Bronnfar scoláireachtaí ar fiú €119,000 ar an iomlán iad ar mhic léinn chéad bhliana in OÉ Gaillimh mar aitheantas ar na pointí arda a ghnóthaigh siad i Scrúdú na hArdteistiméireachta. Mar chuid de shearmanas bliantúil na hOllscoile Scoláireachtaí Iontrála a bhronnadh, bronnfar scoláireachtaí ar fiú €1,700 iad mar aon le scrolla speisialta ar 70 mac léinn. Bronnfar na scoláireachtaí seo ag searmanas speisialta Déardaoin, an 16 Deireadh Fómhair 2008. Beidh idir mhúinteoirí agus thuismitheoirí i láthair ag an searmanas. Is é atá mar aidhm leis na Scoláireachtaí Iontrála mic léinn ar ardchaighdeán a mhealladh chuig OÉ Gaillimh agus aitheantas a thabhairt don éacht acadúil atá déanta acu. D'fhéadfaí go mbeadh scoláireachtaí nó deontais eile á mbronnadh ag an searmanas céanna, Scéim Scoláireachtaí Spóirt na hOllscoile san áireamh. I mbliana, bronnfar Scoláireachtaí Iontrála ar mhic léinn as 38 scoil ar fud na tíre. Tá scoláireachtaí le bronnadh ar mhic léinn as na contaetha seo a leanas – An Clár, Corcaigh, Dún na nGall, Gaillimh, Ciarraí, Laois, Luimneach, An Longfort, Maigh Eo, Uíbh Fhailí, Ros Comáin, Sligeach, Tiobraid Árann agus An Iarmhí. Bhí an méid seo a leanas le rá ag Uachtarán OÉ Gaillimh, an Dr James J. Browne, a bhronnfaidh na seiceanna agus na scrollaí ag an imeacht: "Cúis áthais dúinn a bheith in ann aitheantas a thabhairt d'éachtaí acadúla an 70 mac léinn seo as gach cearn den tír. Déanann OÉ Gaillimh iarracht i gcónaí tacú le feabhas acadúil i ngach uile dhisciplín agus é a spreagadh. Deis é Searmanas Bronnta na Scoláireachtaí Iontrála le haitheantas a thabhairt dár mic léinn chéad bhliana a bhfuil a gcumas acadúil cruthaithe acu cheana féin bunaithe ar na torthaí a fuair siad i Scrúdú na hArdteistiméireachta. Deis atá ann freisin le haitheantas a thabhairt don obair atá déanta ag a dtuimsitheoirí agus ag a múinteoirí. Cuirimid fáilte chroíúil rompu chuig OÉ Gaillimh agus táimid ag tnúth lena gcumas acadúil a fhorbairt amach anseo agus tacú lena n-iarrachtaí sna blianta amach romhainn". Bronntar Scoláireachtaí Iontrála gach bliain ar mhic léinn atá díreach tosaithe ag freastal ar OÉ Gaillimh agus a fuair 560 pointe, ar a laghad, i Scrúdú na hArdteistimérieachta (590 pointe do mhic léinn leighis). I mbliana d'éirigh le 18 mac léinn an t-uasmhéid 600 pointe a fháil. Chomh maith leis sin, bronnann OÉ Gaillimh 25 Sparánacht gach bliain. Is fiú €1,600 an ceann na sparánachtaí seo a bhfuil sé mar aidhm leo tacú le mic léinn a thugann faoi chéatadán suntasach dá gcúrsa staidéir trí mheán na Gaeilge. - críoch -

The politics of peace and conflict will be the theme of a Political Studies Association of Ireland conference at NUI Galway from 17-19 October. The event will feature discussions on the Irish peace process, peacekeeping, Latin American politics and Iraq. Other topical subjects at the conference, which is being organised by the University's School of Political Science and Sociology, will include the Lisbon Treaty and the Irish political party system. Speakers at the conference include Brendan Duddy who acted as an intermediary between the IRA leadership and the British government between 1973 and 1993. The existence of this channel of communication was a closely-guarded secret, causing major public controversy when it was finally revealed. The Secret Peacemaker, a documentary about Brendan's significant role through those turbulent times, will be screened and followed by a questions and answers session . The event will also feature Nuala O'Loan, who played a prominent and important role in the Northern peace process in recent years as Northern Ireland's first police ombudsman. She was at the centre of intense public debate and controversy, carrying out investigations into the Omagh bomb inquiry, and police collusion with paramilitaries. A UK House of Commons Committee report in 2005 praised her role and recommended that she be given wider powers, and she was appointed by the Irish government in February 2008 to serve as their special envoy in Timor-Leste (east Timor). Conference organiser and lecturer in Politics at NUI Galway, Dr Niall Ó Dochartaigh, said: "The persistence of war and political violence is one of the most important global political issues. Understanding the dynamics of violent conflict, and the approaches that can contribute to building and maintaining peace, is one of the most urgent tasks for academic research on politics. Violent conflicts are often much more embedded and complex than they appear to outside observers, but the experience of the peace process in Ireland demonstrates that negotiation and dialogue can contribute to narrowing the gap between parties that seem to be irreconcilable". Dr Ó Dochartaigh added: "Given Ireland's long history of contributing to United Nation's peacekeeping missions, and the Irish experience of the Troubles in recent decades, there are many people in Ireland with direct experience of these issues. One of the highlights of the conference for me will be the roundtable discussion on peacekeeping and the protection of civilians in peace support operations". An expert on Iraq who has also written extensively about conflict in Northern Ireland, Professor Brendan O Leary of the University of Pennsylvania, USA, will also speak at the event. His academic work played a significant role in shaping the new government and policing arrangements in Northern Ireland. Professor O'Leary is currently an international advisor to the Kurdistan National Assembly, responsible for advising on the constitutional reconstruction of Iraq and Kurdistan. Michael D. Higgins T.D., and Adjunct Professor with the Irish Centre for Human Rights at NUI Galway, will deliver an after-dinner speech at the conference dinner, entitled 'From Political Studies to Political Practice'. Further information on the conference and a full programme is available at www.psai.ie. -ends-

Republican Grant Lally to go head-to-head with Democrat Bruce Morrison Washington, DC comes to NUI Galway on Thursday, 30 October, when the University hosts a US Presidential Election Debate featuring senior representatives of the Democratic and Republican parties. Just days before the closely contested election, Grant Lally, national co-chairman of the Irish-American Republicans, will go head-to-head in a debate with Bruce Morrison, a former US Congressman from Connecticut and author of the Morrison Visa Program. The event, which is open to the public, will be hosted jointly by NUI Galway's Law Society and Literary and Debating Society and takes place in the University's Áras na Mac Léinn at 8pm. Grant Lally is former president of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform and McCain Delegate to the 2008 Republican National Convention. Recently he wrote that John McCain: "Is a responsible, experienced and respected leader who will strengthen America's relations with the world, raise the level of engagement with Ireland to cement the Irish peace process, and work more closely with America's friends and allies in Europe to build a more stable, prosperous and peaceful world". Bruce Morrison, described by the New York Times as a man of "intellect, compassion and vigour", has pledged his allegiance to Barack Obama's ambitions of ending the war in Iraq, increasing energy independence and providing universal health care. The moderator for the debate will be Larry Donnelly, a Boston native and NUI Galway Law Lecturer. According to Mr. Donnelly: "Over the past few months, we have seen the campaigns of the two main candidates evolve through the lens of unprecedented media interest in a US Presidential election. The 2008 election is set to be of major significance for Irish-American relations. McCain has an established history of personal involvement in the Irish peace process and Obama has recently appointed a "dream team" of high-profile Irish-American political advisors". One of the students organising the event is Peter Mannion, who is studying Law at NUI Galway and spent his summer working as an intern in the Washington, DC office of the Obama campaign. He is anticipating an exiting evening: "If the recently televised debates between the candidates themselves are anything to go by, there is no doubt that Lally and Morrison will succeed in replicating if not surpassing their controversial intensity". Tickets will go on sale on Wednesday, 15 October and will be available from Zhivago's on Shop Street, Galway, and from the NUI Galway Societies Box Office in Áras na Mac Léinn. Student tickets are €2 (valid student ID required) and non-student tickets are €10. For further information on the event please contact Louise Hamilton, Public Relations Officer of the Law Society, on 0860734033 or email nuiglawsociety@gmail.com -ends-

A select group of first-year students at NUI Galway will receive a total €119,000 in recognition of the high points they achieved in the recent Leaving Certificate. As part of the University's annual Entrance Scholarships, 70 students will receive €1,700 each, along with a specially designed scroll. The awards will be made at a special ceremony, to include teachers and parents, on Thursday, 16 October, 2008. The Entrance Scholarships are designed to attract the best students to NUI Galway and reward their academic excellence. The awards may be held with any other scholarships or grants, including the University's extensive Sports Scholarship Scheme. This year, the Entrance Scholarships will be awarded to students from 38 individual schools throughout the country. The winners represent 14 counties including, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Laois, Limerick, Longford, Mayo, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary and Westmeath. NUI Galway President Dr James J. Browne, who will present the cheques and a specially designed scroll at the event, said: "We are delighted to recognise the academic talent of these 70 outstanding individuals from all over Ireland. NUI Galway strives constantly to support and promote academic excellence across all disciplines. The Entrance Scholarships ceremony is an opportunity to give special recognition to our first year students who have already proved academic prowess through their Leaving Certificate results. It is also a chance to give due credit to their parents and teachers for their contribution to such success. We welcome them to NUI Galway and look forward to nurturing their academic talent and supporting them throughout their years of study". Entrance Scholarships are given annually to all NUI Galway new entrants who reached a minimum of 560 points in their Leaving Certificate examination (590 in Medicine). This year 18 of the winners reached the maximum 600 points. NUI Galway also awards 25 Bursaries annually, each worth €1,600, to support students who take a significant proportion of their course through Irish. -ends-

The Marconi Weekend, which takes place in Clifden, Co. Galway, from 17-19 October, will feature a lecture by Dr Edward Jones of NUI Galway's Electronic Engineering Department. The weekend festival commemorates the first commercial wireless transatlantic broadcast by Guglielmo Marconi in 1907, and Dr Jones will speak about how Marconi's legacy is influencing new ways of providing healthcare. Most people associate Marconi with inventing 'the wireless', and he is most often credited with enabling wireless communication as we know it today. While this has clearly had a huge impact on how people interact with each other, most tangibly these days through mobile phones, his work has also enabled the development of many other applications in the world of healthcare. Electronic and wireless technology is starting to enable new ways for patients with various conditions to be remotely monitored by their doctor. Systems are being developed which involve sensors attached to the patient monitoring vital signs like blood sugar level or heart rate, and using wireless technology to allow information about the patient's state to be relayed to their GP, e.g. through text messaging. According to Dr Jones, whose lecture will be entitled 'More than just The Wireless': Marconi's Contribution to Healthcare': "These new systems will, for example, enable ongoing post-operative monitoring, thus reducing the need for patients to visit their doctor or hospital for post-operative check-ups. Another possibility is that these systems can aid in detecting problems in at-risk groups, such as elderly patients living alone, and can assist groups like diabetics in managing their own treatment". A second use of the technology is in the area of medical imaging, as an alternative to traditional imaging methods such as x-rays. Dr Jones, along with Dr Martin Glavin and a group of electronic engineering researchers, is working on new wireless imaging technology for breast cancer detection that could form an effective alternative to traditional x-ray mammography. The technology is a form of radar that forms an image of the tissue, where tumours may be easier to detect. Dr Jones points out that this research is in the first stages: "It's early days yet, and the group is currently trying to get some idea of how effective this technology would be in practice. Discussions have already been held with clinicians as to how useful something like this might be in a clinical setting, and what practical patient-related issues really need to be considered, and it will be a number of years before the technology could be used in a trial with real patients". This technology could provide another useful tool for clinicians to add to the range of techniques they use in cancer detection. Furthermore, this application illustrates how fundamental discoveries like Marconi's from one hundred years ago, can be fused with sophisticated modern electronic engineering techniques (such as digital signal processing and digital computers), to address significant problems in healthcare. Dr Jones will speak at 5pm on Saturday 18 October at the Marconi Weekend in Clifden, for further information visit http://www.clifdenchamber.ie/events.aspx?id=87 -ends-