1992, the National
Breast Cancer Research Institute (NBCRI)
has been at the forefront of breast cancer
research and their ongoing efforts have led
to several significant breakthroughs in three
key research areas: the genetics of breast
cancer, molecular biology and the potential
role of stem cells.
“We’ve been collecting blood samples
for several years from women with breast
cancer as well as from women who’ve
lived to be very old and not gotten the
disease,” explains NBCRI Director Professor
Michael Kerin. “We then identified key
genes in breast cancer in the west of Ireland
population. Our extensive research has led
to us working with a number of international
collaborators. Because we have such a large
biobank of bloods, many research bodies
– including groups from the UK, Spain, the
USA and Canada - have been interested in
Cois Coiribe 30
“
T
he completion of the new
Translational Research Facility will
mean even better research will
be made possible, writes John
Holden.
linking with us to research breast cancer
genetics research at large.
“
In terms of the molecular
biology research programme,
our main breakthrough has
been in the role of micro RNAs
he adds. “These small fragments of genetic
information found in the blood are important
in the way they can control multiple genes.
Using these micro-organisms we’ve been
able to identify and address the signature
for breast cancer in the blood stream. The
signature in the blood from a tumour is a
very exciting breakthrough as it has the
potential for being used in the detection of
breast cancer and relapse.”
This research breakthrough was of global
significance and led to the findings being
published in the Annals of Surgery in 2010,
the number one international surgical
journal. Since then the findings have been
cited more than a hundred times (to put
this in to perspective, the average academic
paper would be sited around eight times).
“We’ve also been involved in a number of
collaborations around stem cells and breast
cancer in terms of their ability to self renew,”
adds Kerin. “Stem cells have been shown
to help in the regeneration of tissues and
a lot of work has been done on how they
might be of value in regenerating the body
after heart attacks and arthritis etc. So we
are looking at them in the context of breast
cancer and have identified how they can
hone in on cancer tissues in the body.” That’s
all the good news. The bad news is that
research of this calibre is very expensive.
Without the assistance of organisations like
the Galway University Foundation (GUF)
and year round fundraising by the NBCRI
itself, the work could not be carried on.
“It costs about €700,000 a year to keep things
running,” explains Chairperson of the NBCRI
fundraising committee, Anna Ó Coinne. “We
currently have 14 researchers, the labs need
further equipment and we also fundraise
for their monthly consumables.
“We organise sponsored walks, coffee
mornings, functions at night time,” she adds.
“There are groups all around the country
doing different things and working away all
the time. It’s much more difficult collecting
money at the moment than it was in
the past. But people are generally quite
generous when it comes to breast cancer
research because it is so important.”
The Galway University Foundation
(GUF) is the private fundraising arm of
NUI Galway and it has been vital to the
NBCRI. “We rely on philanthropy and similar
sources,” explains GUF
Chief Executive Tom Joyce.
“We’ve been fundraising
for the NBCRI for 20 years,
which has been significantly
modernised in recent years.”
translational facility and the NBCRI will be
based there along with a number of other
research groups, providing all with state of
the art facilities. research, but a whole cancer research
programme
including
research
into colo-rectal cancer, lung cancer
and prostate cancer will be housed
together.”
“The quantity of space we have will
increase significantly and therefore
“Our supporters are essential to keeping
our work going in several key ways,”
stresses Kerin. “It generates
funding for pilot projects
that wouldn’t have the
ability to get seed funding
on their own. Secondly, our
funding allows us to put on
a six-week summer research
school, where 12 students
can come and work with us
in the institute. It also
funds a number of young
doctors to do their PhDs as
well as new pieces of
equipment we need and
allows us to go out with
international collaborators
in order to achieve blue
chip funding from major
funding bodies like Science
Foundation Ireland and the
European Union.”
GUF is also a major fundraiser
for the new Translational
Research Facility (TRF) due
for completion next year.
“We set about raising the
funds for the physical
infrastructure
and
the
building which is due to
start shortly,” says Joyce. “In
all it will cost around 16
million, half of which will
come from state sources,
and half from philanthropy
Professor Michael Kerin
- private sources will all be
raised by GUF. It should be completed by
allow for more researchers,” says Kerin.
this time next year.” The main focus of the
“When the TRF is built there will be
TRF will be patient-based research with
the aim of more rapid translation of new
70 full time researchers on site. They
findings to clinical trial. It will be a clinical/
won’t all be involved in breast cancer
For more information you can go to
http://www.nbcri.ie
Dr Róisín Dwyer Wins
‘Researcher of the Year’ Award
NUI Galway breast cancer
researcher, Dr Róisín
Dwyer, was announced
the first ‘Irish Cancer Society
Researcher of the Year’ in
2011.
Dr Dwyer scooped the top prize of
the ‘Irish Cancer Society Researcher
of the Year’ from three shortlisted
candidates for her research that
investigated the potential of adult
stem cells as vehicles for targeted
delivery of therapeutic agents
to breast tumours, which aims
to significantly reduce tumour
growth.
Dr Dwyer is a postdoctoral research fellow in
the Discipline of Surgery at NUI Galway with the
support of the National Breast Cancer Research
Institute, and has worked on projects funded by
the Irish Cancer Society.
Dr Dwyer was chosen as the winner for her
outstanding research entitled ‘Adult Stem
Cells: Have Tumour? Will Travel’ which used
Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) or adult stem
cells that play an important role in wound healing
and tissue generation, to deliver anti-cancer drugs
directly to tumours. The study, which tracked the
migration of the MSCs and used them to activate
tumour-killing drugs, resulted in a significant
reduction in tumour growth, with no negative side
effects observed. The ability to track MSC migration
non-invasively before therapy is a major advantage
to this novel approach for breast cancer therapy.
Congratulating Dr Dwyer, President Browne said:
“This is a wonderful endorsement of the
work underway at NUI Galway in the area of
cancer research and regenerative medicine. I
congratulate Róisín on her award and I look
forward to new research developments in these
areas in order to support innovative interventions
and better outcomes for patients and their
families. Our translational approach is designed to
see research moving from ‘bench to bed-side’ and
this award-winning work by Dr Dwyer will, I hope,
lead to further success in the battle against breast
cancer.”
Cois Coiribe 31
40 Bliain Raidió na Gaeltachta agus
Ollscoil na hÉireann, Gaillimh
le Dónall Ó Braonáin
Raidió na Gaeltachta celebrates a significant milestone this year, 40 years of public service broadcasting.
Links with NUI Galway go back to the heady days of start-up with alumni featuring strongly on the station staff
since its establishment. A commitment to our regions and the Irish language has seen the development of a
mutually beneficial relationship with the service. A major archiving project has seen the digitisation and
cataloguing of RnaG’s considerable broadcast output between 1972 and 2004.
Co-operation continues on developing a unique resource - the largest minority language speech archive in the world.
Work is currently continuing on contextualising archival items for use in primary school classrooms. Disciplines
such as education, IT and language acquisition are converging to deliver projects with immediate applications in
the Digitial Humanities. And all this as a result of pirate radio transmissions from Ros Muc in 1969?
Cé a chreidfeadh é?
Agus cé a chreidfeadh go bhfuil dhá scór bliain caite ó cuireadh tús le Raidió
na Gaeltachta? Stáisiún é a bhláthaigh de thoradh feachtais agus gnímh i
measc mhuintir na Gaeltachta, pobal Chonamara go háirithe. Ní amháin
gur chuir craoltaí bradacha Saor-Raidió Chonamara aniar as Ros Muc lasair
sa bharach oifigiúil ach ba gheall le splanc é a chuir tús le caibidil nua as an
bpíosa i stair na craoltóireachta in Éirinn. Céimithe de chuid na hOllscoile
triúr ar a laghad den fhoireann bhunaithe – Breandán Feirtéar, Máirtín Ó
Fatharta agus Seán Ó Tuairisg.
Is deacair a chreistiúint nach raibh ag craoladh sa tír sa bhliain 1972 ach
bealach náisiúnta raidió amháin. Is mór an t-athrú atá tagtha ar an saol ó
shin agus tá plódú déanta ar an speictream náisiúnta FM le breis agus dhá
scór stáisiún náisiúnta, leath-náisiúnta, réigiúnach agus áitiúil ar fáil do
chluasa bioraithe an náisiúin. Ach má tá claochlú ar an saol ó shin níl ceist ar
bith faoi shainiúlacht na seirbhíse agus tábhacht an tsoláthair fiú má tá athrú
aisteach tagtha ar an nGaeltacht agus ar lucht éisteachta an chainéil idir an
dá linn.
Toradh é an stáisiún ar fheachtas na gCeart Sibhialta agus éileamh pobail.
Pobal teanga. Dhá scór bliain i ndiaidh bhunú RnaG, is iomaí sin ceist
atá curtha le scaitheamh beag blianta faoi bhisiúlacht na gcroícheantar
Gaeltachta agus a bhfuil i ndán don Ghaeltacht thraidisiúnta. I
gcaitheamh na tréimhse céanna tháinig forás dochreidte ar shocruithe
tarchuradóireachta agus ardáin chraolta sheirbhísí raidió.
Meastar go bhfuil de bhreis ar thrian de lucht éisteachta Raidió na
Gaeltachta ag coinneáil cluaise leis an gcraoladh as críocha i bhfad ón
mBuailtín, ó Ros a’ Mhíl agus ón Ghlaisigh anois, mar shampla, An NuaShéalainn, Meiriceá Theas agus an tSeapáin, cinn scríbe roinnt de ghéabha
fiáine na haimsire seo. Is ionann beoshruthú fuaime, íoslódáil phodchraoltaí
is seinnteoirí idirlín agus míorúiltí reatha na teicneolaíochta ach sa deireadh
thiar is é an t-ábhar craolta an chúis go bhfuiltear ag déanamh cosán dearg
fíriúil chomh fada leis an stáisiún i gcónaí. Nuacht, ceol, spórt agus cláracha
réigiúnacha irise a tharraing aird éisteoirí an chéad uair agus maireann an
tsamhail beo go láidir i gcónaí.
Fágann an obair seo a rinneadh sna ceantair Ghaeltachta ar fad le dhá
scór bliain anuas go bhfuil cartlann thar a bheith suntasach cruthaithe,
oidhreacht agus léargas neamhchoitianta in éineacht ar shaol na Gaeltachta
agus na hÉireann ó 1972 i leith. Is í an chartlann chraolta mhionteanga is
mó dá bhfuil ar domhan í agus luach léi dá réir. Is iomaí sin earraíocht a
bhaintear as an ábhar sa gcartlann: foinse don stair náisiúnta agus pobail,
bailiúchán ceoil agus amhrán, stór béaloidis agus go speisialta ábhar taighde
d’fhoireann Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge in Ollscoil na hÉireann,
Gaillimh.
Cois Coiribe 32
Nuair a chuimhnítear ar laghad na n-acmhainní agus scaipeadh na bpobal i
dtús na seachtóidí, tuigeann muid i ndáiríre cén gaisce atá déanta ag Raidió
na Gaeltachta. Éilíonn ganntanas seiftiúlacht agus cruthaitheacht freisin
agus gach seans go raibh an Raidió níos oscailte don chomhar ná forais
eile stáit. Cuireadh bonn praiticiúil faoi chomhar agus comhoibriú nuair a
chuaigh an Raidió agus Ollscoil na hÉireann, Gaillimh, i bpáirt le chéile i
dtreo dheireadh na naochaidí le go ndéanfaí digitiú ar chartlann chraolta
Raidió na Gaeltachta. Ba iad Pól Ó Gallchóir agus Peadar Mac an Iomaire a
bhí ar stiúir an dá eagraíocht ag an am agus níl an comhoibriú idir an Raidió
agus an Ollscoil ach ag treisiú ó shin.
Eagraíodh scéim cheannródaíoch inar aistríodh ábhar craolta a tógadh ar
théipeanna agus formáidí eile agus rinneadh leagan digiteach den ábhar.
Cuireadh saineolas foirne a bhí sa dá theach le chéile agus in imeacht
roinnt bheag blianta cruthaíodh cartlann digiteach nach bhfuil a sárú le fáil
i stáisiún raidió nó ollscoil ar bith san Eoraip. Ní fhéadfaí an obair mhór
seo a chur i gcrích gan leas a bhaint as foireann oibrithe díograiseacha ar
scéimeanna oiliúna a bhí urraithe ag FÁS.
Baineann an obair a dhéanann Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge
ar an gcartlann anois leis an gcuid is nuaí agus is forásaí den obair
chartlannaíochta digití – forbairt acmhainní teagaisc le go n-éascófaí
sealbhú agus treisiú úsáide teanga. Déantar bunáite na hoibre seo in Ionaid
Ghaeltachta na hOllscoile – Áras Mháirtín Uí Chadhain ar an gCeathrú
Rua, Ionad Charna agus Ionad Ghaoth Dobhair. Go deimhin féin cuirtear
oiliúint bhunchéime agus iarchéime ar ábhar craoltóirí an lae amárach sna
cláracha BA & MA sa Chumarsáid in Ionad na Ceathrún Rua.
Léiríonn tograí eile fearacht iTunes U gur féidir leas a bhaint as ábhar craolta
agus an saibhreas sin a athroinnt le sliocht na gcainteoirí céanna a thug
an t-ábhar uathu sa gcéad áit. Beidh an tionscadal le Taisclann Digiteach
na hÉireann/Digital Repository of Ireland, a bheidh lonnaithe in Ionad
Charna, in ann leas a bhaint as acmhainn seo chraoladh RnaG le go gcuirfí
le tograí eile atá á bhforbairt sna Daonnachtaí Digiteacha san Acadamh agus
san Ollscoil. Dhá scór bliain i ndiaidh bhunú RnaG, cé a dúirt nach mbíonn
breith ar an bhfocal a théann le gaoth?
Dónall Ó Braonáin, Príomhfheidhmeannach, Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta
Gaeilge, OÉ Gaillimh
DRUIDMURPHY
Latest international
triumph is all about
Galway
by Joyce McGreevy
President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins
and Tom Murphy at Hampstead Theatre, London
The audience had not even left London’s Hampstead Theatre when the first reviews hit
Twitter. “Three plays by Tom Murphy – nine hours (with breaks); the most worthwhile,
dropeverythinggo theatre in London,” raved Daily Telegraph theatre critic, Dominic Cavendish.
It was among the first of many bravos from
the British press. From The Guardian (“richly
rewarding . . . staged by [Garry] Hynes
with a breathtaking poetic realism”) to The
Times (“truly epic, broad of scope, its insight
profound”), the reviews hailed Druid Theatre’s
premiere of DruidMurphy. Of Galway-born
playwright Tom Murphy, The Financial Times
said: “Murphy is, I suspect, the greatest
dramatist writing in English.”
As word spread to all who had gathered
at the Hampstead, it was an electric
moment. But not nearly as electric as the
plays that had riveted our attention for all
of that afternoon and evening. From his
clear-eyed memory play, Conversations
on a Homecoming, to the eloquently
brutal A Whistle in the Dark, to the startling
contradictions of Famine, Tom Murphy’s work
enthralled us. Like Michael Billington of The
Guardian, we “emerged astonished both by
Murphy’s historical awareness and Druid’s
ensemble vigour.”
Coming from a seen-it-all press corps known
to be frugal with superlatives, such reviews
were a thrill, but they came as no surprise
to Druid’s longtime supporters. Many had
traveled from Galway, home to Druid Theatre
and Tony Award winning Artistic Director and
founder Garry Hynes. Also in the audience,
among London locals and European visitors,
were fans from the US, where Druid regularly
performs to packed houses at major venues
like New York’s Lincoln Center, the Kennedy
Center for the Performing Arts in Washington,
DC, and Chicago Shakespeare Theatre.
Now Druid was back in London, where 30
years earlier it had sealed its international
reputation with its definitive production of The
Playboy of the Western World at the Donmar
Warehouse.
A GALWAY GALA
Co-hosted by Druid Theatre and NUI Galway
for the London 2012 Festival, the opening
became a gala for Galway. Druid’s
combination of local roots, national outreach
and international stature was underscored by
the presence of the ninth President of Ireland,
Michael D. Higgins. After all, the President is
an alumnus and distinguished past lecturer of
NUI Galway and was Ireland’s first Minister of
the Arts.
As President Higgins noted: “The powerful
themes of these plays of emigration, loss,
and the devastation of life and culture are
dealt with by Tom Murphy in a language
that soars through Irish history. Their
themes, while universal, in every production
and period strike a new resonance. The
partnership of Tom Murphy and Druid, an
internationally renowned and respected Irish
theatre company, is brilliant.” In other words,
we’re pretty sure the President liked the
plays.
BACK IN THE DAY
James Harrold, a Galway City Arts Officer
and NUI Galway alumnus attended the
London opening. “Druid has been part of my
life since the 1970s,” he said, recalling “the
excitement of the first production in Druid
Lane, hearing of Druid winning a Fringe First
in Edinburgh in 1980 and De Dannan winning
another Fringe First for the music of the same
play. That was for Garry’s astonishing Island
Protected by a Bridge of Glass.”
NUI Galway alumna, Jonah Sullivan, who
now resides in London, was just fifteen when
she saw her first Druid play, Woyzeck. That
was at the Fo’Castle, a back room of the
former Coachman Hotel in Dominick Street.
In the 1970s, students relied on “DramSoc,”
the student-run drama society. They also
looked to Hynes’ fledgling professional
theatre as a vital artistic resource, said
Sullivan.
“Having Druid in Galway when I was growing
up was one of the things that made the
serious arts both important and ordinary
– to go regularly to a challenging play, to
experience a new playwright, a new voice, as
if it was the most normal thing in the world!
How lucky we were to have them as part of
our lives and our town.”
James agreed. “College and Druid were
always part of the same creative landscape.
We all knew the actors: Maelíosa [Stafford,
currently earning kudos for his Australian
production of Conor McPherson’s The
Seafarer] was just a year or two ahead of
us. Seán [McGinley, now a well-known
stage, television and film actor] had written
for college publications. The odd lecturer
or postgrad would appear in productions.
Jerome [Hynes, Garry’s brother] moved
seamlessly from the Student Union to the
theatre at only 17, where he became the best
arts administrator in the country.”
A DRAMATIC NEW
PARTNERSHIP
‘Seamless’ also describes the connection
that continued to evolve between college
and theatre. Recently, NUI Galway and Druid
announced the joint appointment of the first
Director-in-Residence, Thomas Conway.
Conway will be based between Druid Theatre
and the School of Humanities.
For alumni like Sullivan and Harrold, the
journey to this place of academic and artistic
collaboration began long ago. “Druid Theatre
productions became cultural stepping
stones, bearing us across summers and
winters,” he recalled of his student days.
“Astonishing productions challenged,
charmed, and captivated us. Since that first
night of The Three Penny Opera [in 1979],
I’ve only missed one production.”
If you haven’t yet seen DruidMurphy,
you still have a chance. But hurry. Some
performances – on both sides of the Atlantic
– are sold out.
– Joyce McGreevy (BA’80) is an editor for
National Geographic Learning and a board
member of Chicago’s Strawdog Theatre.
Recalling her experiences with Druid, she
says: “It impacted my life in profound and
challenging ways for which I’ll always be
grateful.”
Cois Coiribe 33
EVENTS
NUI Galway
New York Gala
Last November the US Board of the Galway University Foundation hosted its 5th
Annual Gala at the Metropolitan Club in New York City. The event honoured Adrian
Jones, BA 1986 and Managing Director, Merchant Banking Division of Goldman Sachs
and featured a spectacular performance by Frankie Gavin and De Danann.
2
3
1
T
4
he Gala attracted a capacity crowd of graduates and
friends of NUI Galway from the United States and Ireland
and raised in excess of $200,000 for Autism Research
at NUI Galway. In 2006, the School of Psychology at
NUI Galway offered its first Masters program in Applied
Behavioral Analysis (ABA), designed to provide professional
training to students seeking careers in the area of Autism
Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities.
Since the introduction of this program, 55 students have
graduated and are working throughout Ireland as autism
treatment specialists, family support workers and consultants
to schools and educational programs that serve children with
autism diagnoses.
Because of the success of the Masters program, the University
now offers a PhD in Applied Behavioral Analysis, training
graduates to work as certified practitioners, researchers and
educators. Through expansion and further development of the
Centre for Autism and Developmental Disorders, NUI Galway
has the opportunity to become a leading centre for education,
research and advocacy in the area of Autism Spectrum Disorder
(ASD).
In January 2012, The Irish Centre for Autism and
Neurodevelopment Research at NUI Galway, in partnership with
Autism Speaks, Galway University Foundation and The American
Ireland Fund, were delighted to announce their first international
conference, “Autism Spectrum Disorder: from Clinical Practice to
Educational Provision”.
Cois Coiribe 34
5
6
7
The audience of over 600 researchers, healthcare professionals,
teachers and parents from around the world was addressed by
Minister of Health, Dr James Reilly TD. The conference, which was
the first of its kind in Ireland, unveiled the latest research on early
diagnosis of autism focused on providing practical solutions and
approaches to diagnosis, clinical management, education and
adult service provision.
The 6th Annual NUI Galway Dinner takes place in New York
City on November 1st 2012.
For information on this event please visit www.guf.ie.
1. President Browne, Adrian Jones, BA 1986 & 2011 NY Gala Honoree,
Ms Tina Jones and Mr Michael Higgins, BComm 1982 , Chair, US
Board, Galway University Foundation
2. De Dannan
3. Stefanie O’Donoghue, School of Medicine; Dr Geraldine Leader,
Director, Irish Centre for Autism Neurodevelopmental Research (ICAN);
Dr Olive Healy, Research Director, ICAN; and Dr Jennifer Holloway,
Clinical Services Director, ICAN, NUI Galway
4. President Browne addressing the US Gala
5. Mr Michael Higgins
6. Gala evening
7. Adrian Jones, BA ’86 and 2011 New York Gala Honoree
T
Historic University
Calendars Online
he James Hardiman Library has recently
made available part of its collection of historic
university calendars.
These annual volumes provide a useful resource in studying and examining third
-level education in Ireland while also providing a record of those who studied
and taught at the College and University.
They also offer a detailed account of the course structure and content of a
given course at Queen’s College and the entrance requirements and expected
course work of the students. The prescribed reading lists for students across all
disciplines also appear.
One can see elements of change and continuity in the calendars – for example the
dress code for students has certainly changed since 1851 when the regulations
stated:
That no student shall appear within the College gates, except in
academic costume; and that for every violation of this rule a fine
of one shilling be incurred.
Many of the interests remain all the same. According to the 1923 calendar:
A most interesting manuscript in the possession of the Library
is the collection of the ancient corporation books of the City
of Galway, dating from the year 1486, the first year of its
incorporation, up to the beginning of the nineteenth century.
It also contains a map (of which only two copies are extant)
made in 1651, by order of the Marquis of Clanricarde, to
illustrate the extent and importance of the town.
These two items continue to be held by the library’s archives service. The 17th
century map of Galway city is also available on the Archives website while there
are also plans to digitise the Galway Corporation Statute Book (1486-1712).
The 1915 calendar contains a list of appointments open to graduates which
included posts in the India and Colonial Police Services (salary £300), Assistant
in the Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities at the British Museum
(Hebrew or some other Semitic language required, salary range from £150 to
£500). Engineering graduates could apply to The Irish Land Commission for
positions as “Surveyor and Draughtsman” (salary range £90 to £200).
Take a few minutes yourself and browse the calendars of Queen’s College Galway/
University College Galway at: http://archives.library.nuigalway.ie/calendars.
Cois Coiribe 35
EVENTS
Honorary
conferring
Pictured at the Honorary Conferring (l-r):
Irial Finan, Maureen Dowd, Minister Jim
Flaherty MP and Sebastian Barry.
Four distinguished
individuals were
formally recognised
for their exceptional
contributions in their
respective fields at NUI
Galway’s 2012 Honorary
Conferring on 29 June.
For the event, each had
buoyant professional
advice to offer to anyone
considering related
career paths.
Cois Coiribe 36
John Kenny
The four recipients were the multiple
award-winning novelist, Sebastian
Barry, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning
New York Times columnist, Maureen
Dowd (Doctors of Literature), Irial
Finan who is Executive Vice President
of The Coca-Cola Company and
President of Bottling Investments, and
James M. Flaherty, Canada’s Minister
of Fianance (Doctors of Laws). The
prolific accomplishments of each
were testified to in the citations
by University academics, and their
connections with Ireland through
their family background and ongoing
work were especially celebrated.
EVENTS
Honorary
conferring
Sebastian Barry, whose fiction and plays have at this
stage been translated into more than thirty-five languages,
expressed great interest in the emergence of programmes
in creative writing such as those at NUI Galway. His related
professional imperative is simple: “The main rule of writing
isn’t to write well or make your sentence beautiful – it’s just
keep going! Don’t be stopped, just keep going through the
thick and thin … Be indomitable!”
Earlier that week, Maureen Dowd had engaged
in a public conversation and reception in her honour at
the Museum of Country Life in Castlebar, County Mayo,
and in her Doctorate acceptance speech she expressed
great pride in her roots in the West of Ireland. ‘My Dad’s
older brother John, a Fanore farmer’, she recalled, ‘could
barely read or write and signed documents with an x’.
Her father, Mike Dowd, rose to become a police inspector
who guarded American presidents, including Roosevelt,
and she feels she followed in his footsteps: ‘I watch over
presidents too … My weapon is different: a pen rather
than a gun’.
Her favourite instructions for a successful career in writing
came to her courtesy of a friend and fellow columnist:
firstly, to recognize that writing is so hard you have, as WB
Yeats advised, to go down to the marrow of your bones,
and secondly that ‘when you go to a party with very
important people and you feel intimidated’, you should
‘always approach the shrimp bowl like you own it’.
Canadian Ambassador to Ireland, Loyola Hearn, Minister Jim
Flaherty and President Browne
Maureen Dowd and President Browne
Irial Finan
As an alumnus of NUI Galway already involved with the
University Foundation, the occasion was especially fitting for
Irial Finan
. The official Latin designation of an honorary
degree, honoris causa, means ‘for the sake of the honour’,
and Finan underlined the importance of such awards,
suggesting that educational institutions should engage
with associated activities for the sake of clear benefits.
Having lived in America, he sees ‘the power of alumni, how
universities staying in touch with their alumni drives so much
good … good for the universities, good for Ireland, good for
the community’.
President Browne and Sebastian Barry
On the day before the Conferring, James M.
Flaherty had addressed a symposium. ‘Financial Crisis:
International and National Perspective’ at NUI Galway
with his Irish counterpart, Michael Noonan TD, and his
remarks there were realistic yet upbeat: ‘In spite of serious
challenges … I believe that, given the political will, the
necessary decisions will be made, the major difficulties will
be resolved and the global recovery will strengthen’. At the
Conferring he observed that ‘it’s just staggering, the change
we’re seeing now in the world. I think when the historians
look back … twenty, thirty years from now they’ll view
this time as a time of great economic change’. His sense
of opportunities and major cultural shifts ahead is striking:
‘It’s really a changing of the guard from the older European
economies which had been dominant, and the American
economy, to the emerging economies of the world’. And
when asked if he had a particular message for students
considering Economics as an option, he was immediately
assuring: ‘It’s fascinating, and it’ll be a brilliant future’.
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan, Canadian Minister for
Finance Jim Flaherty, and Dr Alan Ahearne, NUI Galway
Cois Coiribe 37
ALUMNI
The Annual Alumni Awards
celebrate the life-long value of an NUI
Galway education and recognise individual
achievements among the University’s more
than 90,000 graduates worldwide.
A celebration of the achievements of NUI Galway’s
alumni took place in the Bailey Allen Hall on campus
on 3 March 2012, with special guest An Taoiseach Enda
Kenny TD. Over 450 people gathered for the 12th Annual
Gala Banquet, a glamorous occasion hosted by RTÉ’s
Deputy Director of TV Programmes and NUI Galway
graduate, Mairéad Ní Nuadháin. Entertainment for the
Gala was provided by internationally renowned Donegal
singer Moya Brennan, formerly of Clannad fame. Among
the guests were alumni, staff, students and friends of the
University.
ALUMNI
The feature of the night was the presentation
of the Annual Alumni Awards to:
• 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 Gaeilge
Peadar Mac An Iomaire, Iar-Phríomhfheidhmeannach, Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge, OÉ Gaillimh
Cois Coiribe 38
1
2
3
5
4
AWARDS
1. Medtronic’s Carina McHugh and Michael Carrigy
2. Dr Alan and Jacqueline Ahearne
3. Maire Mullen and her husband Seán McGinley
6
7
4. RTÉ’s Máiréad Ní Nuadháin, Professor Fergal O’Gara,
Gerry Kilcommins, NUI Galway President, Dr Jim
Browne, Peadar Mac An Iomaire, and Chair of the
Alumni Association Board, Sandra Butler. (Front row,
l-r): Máire Whelan, Professor Tim O’Brien, and Marie
Mullen
5. Maeve Joyce, Údarás na Gaeltachta and Derek Hanley
6. An Taoiseach Enda Kenny
7. Dr John Lynch and Dr Louise Giblin.
8. Maeve Browne, Sean O’Rourke, Caroline Murphy,
An Taoiseach Enda Kenny and his wife Fionnuala,
President Browne
8
9
9. Seán Flynn, The Irish Times and his wife Elaine
Cois Coiribe 39
ALUMNI
ALUMNI EVENTS
Arts Festival Chic Concert
40 Alumni attended the Chic concert in July during
Galway Arts Festival week. A reception was held
beforehand in the College Bar and attendees were able
to cross over the new O’Shaughnessy bridge from the
bar directly to the concert in Fisheries Field.
Susan and Peter Blake Cert TEFL 2004
Gerardine Lally BA ‘84 , Fiona Flannery BA ‘88, Ann
Flannery BA ‘87, HDip in Ed ‘94
Druid Conversations on a
Homecoming
150 graduates and friends attended Druid Theatre
company’s production of Conversations on a Homecoming
by Tom Murphy in the Town Hall Theatre in July, 2012.
President Browne, Professor Ruth Curtis BA ‘76, PhD ‘83,
Monica Gilligan
Sandra Butler BA ‘85, HDip in Ed ‘86 and Pádraig Ó Céidigh,
BComm ‘78, HDip in Ed ‘81, LLB ‘88
Maureen Dowd in Conversation
with Niall O’Dowd
NUI Galway in association with Mayo County Council
held an ‘Evening of Conversation’ with New York Times
columnist Maureen Dowd and journalist and author
Niall O’Dowd. The special event took place in June
at the Museum of Country Life, Turlough Park House,
Castlebar, Co. Mayo and coincided with Maureen
Dowd’s conferral with an honorary degree by NUI
Galway. The event was followed by a Civic Reception
honouring Ms Dowd by Mayo County Council. Over 100
alumni and friends attended the occasion.
President Browne, Maureen Dowd, Niall O’Dowd and Peter Hynes
James Joyce Concert
Over 50 Alumni attended a concert in Newman House,
St Stephen’s Green, featuring Professor Fran O’Rourke
(BA ‘71 MA ‘74) and renowned classical guitarist, John
Feeley. It featured James Joyce’s original guitar which
Professor O’Rourke was instrumental in getting restored.
John Feeley and Fran O’Rourke BA ‘71, MA ‘74
Sean O’Rourke BA ‘77, LLD (Hc) ‘11, Brian O’Rourke and Fran
O’Rourke BA ‘71, MA ‘74
Síle Corbett BA ‘71 and Frieda Ryan BA ‘72, HDip in Ed ‘73
Galway Golf Outing
Galway alumni and friends gathered for a golf outing
in the Galway Bay Golf Resort in Oranmore in June. On
a wild and blustery day, Hugh Burns MB BCh BAO ‘68
came out on top.
Paul Owens, Sean O’Rourke BA ‘77, Brian McDonald BA ’73,
HDip in Ed ‘74
Barbara Richardson Dip Arts ‘06, Brendan King BSc ‘65, MBA ‘82
and Triona Lydon MBA ‘04
Patrick Burns MB BCh BAO ‘68, Marie Burns MB BCh BAO ‘68 and
Micheál Seoighe MBA ‘98
Midlands Alumni BBQ
Over 60 alumni from the midlands attended the Midlands
Alumni BBQ in Glasson, Co. Westmeath in May.
Mick O’Connor and Bernie Finn HDipREd
Paul Ganly BA ‘89, HDipBs ‘90 and Sinead Lenehan BA ‘78
Cois Coiribe 40
ALUMNI
ALUMNI EVENTS
Tour of National Museum
160 NUI Galway Graduates attended a tour of the
National Museum of Ireland by the former Director
Dr Pat Wallace BA ‘69 PhD ‘85 in April.
Dr Pat Wallace BA ‘69, PhD ‘75, former museum director,
during the tour of the National Museum
Thomas Lynch MB BCh BAO ‘85 and Mairéad Ní
Nuadháin BA ‘74
President’s Visit to China
30 people attended an alumni gathering in Durty
Nellies, Beijing during President Browne’s visit to China
as part of the Irish Government’s trade mission in
March. Alumni also attended a special reception in the
Irish embassy during the visit.
President Browne and Taoiseach Enda Kenny with NUI Galway
graduates at a reception in the Irish embassy in Beijing
President Browne with graduates and friends in Durty Nellies,
Beijing
Midlands Alumni Club Launch
Over 70 graduates and friends attended the launch
of the NUI Galway Alumni Midlands Club last March
in Custume Barracks, Athlone, hosted by Brig Gen Ger
Aherne, BA ‘75, LLM ‘03, OC 4 Western Brigade.
Captain Gemma Kiely BA ‘03 and Commandant Kevin McStay
Linda Reidy BA ‘88 and Mairead Seery BA ‘94, PhD ‘07
Engineering Building Tour Druid’s Big Maggie
Over 50 Alumni attended a tour of NUI
Galway’s new Engineering building
conducted by Aodh Dalton.
50 Alumni attended Druid’s production of
John B Keane’s Big Maggie in the Town Hall
theatre in January 2012.
Clem Higgins BComm ‘83, Professor Pat
Fottrell and Berni Higgins
Galway Christmas
Gathering
Dublin Alumni Gathering
Michael Hayes and Trocaire Joye LLB ‘96
Rachel McNicholl BA ‘81, MA ‘83, Ailbhe O’Flaherty BA
‘00, MA ‘01, Mona Joyce MB BCh BAO ‘82, Noreen Hynes
BComm ‘74, Barbara Loftus MB BCh BAO ‘82
Over 100 graduates came together for
the annual Christmas Gathering in the
Quadrangle in December with Christmas
carols provided by the choral society.
Over 120 graduates and friends attended
a Christmas Gathering in Dublin. Pat
Rabbitte TD, BA ‘70, HDip in Ed ‘72, LLB ‘77,
Minister for Communications, Energy &
Natural Resources was guest speaker.
London Alumni
50 NUI Galway Alumni joined graduates from
universities throughout Ireland at the annual
London Alumni New Year Bash which was
held in the Porterhouse, Covent Garden in
January.
Ellen Hickey BA ‘99, Sarah Hennessy, Nuala
Conneely BComm ‘07 and Katie Fox BA ‘08
2011 Alumni Golf Outing
Mullingar
NUI Galway’s Annual Alumni Golf Outing
was held in Mullingar in September 2011.
Tony Regan BComm ‘73, Liam Sammon BA ‘69, Christy
Tyrrell BComm ‘65, HDip in Ed ‘68
Cois Coiribe 41
We have something for everyone at
the Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa, Galway.
Relax & Rejuvenate in the warm surroundings of the
Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa, in the heart of Galway City.
Enjoy a range of luxurious treatments in spirit one spa, unwind
in our leisure centre and outdoor hot tub or why not enjoy a
glass of wine while dining in our new sushi restaurant RAW,
overlooking Lough Atalia.
With our dedicated wedding planner and a very experienced
meeting and events team, the Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa, Galway
makes the perfect venue for any occasion.
Call today 091 538300
Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa, Lough Atalia Road, Galway.
Visit our website www.radissonhotelgalway.com to find out more
Cois Coiribe page 42
Reunions TWENTY TWELVE
NUI Galway Chemistry Reunion,
1st October 2011
Over 150 postgraduate chemistry alumni
attended a reunion organised by the Chemistry
Department and the Alumni Office in October
2011. A discussion forum entitled “The PhD in
Chemistry in Ireland - What’s the Future?” was
held in conjunction with the reunion.
The Engineering Class of 1966
held a class reunion in the
Ardilaun Hotel, Galway on the 5th
November 2011
NUI Galway 20 & 25 Year Reunion
5th November, 2011
Cumann Caoga Bliain
1962 Class Reunion
Saturday 21st April, 2012
The fiftieth year reunion of the Class of 1962 took
place in the Meyrick Hotel, Eyre Square, Galway
on Saturday, 21st April, 2012. Over fifty graduates
attended to mark this special occasion, along with
family and friends.
Mrs. Maureen (Sullivan) Hancock, who graduated
in 1937, celebrated the 75th Anniversary of her
graduation at the event.
Cois Coiribe 43
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
It’s been another very successful year for the NUI Galway Alumni
Association, with over 40 events at home and abroad in the past
twelve months.
The most important development this year has been the review undertaken of the alumni
function and the board. I believe that the findings and recommendations of this review will
increase the relevance and reach of the Alumni Association and lead to an improved service
to you, our graduates.
SANDRA BUTLER BA 1985,
HDip in Ed 1986
I would like to thank all those who have contributed in the past year – my fellow Board
members, volunteers who have organised events, the President and University staff, and
particularly the staff of the Alumni Office – Emma and Colm. Finally, I would like to thank
you, our Alumni, who contribute in so many ways to the Association’s success. It’s been my
privilege to serve as Chairperson for the past year, and to have met and shared memories
with so many of you during that time.
Meet the Alumni Team
Emma Goode, BA ‘98, MA ‘99 LLB ‘07, has
worked in the Alumni Office since 2001 and
as Alumni Project Manager since 2005. Emma
coordinates the Alumni Office’s annual reunion
programme, class reunions, a calendar of
national and international alumni events that
includes lectures, debates, interviews, and
social and networking activities for alumni. She
also writes, edits and distributes the electronic
newsletter Alumni Links.
Colm O’Dwyer has been working in the Alumni Office
since 2009. Colm is responsible for managing the alumni
database and the administration of the office. Before joining
the University, he worked in a variety of industries including
printing, publishing, distribution, computers and manufacturing.
A graduate of the University of Limerick and Bolton Street
College of Technology, Colm is currently studying for a Bachelor
of Commerce Degree.
board of the Alumni Association of NUI Galway is to
Electing a new Alumni Abenew
elected for a three year term, with six members directly
Association Board elected by the Alumni of NUI Galway.
Interested in running for election?
All graduates of NUI Galway are eligible to run for election.
For details of the nomination process contact the Alumni Office on:
+ 353 91 493 750 or Email: alumni@nuigalway.ie
Original nomination papers with all supporting documentation should be received in
The Alumni Office, The Gate Lodge, NUI Galway by 5pm on the 9th of november 2012.
How to vote in the election
There are two ways for you to vote:
1
At an Election Convocation held in three venues, in Dublin, Cork
and Galway on the 20th, 21st and 22nd of November respectively.
Here you can just turn up, with proof of ID, and vote.
2
By postal ballot. Voting forms will be available to
download from the Alumni website from November 7th.
Final details of the Election Convocation times and locations and of the postal ballot process, together with details of the
nominees, will be posted on the Alumni Association website at www.nuigalway.ie/alumni-friends
The results of the election will be announced on the Alumni Association website
within 7 days of the Galway Election Convocation.
www.nuigalway.ie/alumni-friends
Cois Coiribe 44
ALUMNI
CLASSNOTES
1930s
Briga Murphy BComm
1933, HDip in Ed 1934 (formerly O’Flynn)
celebrated her 100th birthday on 14 July. Briga
was born in Annaghdown Co. Galway where her
father was principal of the local national school,
one of a family of 13 children of which she is the
last surviving member. She was educated at the
Convent of Mercy Secondary School, Tuam and
NUI Galway where she graduated in 1933 with
a BComm and HDip in Ed in 1934. She taught in
the Ursuline Secondary School in Sligo but on
her marriage to Noel Murphy gave up teaching
because of the marriage ban. A widow for many
years, she has two stepdaughters Frances and
Carmel.
1950s
Ben Corballis MB BCh BAO 1955, I am currently
living in Delaware, USA. In January was elected
chairman of the board of Highmark Blue Cross
Blue Shield of Delaware.
Michael Hayes BSc 1956, MSc 1957 I am an
Emeritus Professor of Mathematical Physics,
University College, Dublin.
Professor Pauline Murphy (nee Snoddy)
BComm 1956, HDip in Ed 1957 I am Emeritus
Professor, Social Inclusion at the University
of Ulster and a member of the Convocation
Executive of the University. I consult widely in
equality and diversity and in quality assurance in
Higher Education.
Patrick McGinley BA 1957, BComm 1957 I have
written a memoir of my childhood in Donegal and
early years in Ireland, entitled That Unearthly Valley,
published by New Island Books.
1960s
Brendan Casserly, BSc 1962, HDip in Ed 1963
I spent three years teaching in Nigeria and have
been living in Cork since 1969 I have been living
down here since 1969. I retired in 2004. I’m
involved with Everyman Palace Theatre.
1970s
Oliver Muldoon BA 1970, I work with Sotheby’s
International Real Estate in Falmouth, Cape Cod,
USA.
Damien Tansey BA 1970, HDip in Ed 1971,
LLB 1972 I am a Senior Partner at Callan Tansey
with offices in Sligo and Boyle. The firm employs
approximately 60 people and is the largest law
firm west of the Shannon. It won the Provincial
Law Firm of the Year award for Connacht.
Enda Folan BSc 1972 MEngSc in Electronics
from Salford University I worked with Digital in
Galway and Clonmel for 17 years. I also worked in
various consulting and manufacturing roles in IT
across Ireland, until becoming national director for
Computer Troubleshooters in 2003.
Dr James Finnegan BSc 1974, MSc 1975, HDip
in Ed 1977 PhD University of Bath 2001 I retired
from teaching in St Eunan’s College, Letterkenny,
in August 2012.
Aelmuire Mullaney (Ni Ogartaigh - formerly
Hobler) BA 1976 I now teach French and Irish
in St. Jarlaths College Tuam, Co. Galway. In 1975
I worked for four months as an au-pair for the
Caudrelier family in Brittany where I looked after
Charles and his brother. Charles Caudrelier was
15 months old then. I met him again in Galway
this summer when he was a member of the
Groupama winning team in the Volvo Ocean Race!
John G. Murphy BA 1977 I am involved in rugby
and rowing teams in NUI Galway. I am author of
several books, principal of John A. Sinnott and
Company Solicitors, Enniscorthy.
Maria Butler, BA 1977 Hdip in Ed 1979 I was
appointed Príomhoide of the newly established
Gaelcholáiste na Mara, in Arklow in 2007.
Professor Ray Dolan, MB BCh BAO 1977, MD
1988. I direct the Wellcome Trust Centre for
Neuroimaging at UCL. I was elected as Fellow
of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2010. I am the
most cited scientist in the world in the field of
neuroscience and behaviour. Awards include the
international Max Planck Research Award (2007). Margaret Geraghty BSc 1978, HDip in Ed 1994
I am a founder member of Zikomo (www.zikomo.
com), a community based NGO, fostering longterm self-sufficiency in rural Malawi.
1980s
Noel Molloy, BSc 1981 I am a founder member
of voluntary training and development group W3
Projects. After 28 years in the multinational sector
(APC and Nortel) set up www.GalwayMathsGrinds.
com.
Padhraic Faherty BA 1982 HDip in Ed 1983
I taught for some years. Author of four books,
including Barna - A History, & The English Language
- Irish Style. Originally, joined the ESB with Michael
D. Higgins in 1963
Maurice McQuillan, BA 1983, HDip in Ed 1985
I am Humanitarian Programme Manager for
Trócaire. After returning from living in Kenya
I became Head of the Trócaire Humanitarian
Programme in 2007. Based in Maynooth
but I travel regularly to new and protracted
emergencies including Haiti, Zimbabwe Pakistan
and Sudan.
Damien Kennedy BA 1983, HDip in Ed 1985
I retired from teaching in 2007 and am now a
member of office executive at CEIST (Catholic
Education an Irish Schools Trust) working as a
school relationship manager.
Mary J. Murphy BA 1984 My second book,
Achill’s Eva O’Flaherty: Forgotten Island Heroine,
was launched in Achill Island during the opening
ceremony of Scoil Acla, Ireland’s oldest summer
school this Summer.
Raymond Brennan BA 1985, MA 1989 I
emigrated to England in 1990 and am now
working in IT.
Tom McGrath BA 1986, MA 1988 I was recently
conferred with a Doctorate in Psychotherapy
by the University of Middlesex. I am Director of
Counselling with the HSE’s National Counselling
Service in Sligo.
Kieran McKenna BSc 1987 I now live in
Sandymount in Dublin with my wife Sharon and
three kids - Sarah (15), Niamh (13) and Frazer (7). I am MD of Aqueduct Investments International
Ltd.
Mary Ellen McGroarty BA 1987, LLB 1993
I work with the United Nations World Food
Programme in Rome, Italy. I worked in Rwanda,
Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia and Burundi with
WFP prior to moving to Rome, and was recently
appointed as Chief of the Food Procurement
Service. Neil Johnson MA 1987 I am Chief Executive,
Croí, the West of Ireland Cardiac Foundation since
1993. I have led major fundraising campaigns to
fund pioneering initiatives in education, research,
hospital developments, patient and family
support.
Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh BComm 1989
I was elected to Seanad Éireann on the
Agricultural Panel, in April 2011. I am the Sinn
Féin Deputy Spokesperson in Leinster House on
Justice, Equality and Defence and their Seanad
spokesperson for Irish language and Gaeltacht
Affairs, Rural Development, the West, Arts and
Communication.
Bernadette Prendergast BA 1988, HDip in Ed
1989
Galway Bay FM Head of News, has been elected
chairperson of the board of Learning Waves, a
leading provider of training for the independent
commercial radio sector in Ireland.
1990s
Manus Mitchell, BSc 1992; PhD 1998 I am
currently located in Cork and married to Pauline
Devlin, BA 1992. We have three children Aoife (10),
Aideen (8) and Colm (6). I am Director of Technical
Support for PepsiCo’s Global Quality Services
group.
Dave Muldoon BComm 1995 I am CEO and
founder of iSite, recent winners of Microsoft’s
Dynamics CRM Partner of the Year for Ireland. I am
married to Sorcha Boyce BComm 1995, MBS 1996
who I met in first year BComm. We live in Dublin
with our three children, Brídín, Aodán and Gráinne.
Mary Grealy BComm 1995 I am married with
two children and live in Dublin. Co-founder of
MaryClaire Recruitment – a specialist accounting
and finance agency. Still love the frequent trips to
Galway to visit family and friends.
Rónán Gallagher BComm 1996 The arrival of
Éamon last September means the Gallagher
household in Cluain Tarbh is even busier with five
buachaillí.
Dr Andrew Ó Baoill BSc 1998 I married Jodi
Blumenfeld in June 2011. We had a son, Tadhg, in
February and live in Cazenovia, New York, where I
serve as an Assistant Professor of Communication
Studies at Cazenovia College.
Paula Madigan BA 1999 I am currently working
for Co-operation Ireland on a number of crossborder reconciliation projects. The big event over
the past year in my life was getting married.
Naoise Ó Muirí BE 1994
Naoise was elected Lord Mayor of Dublin in June
this year.
Dr Paul Murray BA 1999, PhD 2004, LLB 2011,
LLM 2012
Paul Murray’s book, The Irish Boundary Commission
and Its Origins 1886-1925 was published recently
by UCD Press.
2000s
Patrick Gibbons BE 2000, MEngSc 2003 I am
an Associate Engineer with Coffey Geotechnics
in Brisbane, Australia, where I have been working
for six years. I am married to Anna Maria Joyce
BA 1998 and we have two boys, David (7) and
Michael (5).
Gavin Downes B Comm 2000 I married in June
2010 to Susan McElwee and we had our first baby
boy, Carter Downes, in April this year. After over 10
years working in marketing on client and agency
roles, I recently founded The Kredible Group - A
Sustainable Brand Communications Agency.
Cois Coiribe 45
ALUMNI
CLASSNOTES
Currently living in Dundrum and trying to do
Triathlons to get fit!
Cathy Seale BA 2001 I started a PhD at the
Department of Communications and Systems at
the Open University, UK and the Rural Economy
and Development Programme, Teagasc. My
research involves an examination of the systems
of communication within Irish agricultural
extension programmes with a specific focus on
the greening measures proposed under the new
round of Common Agricultural Policy post-2013.
Eoin Toomey BSc 2001, MSc 2003 Is Head
of Radiotherapy Physics at St Vincent’s Private
Hospital and is currently living in Greystones, Co.
Wicklow.
Dr Mary Gibbons BN 2001 Is Director of Nursing
and Midwifery at Acute Hospital Services, HSE, Dr
Steveens, Dublin. I have been a nurse and midwife
for 28 years, specialising in oncology services and
was recently been conferred with a Doctor of
Education Degree at Dublin City University.
Michael Kelly, BA 2002, H Dip Bus Studies 2004
Returned to NUI Galway in 2012 to study for an
Executive MBA. Working for the Kerry Group.
Married to Una Reilly (Diploma in Nursing 2004,
BN 2005) since 2008. We met in University and we
live in Co. Longford with our 20 month old son,
Eimhin.
Christina McDonald MA (Journalism) 2004.
I am a Seattle native and my new book, Moon
Living Abroad in Ireland, has recently been
published. I now live in London with my husband
Richard Legg (BSc 2006 ) and son Adam and
have written for print, radio, and online media in
Ireland, England, and the United States.
David Kavanagh BA 2004, LLB 2005, LLM 2009
I am an associate in the International Arbitration
practice in King & Spalding, New York. Prior to
that I was an International Case Manager with
the International Centre for Dispute Resolution. Before that I practiced for two years as a barrister
in Ireland.
Brendan Corrigan BA 2005 I am currently based
in Bogotá, Colombia where I mix freelance writing
with English teaching to business professionals.
Most of my articles can be found at www.
wwcorrigan.blogspot.com.
Conor Houston LLM 2006 I am a Solicitor
with John J Rice & Co Solicitors, specialising in
criminal, human rights and judicial review law. I am currently the Chairman of the Northern
Ireland Young Solicitors’ Association. I serve
on the Human Rights Committee of the Law
Society of Northern Ireland and I am a founding
member of ‘Young Leaders NI’ and a ‘Belfast
Ambassador’ appointed by the Belfast Visitor and
Convention Bureau. In 2009 I won the World Final
of the prestigious Louis M. Brown International
Client Counseling Competition in Bangalore,
India. In that same year I was awarded a Special
Commendation Award at the Law Society of
Northern Ireland’s inaugural Solicitor Recognition
Awards. Eleanor Tuohy MSC Neuropharmacology 2006,
PGDE 2010 I recently got engaged to James
Rafferty.
Eoin McDonagh BA 2006, LLB 2008 I have been
living in the United States since 2009 and have
started my own law firm in Albany, NY; McDonagh
Law. Please visit us at: www.mcdonaghlaw.com.
Sheena Van Den Oosten BA (Int) 2005, HDip
Systems Analysis 2006 After graduating from
NUI Galway and working at a small design studio
in Galway for a number of years, I eventually made
the decision to move back to Mayo to set up my
own business providing creative branding, print
and web design solutions.
2000s
Finola Colgan Carey Cert Ed 2007 I lecture at
the Institute of Technology, Sligo and at Athlone
IT. I have been nominated along with colleagues
at IT Sligo for a Teaching Excellence Award NAIRTL.
I am married with seven children and live with
my husband Timothy at Tullaghansleek Stud, Co.
Westmeath .
Saira Imdad Ali LLM (Human Rights Law) 2007
Presently, I am working in the Intellectual Property
Organization of Pakistan as director and regional
head in the Punjab area. My degree of Human
Rights Law at Galway and Masters Degree in
International Trade and economics (MILE) Bern has
helped me a lot in my work. I wish good luck to all
LL.M students at Galway!
Yvonne McDermott BCL 2006, LLB 2007
I am a Lecturer in Law at Bangor University,
Wales, where I teach International Criminal Law,
International Law of Armed Conflict, Tort and
Research Methods. I am currently completing
a PhD at the Irish Centre for Human Rights, NUI
Galway.
Aisling Gallagher Diop sna Dana Teicneolaíocht Gnó 2007 Táim ag obair ar Chéim
- BA i Riaracháin Gnó san Acadamh, i nGaoth
2
1
Cois Coiribe 46
4
Dobhair. Tá mé ag dul isteach sa 4ú bliain i
mbliana agus tá bliain crua rómham ach tá mé ag
dúil go mór leis an bhliain.
Maricka Burke-Keogh BComm 2007 After
returning to Galway in 2011, I founded not for
profit network ‘Online Marketing in Galway’ (www.
galwaymarketing.com). Before this, I spent two
years working in Google’s European Headquarters
in Dublin.
Ibukun Sunday Olatunde MBS Electronic
Commerce 2008
During my course I completed an internship
position with Microsoft Ireland as a Systems /
Business Analyst. Since graduating I have worked
with DSG International and Bank of Ireland. I am
presently working the Global Analytics Group of
Bank of New York Mellon covering Europe, The
Middle East and Africa.
Paul McMahon MA 2008
Former Students’ Union VP for Welfare. I am the
Civic Engagement Officer for Trinity College.
I recently visited the University of Melbourne
having been selected to receive a 2012
Endeavour Executive Award by the International
Scholarships and Mobility Section of the
Australian Government Department of Education,
Employment and Workplace Relations.
Brian Courtney-Sheridan MA 2009
Since leaving Galway, I have worked in the Public
Service and am currently engaged in historical
research. Great memories of my time in Galway
and return frequently.
Lindelwa Ximiya MSc Strategy and People
Management 2010 I work for the Public
Service Sector Education and Training Authority
(PSETA) in South Africa. My job is to encourage
government departments to train their employees
in interventions that will assist them meet their
strategic objectives.
Charles Carlisle BSc 2011 (Earth and Ocean
Sciences)
I am working as a project geologist for SLR
Consulting.
Dr Paul Murray B.A. 1999, PhD 2004, HDip in
Ed 2006, LL.B 2011, LL.M Law, Governance and
Technology 2012
I was an NUI Galway postgraduate fellow (2000)
and an Irish Research Council Scholar (2000-2003).
My book The Irish Boundary Commission and
Its Origins 1886-1925 published in May 2011,
(UCD Press) is the first comprehensive history
of the subject and draws on new documentary
evidence. The book considers the significance
of the Irish Boundary Commission in its wider
international context.
Barry Ahern BE 2002
My first novel, Birthright, was published in 2011. I
am currently living in Needham, Massachusetts.
3
5
1. Paula Madigan 1999
2. James Finnegan 1974
3. Aelmuire Mullaney 1976
4. Dave Muldoon 1995
5. Patrick McGinley 1957
6. Patrick Gibbons 2000
6
OBITUARIES
John Cunningham MA ’06
JC was at the forefront of forming and nurturing
journalistic talent and excellence and many of
his proteges have like John achieved local and
national prominence as reporters, correspondents
and increasingly as editors, and have like him gone
on to win awards for journalistic excellence.
Though his vibrant presence
is lost to us, so sadly, so
suddenly and so prematurely,
John Cunningham’s
contribution to Journalism
Education lives on.
It lives on in the voices of the journalists we hear
and read every day who up until just last year,
2011, were privileged to have him as a Lecturer
when they were graduate students of journalism at
NUI Galway.
Rest
in
Peace
Aidan Conroy
MB BCh BAO 1958
Mary Coyle
BComm 1970, HDip in
Ed 1971
Sinead D’arcy
BSc 1985, PhD 1989
Brendan Foyle
LLB 1982
Alphie Gibney
BE 1950
Clodagh Gleeson
BA 1995
Ellen Griffin
HDip in Ed 1940,
BComm 1945, BA 1946
Jarlath Hughes
BComm 1963
Noel Kilmartin
BComm 1976, HDip in
Ed 1977
Thomas Lang
LLM 2009
Joseph Madden
It’s impossible to open a national or regional
newspaper without reading the byline of reporters
and correspondents who have learnt their craft at
this University from John Cunningham. What I
have often referred to as the “John Cunningham
School of Journalism” is like a heart which still
beats in newsrooms of media organizations
throughout the country and beyond, where media
practitioners still care about and appreciate good
journalism. Many household names, faces and
voices on news and sports programmes on local
and national radio and television belong to those
who have been formed and informed by John
Cunningham’s teaching.
For almost a quarter of a century we have been
privileged to have him as a lecturer on the MA in
Journalism and previously on the Higher Diploma
in Journalism. During his time with the University
John was an inspirational teacher and mentor.
His generosity of spirit and ability to inspire,
encourage, nurture and occasionally coax new
journalistic voices for Ireland’s media has been
remarkable.
BA 1932, HDip in Ed
1941
Seamus Malone
BE 1953
Blaithin Martin
BE 1986
Michael McDermott
BComm 1975, MBA
1986
Martin McGetrick
BE 1985
Patrick Naughton
MB BCh BAO 1958
Jim O’Neill
BA 1976, LLB 1979
Margaret Reilly
MB BCh BAO 1976
Aodhagan Roddy
BSc 1962, MSc 1963
Josephine Ryan
BComm 1957
Faustyna Wadzisz
MB BCh BAO 1955
He is “the heart of the journalism course,” is
how one graduate put it. The inimitable straight
talking referred to in the context of John’s
political journalism and many years as Editor of
the Connacht Tribune was also appreciated and
respected in the classroom: “He treated us like
proper journalists and so we learned to behave
like proper journalists.” John cared deeply about
his students and was also a wonderful colleague,
always brimming with positivity and enthusiasm.
Even during his illness he requested that students’
assignments be brought to him for correction, at
Galway Hospice.
John was a passionate and gifted media
practitioner as well as a passionate and gifted
teacher. Few have that dual talent: the talent
for doing the job, and in equal measure and
abundance, the talent for teaching the profession.
Our challenge and the most fitting tribute the
University can pay him is to capture what the
John Cunningham “School of Journalism” stood
for: integrity, decency, fairness and knowledge,
and keep that, solidly like a beating heart at
the centre of everything we do in journalism
education now and in the future.
by Bernadette O’Sullivan (Journalism
Programme Director 1994-2011)
2011
Beatrice Allen
BSc 1941, HDip in Ed 1942, MSc 1943
2012
John Conlon
BA 1992, HDip in Ed 1994
Kader Asmal
LLD (H.D.) 2003
Michael Diskin
BA 1982
Brian Callagy,
BE 1958, MBA 1972
Brian Callagy, BE (1958), was a distinguished
engineer and planner, who worked with Local
Authorities throughout Ireland, returning to his
native Galway in 1966 where he worked with
Galway Corporation and County Council.
He was responsible for the production of
City and County Forward Plans and set down
many policies governing good planning.
Brian’s achievements are particularly evident
throughout Galway city and county, especially
in the provision of open space and sporting
facilities.
His presence was felt for many years both inside
and outside the profession. Brian had a passion
for travel and photography and was a founder
of Galway Camera Club. He won many national
competitions and held Associateship of Irish
Photographic Federation distinction.
He is sadly missed by all who knew him.
Brian died on 21 October 2011 and is survived
by his wife Agnes, son Brian, and daughters
Claire and Grace, and four grandchildren.
Stephen Doyle
BA 1968
Orla Giles
BA 1998
Tom Glynn
BE 1948
Hugh Green
LLD (H.D.) 2006
Eugene Kelly
BA 1976, HDip in Ed 1977
John Lawlor
BA 1981
Spencer Madden
MB BCh BAO 1951
Donal Mulryan
BSc 1956
Diarmuid O’Donovan
BE 1953, ME 1965
Nora O’Neill
BA 1970
Cois Coiribe 47
Conferences at NUI Galway
Advance information regarding
Údarás na hOllscoile
(The University Governing
Authority) Elections
In accordance with the provisions of the
Universities Act, 1997, Údarás na hOllscoile
(The University Governing Authority)
elections will be held in the coming months. It
is expected that an election of Graduates, will
be held by postal ballot, in January 2013 and
the nomination process and election meeting
details, will be advertised in due course.
Graduates, who intend to vote, and whose
current address may differ from records held by
the Alumni Office, are advised to convey change
of address details by accessing
www.nuigalway.ie/alumni-friends/
get-in-touch
no later than 1 December, 2012.
De réir forálacha Acht na nOllscoileanna, 1997,
tionólfar toghcháin d’Údarás na hOllscoile go luath
sa todhchaí. Táthar ag súil go dtoghfaí céimithe
mar thoradh ar bhallóid phoist i mí Eanáir 2013
agus déanfar na sonraí cuí a bhaineann leis an
bpróiséas ainmniúcháin agus leis an gcruinniú
toghcháin, a fhógairt amach anseo. Ba chóir do
chéimithe, gur mian leo vóta a chaitheamh agus
gur gá dóibh a gcuid sonraí teagmhála a uasdátú
leis an Oifig Alumni, teagmháil a dhéanamh leis
an oifig sin roimh 1 Nollaig, 2012, ar a dhéanaí, ag
www.nuigalway.ie/alumni-friends/getin-touch
Cois Coiribe 48
Conferences and events are now a very regular feature
of campus life. In the past year, over 50,000 visitors were
welcomed to the University attending conferences,
exhibitions and gala dinners.
Since its establishment in 1845, NUI Galway is an iconic presence
in the West of Ireland, but scratch the surface and you will find a
thoroughly modern proposition. A multi-million capital development
programme has preserved the University’s most distinctive and
appealing features while propelling the campus into the upper
echelons of the international events marketplace. From its dazzling
formal spaces to its more intimate meeting rooms, NUI Galway blends
timeless elegance with leading-edge technology to bring gravitas and
glamour to gatherings of all descriptions. World-class meeting spaces,
restaurants, accommodation and support services are complimented by
a professional, dedicated event management team who are focused on
delivering memorable experiences, time and time again.
The recent development of the Bailey Allen Hall, the University’s
ceremonial venue, with capacity for 1,000 delegates theatre-style
and 500 banquet-style provides a year round venue for conferences,
gala dinners and events. The scale of the Bailey Allen Hall is only
surpassed by the quality of the interior finishes, with walnut panelled
walls which add a luxury and opulence to the venue complemented by
original tapestries by renowned Irish Artist, Patrick Scott. Other campus
conference facilities include tiered lecture theatres and multi-purpose
seminar rooms all equipped with state-of-the-art technology.
Some of the recent events hosted on campus include International
Conferences, Festivals, Exhibitions, Board Meeting and Political Party
Conventions. A testament to the quality of facilities is that NUI Galway
was a Finalist for Best Conference Event Venue 2012.
Outstanding hospitality and service elevate a successful event to the
status of truly memorable experience, and NUI Galway is home to a
choice of catering teams that are attuned to the demands of a wide
variety of clients. A choice of hospitality is provided from awardwinning caterers to suit any occasion, be it a private board dinner, a
prestigious gala dinner, a conference reception or an informal BBQ.
A large percentage of the conferences/events which take place on
campus are hosted by University Staff and Alumni. In support of
Government strategy to attract more international visitors to the
country, we are asking all Alumni who are members of associations,
professional bodies, sport organisations or other bodies to consider
hosting their annual conference or gathering in Galway. Fáilte
Ireland is here to help and in addition we have a dedicated event
management team on campus who have expertise on all aspects of
conference management.
There are many personal and professional benefits from hosting an
international conference/event and remember there is assistance
available so why not become a Conference Ambassador for Ireland?
Contact us on +353 91 493467 or email
conference@nuigalway.ie.
Cois Coiribe page 55