2019

The Mary Robinson climate conference will take place 6-7th July 2023 in Ballina.  For further info please see QR Code

Read the Geography Newsletter, 30th March, 2020

Sara Hannafin (PhD student in Irish Studies and Geography) passed her viva on Friday, 7 December 2018.  Sara received the very rare recommendation of no corrections being required to her thesis. The examiners were Professor Mary J Hickman, London Metropolitan University and Dr Valerie Ledwith, NUI Galway.  Sara's thesis is entitled: Coming 'home': place, belonging and second-generation return migration from England to Ireland'. Her supervisors were Dr Nessa Cronin and Professor Mary Cawley.

Drs Liam Carr, Frances Fahy, Eugene Farrell, and Mary Greene participated in a Climate Action Workshop at the Environmental Research Institute, UCC on Thursday, 18 January 2019. The trans-disciplinary workshop, part of the EPA Ireland-funded Imagining 2050 Project, brought together academics from across Ireland and tasked them with the challenge of how to best partner with stakeholders to pursue a climate-resilient future for Ireland. 

A European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural productivity and Sustainability (EIP-AGRI) seminar entitled ‘Multi-level strategies for digitising agriculture and rural areas’ took place from the 12th to 13th of December 2018 in Antwerp, Belgium. The main purpose of this workshop was to highlight the importance of strategic planning to steer the digitisation of agriculture and rural areas, combining European, national, regional and local levels. Dr Shane Conway, Postdoctoral Researcher in the Discipline of Geography at NUI Galway and with the Irish National Rural Network (NRN), spoke at this event on the importance of implementing a multi-method communication approach to engage, inform and educate farmers and rural communities throughout EU member states of national and EU-wide digital initiatives and inspiring examples. EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Phil Hogan, delivered the closing speech at this seminar via video link.   More information about this seminar can be found here.

Congratulation to Geography staff members Terry Morley and Eugene Farrell  who are part of a successful EU INTERREG NWE project, ‘Care-Peat’, to develop new policies and methods for managing and monitoring carbon reduction from peatlands. The €6.23 million project involves partners from Ireland, the UK, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. The award will fund local peatland restoration and monitoring as well as the development of innovative policies based on the data collected from restoration works. Dr. Morley is the Irish lead investigator based on his research an industry experience in wetland ecology. Dr. Farrell will use state-of-the-art drone technology to collect passive optical imagery to classify peatlands. The partnership also includes Niall Ó Brolcháin from the eGov Centre at the Insight Centre for Data Analytics and experts from the NPWS, IPCC, UCD, private consultants, Bord na Mona, An Taisce, and the Community Wetlands Forum.

Congratulations to Brian Leonard (PhD candidate in Geography) on passing his viva yesterday, 05 February 2019.  His examiners were Prof Matt Lobley, University of Exeter and Dr Therese Conway, NUI Galway.  Brian's thesis is entitled: Irish farm succession and inheritance: an examination of farmers’ economic decision-making strategies as socially-constructed risk assessment. Brian completed his PhD through publications, one of which may be accessed here Policy drivers of farm succession and inheritance (published in Land Use Policy). Kudos too, to his supervisors Dr Maura Farrell and Dr Marie Mahon, Professor Cathal O Donoghue and Dr Anne Kinsella (Teagasc). 

Whitaker Ideas Forum upcoming talk about 'Learning from Living Labs: Experiences from the field' by Dr Eimear Heaslip, Discipline of Geography on February 13th at 1pm in CA110 (SAC Room), St. Anthony’s, JE Cairnes Building. [further details]

Whitaker Institute Policy Brief Series from Dr Mary Greene, Discipline of Geography,  titled 'Exploring complex social drivers of (un)sustainable consumption' [READ]

Whitaker policy brief from Rebecca Windemer and  Dr Frances Fahy’s on ‘End-of-life considerations for onshore wind in Ireland' [READ]

Whitaker Institute Policy Brief by Dr Liam Carr, Discipline of Geography titled 'Nitrate Loading in Galway Canals: Challenges in Meeting Water Framework Directive Standards' [READ]

Dr Eugene Farrell was invited to present his research ideas at TEDX Galway on 07 February 2019. Dr Farrell presented two solutions that can support coastal communities and coastal ecosystems build capacity and resilience in the face of pressures from storms and human activities. The solutions included: (1) monetization of our coastal ecosystems in order to acquire large capital funds to support coastal conservation projects and (2) prioritize the role of coastal communities in decision making: local solutions for local problems.

In this episode (Eco Eye Series 17 ‘The Living Beach’; 12 February 2019) Anja Murray and Dr Lara Dungan examined the future of Ireland’s beaches with the rise of sea waters and associated effects of climate change and human activity, such as erosion. Coastal scientist Dr. Farrell set out the issues in the Maharees Heritage and Conservation project, whose volunteers have tried to help reverse these effects by planting dune grass, among other endeavours, to help push back the encroaching tide. But is it be enough to save this precious ecosystem?

Join top female scientists as they take to the streets !!!!   June 29th, Spanish Arch Galway. [more info]

Geography at NUI Galway is delighted to announce a double success at the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme. Our own Dr. Audrey Morley, Lecturer in Physical Geography, has been awarded an MSCA Individual Fellowship and Dr. Gordon Bromleywill host incoming MSCA Fellow Dr. Maggie Jackson from the United States.  Both projects are funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme. [Further Info]

In a letter published in the Sunday Independent and the Irish Times, the heads of six university geography departments expressed deep concern at the removal of geography as a core subject in the Junior Cert.

Dr Gary Goggins last week published a letter in the Irish Times reflecting on our consumerist society, and asking the question "How much is enough?" Gary is currently working on the H2020 ENERGISE project, which explores social and cultural influences on household energy use, and engages participants across Europe in real-world experiments that challenge social norms around household consumption.

[download] Geography Newsletter, March 2019.

Dr Frances Fahy at St Flannan’s open day in Ennis this sunny morning in County Clare

Professor Gerry Kearns, Head of Geography, Maynooth and Gary Granville, Emeritus Professor, School of Education NCAD joined Pat Kenny on Newstalk for a debate: geography as a key to solving global problems such as climate change and poverty, and in proposing solutions to issues such as the housing crisis.   Listen to podcast here.

[download] Geography Newsletter, 11th March 2019.

Dr John Morrissey was recently invited to Oxford to outline his IRC project, Haven, to the British International Studies Association. John spent a few days as a visiting scholar at St Antony’s College, where he presented a paper on EU securitization discourse and responses to the Mediterranean refugee crisis.

Dr Patrick Collins was  invited to give a keynote talk by the Cork University Business School (UCC) on the Creative Economies of Peripheral Regions on Friday 8th March. The event was attended by a mix of policy makers, practitioners and academics.

What do you do when nobody listens to your concerns? Take action. Ireland’s school children have taken to the streets today in protest at what they say is Government inaction on climate change. Read more:  Irish Times, RTE News, Galway Advertiser 

Dr Mary Greene participated as a key panelist at the main panel discussion 'Changing for our Climate' at the Galway Energy Summit held in NUI Galway on 12th March. The panel discussion, moderated by RTE's George Lee, stimulated a lively discussion, with Dr. Greene raising themes relating to the often neglected social and human dimensions of the energy transition (Picture attached).

Dr Mary Greene participated as a workshop leader at the recent BurrenBeo Learning Landscape Symposium held in Kinvara (8th -10th March). Her workshop focused on innovative methods for engaging communities in societal transitions towards sustainability. More information on the symposium can be found here 

Dr Shane Conway participated in a 'Governmental Day Workshop' on behalf of National Rural Network at the FTTH (Fibre to the Home) 2019 conference held in the RAI Amsterdam on the 12th of March. The latest information on broadband and digitalisation policy developments in the wew discussed at this event, with a particular focus on tackling and addressing the challenges faced by public local and regional authorities in relation to fibre broadband deployment in rural areas throughout Europe.  More info here & here

[download] Geography Newsletter, 19th March 2019.

An interesting and insightful piece on the 'Family Farm Model' in Ireland, written by renowned farming journalist and reporter Ella McSweeney in today's Sunday Business Post, features research on generational renewal in agriculture carried out by Dr Shane Conway, Postdoctoral Researcher in the Discipline of Geography's Rural Studies Research Cluster at NUI Galway, and the National Rural Network. In this article, Dr Conway highlights the crucial importance of family farming to the sustainability and future survival of rural Ireland. More info here.

On March 13th NUI Galway hosted a Heritage Ireland 2030 consultation workshop with the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Kevin Lynch contributed a short piece on climate change and community resilience. Joe Fenwick has made an individual contribution to the consultation which he has agreed to share [download]

[download] Geography Newsletter, 25th March 2019.

Two of Dr. Audrey Morley’s PhD students from the Palaeoenvironmental Research Unit (PRU), Megan Murphy O’ Connor and Dakota Holmes visited the IODP Bremen Core Repository at MARUM located within the University of Bremen from the 4th-15th March 2019.  [Read More]

Dr Valerie Ledwith gave a presentation at the Whitaker Ideas Forum on 'Examining Hungary’s Denial of Human Security for Migrants, Asylum Seekers and Refugees' , [Read More]

One of our Human Geographers Dr Richard Scriven has recorded a geography podcast series exploring different themes using a geographical lens. In one episode, Richard talks with Dr Gordon Bromley about his experiences of working in Antarctica and explains how he studies historical climate change using glaciers and rocks.  [listen]

Dr Patricia Breen travelled to Belfast last week to attend a workshop for the MarPAMM (Marine Protected Area Management and Monitoring) project. Patricia presented work from her previous postdoc in University College Cork on modelling species distributions of cetaceans, seabirds and fish. She also spoke about her current work in NUIG on risk assessment within fisheries for the SEERAC (Spatially explicit ecological risk assessment framework for conservation planning of coastal waters) project.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, T.D., launched the new Pearl Mussel Project at the beautiful Glenbeg Lake near Ardgroom, Co. Cork on Friday the 29th of March 2019. This EIP-AGRI Operational Group, awarded €10 million under the RDP 2014-2020, aims to design and implement a voluntary results-based agri-environmental scheme with farmers that will help protect the endangered freshwater pearl mussel, as well as benefiting the wider environment. It is 1 of 23 EIP-AGRI Projects in Ireland. Pictured here at the launch of this project is Dr Shane Conway, Postdoctoral Researcher in the Discipline of Geography's Rural Studies Research Cluster and the National Rural Network, with Minister Creed and Brendan Gleeson, Secretary General of the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine.

Congrats to the ENERGISE research team, all members of Geography’s Planning and Sustainability Research Group on submitting their forthcoming book ‘Energy demand challenges in Europe: implications for policy, planning and practice’ to Palgrave Publishers in the UK  [Read More]

[download] Geography Newsletter, 1st April, 2019.

Geography is delighted to host Mr Danijel Pavicic this week. Danijel is visiting from the beautiful city of Zadar on the west coast of Croatia and is completing a one week Erasmus + staff mobility training activity in Geography. The overall objective of Danijel’s training is to develop further cooperation between the Department of Ethnology and Anthropology at the University of Zadar with both the School of Political Science and Sociology and School of Geography and Archaeology in NUI Galway specifically in relation to the undergraduate programme: BSc (Applied Social Sciences).

Professor Michael O’Connell (with Dr Karen Molloy) gave a presentation entitled “Prehistoric Landscapes of North Mayo” at the International Open Workshop: Socio-Environmental Dynamics over the Last 15,000 Years (11–16 March 2019) in Kiel University, Germany

RTE Brainstorming,  Opinion: the decision to make geography an optional Junior Cycle subject risks impoverishing Ireland's future, By Anna Davies, Irish Research Council and Frances Fahy, NUI Galway

Dr Maura Farrell, Discipline of Geography will give a talk on 'Researching the Rural: Going Global and Staying Local', Tuesday May 7th at 1pm,  GO10, Moore Institute. [Read More]

Our  Applied Social Science  2nd years students are exploring  Barcelona urban Geography with Professor Ulf Strohmayer, Fieldbased learning !!!

Congratulations to PhD student Michele Curran for being selected to talk at this years #soapboxScienceGalway, come see female scientists talk at Spanish Arch on 29 June! #STEM#Climate@GeogNUIG

Dr Eugene Farrell looks at how communities tackle coastal and marine management in Ireland. He argues that we need to work in the knowledge that our ‘natural’ geomorphic systems will no longer be fully natural; they will be impacted by our actions; they will be host a myriad of stakeholder interests that are often conflicting; and that many of our natural geomorphic systems are being ‘squeezed’ out of existence from natural and human pressures [Watch]

Dr Gordon Bromley  used this amazing tool 'The Climate Reanalyzer' today with Merlin College transition year geography students. Reproducing the climatic phenomena we've experienced recently & comparing them to long-term means is invaluable

What a great experience, an evening at Galway Aquarium with marine spatial planning experts organised by Dr Liam Carr, Discipline of Geography, NUI Galway.  Hands-on work on how best to plan & use our coasts & oceans. 

Dr Eugene Farrell was the invited keynote presenter on April 15th in Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick for the Regional Studies Association (RSA) workshop on Sustainability Transitions in the Coastal Zone. The RSA research network aims to bring together scholars focused on the dynamics of coastal zones as economic spaces in order to catalyse a discourse on new coastal economies, addressing problems of lock-in and system inertia in the current regime and exploring means to foster radical innovation for sustainable and resilience based coastal development all while making sure the spatial dimension and the regional context are fully conceptualized

The Marine Institute recently welcomed an international group of experts to Galway to discuss how marine spatial planning is used to balance the different demands for using our ocean.  Read full article here

The BASS students on their field trip to Barcelona

This coming Monday the MA Environmental, Society and Development class are embarking on a week field trip to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Here they will visit development agencies, such as the UNDP, and engage in field-based exploration of post-conflict development processes.

Maria O’Connell (MSc Coastal and Marine Environments & Climate Action Regional Office) hosted Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Richard Bruton, as he officially launched the Climate Action Regional Office for the Atlantic Seaboard North in Aras an Chontae, Castlebar, on Friday April 5th 2019. Read full article here.

Dr Shane Conway, Postdoctoral Researcher in the Discipline of Geography at NUI Galway and with the National Rural Network (NRN) spoke about the impact & success of the NRN' interactive EIP-AGRI Operational Group Storyboard database as a good practice dissemination model to communicate the success of the objectives set out in Ireland’s Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014-2020 to attendees at the ‘Networking for Innovation’ session at the  European Network for Rural Development (ENRD) ‘networX - Inspiring Rural Europe’ event held in Brussels, Belgium from the 11th to 12th of April 2019. Dr Conway is pictured here at this event with EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Phil Hogan.  More information about this event can be found here

A new booklet on Ireland's locally-led EIP-AGRI Operational Group Projects was launched by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, T.D. on the 17th of April, 2019 in the Agriculture House, Dublin. This publication was designed and produced by the National Rural Network team at NUI Galway, Dr Shane Conway, Dr Maura Farrell and Dr Aisling Murtagh, to highlight and promote the 23 Irish EIP-AGRI Operational Groups nationally and internationally. A budget of €59m is set aside for these projects. You can download this freely available booklet here.

A public exhibition of Ireland’s 23 locally-led EIP-AGRI Operational Group projects took place from the 17th to 23rd of April 2019 in Agriculture House, Kildare Street, Dublin.  This EIP-AGRI exhibition, aimed at inspiring people in the farming community and rural areas to maximize the success of the objectives set out in the Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014 – 2020, displayed booklets, posters, infographics and interactive content detailing the main aims, objectives, activates and background of each of the successful EIP-AGRI projects. This content was created by the National Rural Network team at NUI Galway, Dr Shane Conway, Dr Maura Farrell and Dr Aisling Murtagh, on behalf of the DAFM.  Please see here for more info.

Rory O’Callaghan of Seasearch Ireland will present a talk on the unique challenges of recording in marine inshore waters, the work of Seasearch Ireland and some of the amazing life lying just below the surface of Galway’s marine waters, including photographs and videos of these unique habitats.  Galway's Hidden Gems Talk, 9th May, 7:00 PM.

Congratulations to Dr Liam Carr who was recently elected as Secretary for the Irish Fulbright Alumni Association at their AGM I’m Boston College on May 3rd

The School of Geography and Archaeology at NUI Galway is proud to jointly host the 51st Conference of Irish Geographers 2019 and the EUGEO Congress 2019. The conference one of the largest European gatherings of geographers, will take place over four days (May 15th – 18th 2019)

Delighted to welcome almost 500 delegates from 37 countries to the EUGEO 2019 Congress which commences today in Bailey Allen Hall on NUIG campus. Dr Kathy Reilly EUGEO Co-Chair, Prof Lokesh Joshi (NUIG VP for Research) and Prof Zoltan Kovacs will officially launch the Congress at the Welcome reception at 5.30pm on Wednesday 15th of May in Bailey Allen Hall. 

Looking forward to our opening Keynote address this evening by Dr. Michele Lancione (Senior Research Fellow and Director of ECR Development in Sheffield University).  Michele is an urban ethnographer and activist and his Keynote lecture will focus on the theme of Homelessness and governmentality.

The  EUGEO 2019 has delegates from over 35 countries attending..... Talk about international collaboration  !!!

NUI Galway will host the 7th EUGEO (Association of Geographical Societies in Europe) Congress in conjunction with the 51st Conference of Irish Geographers from 15-18 May. The theme for this year’s event is ‘Re-imagining Europe’s Future Society and Landscapes’. [full article]

Delighted to welcome Dr. Larissa Naylor (Reader for Physical Geography at the University of Glasgow) for our Keynote lecture this evening. Larissa is an international expert in climate change adaptation, rock coast morphodynamics, ecological enhancement and greening of hard infrastructure and navigating the science-policy-practice interface. Larissa helped establish the UK’s Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership, and has reviewed the coastal chapter for the IPCC.

Dr Gordon Bromley, School of Geography and Archaeology, NUI Galway speaks to RTE Radio 1 on climate and biodiversity emergencyand  global warming [listen]

Congratulations to Geography PhD student Michelle Curran on winning the Postgraduate & Early Career Network (PECN) of the Geographical Society of Ireland (GSI)  poster contest at EUGEO2019

The Rural Research Cluster at the Discipline of Geography are delighted to be part the new 4 year RURALIZATION project. The research team are Dr. Maura Farrell (Principal Investigator), Dr. Aisling Murtagh (Post-Doctoral Researcher), Dr. Marie Mahon, Dr. Therese Conway, Dr. John McDonagh and Dr. Shane Conway.   The project started on May 1st and the kick-off meeting was held on May 15th and 16th in Barcelona. The project develops knowledge and supports policy making focused on access to land, youth visions for rural futures, newcomers to rural areas and new entrants to farming.   Follow RURALIZATION on Twitter @Ruralization_EU and more information is available via the CORDIS Fact Sheet

A new booklet on Ireland's locally-led EIP-AGRI Operational Group Projects, produced by the National Rural Network team at NUI Galway, Dr Shane Conway and Dr Maura Farrell in the Discipline of Geography’s Rural Studies Research Cluster, was launched by Minister of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture, Andrew Doyle TD, in the Department of Agriculture and Food, and the Marine offices at Johnstown Castle Estate, Co. Wexford on the 16th of May 2019. Shane also spoke at this launch about the NRN’s role in inspiring people in the farming community and rural areas to maximize the success of the objectives set out in Ireland’s Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014-2020.  You can find and download this freely available booklet on the NRN website.

The role of EIP-AGRI Operational Groups in protecting biodiversity and tackling climate change was discussed on RTE Radio One’s Drivetime Programme on Wednesday the 29th of May 2019. Dr Shane Conway, Postdoctoral Researcher in the Discipline of Geography’s Rural Studies Research Cluster at NUI Galway and the National Rural Network was interviewed at the Irish Rural Link annual conference in Athlone on the 27th of May 2019 about this initiative along with EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Phil Hogan. The segment runs from 2:18:25 to 2:24:15 and you can listen back here.  

A very successful and enjoyable day was had by members of the Geography Department at the Ryan Institute Research Day 2019 on Friday 31st of May.  The discipline had great representation at the lunch-time poster session, and even won some prizes with Marta Cabello taking first prize for the Energy and Climate Change research theme and Megan Murphy O’ Connor winning second prize in the Marine and Coastal research group. Congratulations!

A new book 'Energy Demand Challenges in Europe: Implication for policy, planning and practice', co-edited by Dr Frances Fahy and Dr Gary Goggins, has just been published by Palgrave MacMillan as part of the Palgrave Pivot series. This open access book examines the role of citizens in sustainable energy transitions across Europe. It explores energy problem framing, policy approaches and practical responses to the challenge of securing clean, affordable and sustainable energy for all citizens, focusing on households as the main unit of analysis. The book revolves around ten contributions that each summarise national trends, socio-material characteristics, and policy responses to contemporary energy issues affecting householders in different countries, and provides good practice examples for designing and implementing sustainable energy initiatives. Overall, the book is a valuable resource for researchers, policy-makers, practitioners and others interested in sustainable energy perspectives. The book is a key output from the H2020 ENERGISE project (GA number 727642) and is free to download.

Congratulations to Dr Brian Leonard (PhD) on graduating with his PhD in NUI Galway on Tuesday 11th June.  Brian's thesis is entitled: Irish farm succession and inheritance: an examination of farmers’ economic decision-making strategies as socially-constructed risk assessment.  Well done also to his supervisors in Geography, Dr Maura Farrell and Dr Marie Mahon, and the Dean of Arts, Professor Cathal O' Donoghue and Anne Kinsella (Teagasc). 

Dr Sara Hannafin was conferred with her PhD on 11th June 2019 at NUI Galway. Seen above with her supervisors Dr Nessa Cronin, Centre for Irish Studies and Professor Mary Cawley, Geography and the Whitaker Institute. Congratulations, Sara! Sara’s thesis is entitled  Coming ‘home’: place, belonging and the return migration of the second-generation Irish from Britain

On May 09th 2019 Axel Leahy presented his views on policy challenges facing the European Union in relation to “Climate Action and Sustainable Development” to five Joint Oireachtas Committees - see video clip here (1hr 58mins into the May 9th recording).  The Ceann Comhairle organised the special joint sitting of five Joint Oireachtas Committees, the Joint Committee on Climate Action included. The session engaged with younger citizens in relation to key policy issues facing the European Union.  It is highly likely that the views aired on the day contributed in some way to the Government’s new climate action plan, with Tánaiste Simon Coveney saying a permanent Oireachtas committee dedicated to climate change is to be set up under the plan. 

MSc student Eoin ÓFátharta is in the Maharees this week, conducting visitor surveys as part of his dissertation research on recreational values of dune systems. His work is supporting ongoing local efforts led by the Maharees Conservation Association, and is being assisted by Jack Workman, Daithí Maguire, Drs Eugene Farrell and Liam Carr.

Article by Professor Ulf Strohmayer, Discipline of Geography, NUIG for RTE News Brainstorm [READ]

Dr Eugene Farrell recently worked with Fingal County Council, An Taisce, and local coastal communities to identify the need for a  ‘best practice’ guide for beach cleaning in County Dublin. Public concerns of the dumping of the cleaned beach litter back on the dunes (containing plastics, wipes, faeces, etc.) need to be addressed with short- and long-term solutions. Dr Farrell’s role was to provide a scientific basis for beach-dune management and encourage local communities and local authorities to work together to adopt management plans that are sustainable and strike a proper balance between conservation and use of the beach and dune systems during the busy summer bathing months.

MSc student Jack Workman is working with Dr Eugene Farrell to test the application of multispectral (MicaSense RedEdge) and RGB images to map dune vegetation and habitats (e.g., the rare Natterjack toad) in The Maharees using UAV technology. Their research is illustrating the great potential of high-resolution UAV data and photogrammetric techniques in coastal science and related disciplines. UAV mapping represents a faster, more reliable, and cost-effective approach in landscape assessment for scientists and managers.

Dr Therese Conway, Discipline of Geography, is hosting Trevor Noon a student from Harvard travelling through Ireland in July.  Trevor is travelling to Ireland through the Henry Russell Shaw Purposeful Travel Fellowship. During his time in Ireland Trevor will be interviewing Therese for a documentary that seeks to explore the relationship between rural and urban populations

Research carried out by Dr Shane Conway, Postdoctoral Researcher in the Discipline of Geography’s Rural Studies Research Cluster on the topic of ‘Generational Renewal in Agriculture’, specifically as it relates to the senior generation of the farming community has recently been published in the International Journal of Agricultural Management (please see: https://bit.ly/2x5OfPz). Globally the policy mantra about the survival, continuity and future prosperity of the agricultural sector, traditional family farm model and broader sustainability of rural society seems ultimately to depend on an age-diverse farming population.

An update on the current LEADER budget allocated to Ireland, funded through the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 (RDP), was featured recently in the Irish Farmers Journal. This article featured insights from Dr Maura Farrell, Lecturer in the Discipline of Geography at NUI Galway and Lead Researcher with the National Rural Network, Over 2000 projects, valued at €69 million have been approved for LEADER funding so far under the current programme.

An article about the impact and success of the Irish NRN' interactive LEADER and EIP-AGRI Project Storyboard databases  as a good practice dissemination model to communicate the success of the objectives set out in Ireland’s Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014-2020 on behalf of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and the Department of Rural and Community Development (DRCD) is featured in the Spring/Summer 2019 edition of the European Network for Rural Development (ENRD) Rural Connections magazine (p.36-37). This article was produced by the NRN team at NUIG, Dr Maura Farrell, Dr Shane Conway and Dr Aisling Murtagh. Please see here.  

Galway Convention Bureau is looking for champions in Galway to attract further conference investment in our city. In their recent communication Dr Frances Fahy and Dr Kathy Reilly’s hard work on the very successful EUGEO recently held in NUIG (attracting 450 delegates from 37 countries) was recognized in the Sunday Business Post last week.

Geography is delighted to welcome Dr Aisling Gallagher and Dr Russell Prince, visiting researchers from Massey University New Zealand who will be hosted by Dr Frances Fahy and Dr Kathy Reilly this July and August - we are really looking forward to the summer collaboration.

Recommendations set forth in a recent study published in the International Journal of Agricultural Management by Dr Shane Conway, Dr John McDonagh and Dr Maura Farrell in the Discipline of Geography's Rural Studies Research Cluster at NUI Galway have been featured the Connacht Tribune (cover page & p.68-69). These policy recommendations are aimed at allowing older farmers to maintain and sustain existing activities and daily routines on their farms in later life, whilst also ‘releasing the reins’ to allow for the necessary delegation of managerial responsibilities and ownership of the family farm to their successors, in order for generational renewal in agriculture to occur. [READ]

Research carried out by Dr Shane Conway, Postdoctoral Researcher in the Discipline of Geography’s Rural Studies Research Cluster on the topic of ‘Generational Renewal in Agriculture’, calling for farm transfer policy makers to understand the 'language of farming', and also to value the older generation of the farming community's 'way of life' on their farms when devising future policy was recently highlighted in the Irish Farmers Journal. [READ]

The National Rural Network (NRN) team at NUI Galway, Dr Maura Farrell and Dr Shane Conway, recently organised a national seminar on the EU Action for Smart Villages Initiative in Ireland, entitled ‘Smart Villages and Rural Towns in Ireland: Revitalising Rural Areas through Community-Led Innovation’ on behalf of the NRN and the Department of Rural and Community Development (DRCD). This event took place in the Sheraton Hotel, Athlone, on July 4th, 2019. This seminar was structured to build a greater knowledge base around the EU Action for Smart Villages initiative, and demonstrate how it can be planned, implemented and realized in an Irish context, particularly in the context of the design of the LEADER Programme post 2020. Dr Farrell also presented at this event on the topic of 'Rural Ireland: Embracing a ‘Smart’ Concept', while Dr Conway chaired proceedings. [READ]

Geography PhD student Helen Maguire speaks to the Irish Independent after comments by Stella Mc Cartney regarding laundry, see article here

Farmers in the south-east are fighting a losing battle against the impact of coastal erosion. Dr Eugene Farrell featured in an article in the Independent Farming feels that farmers will find it hard to "fight the economics of coastal erosion". It's very expensive to protect farmland from coastal erosion, especially if it will have to be replaced every few years. Authorities have to make decisions about who to protect. He explains that a number of farmers also feel very threatened by the loss of their land and that it is also impacting them emotionally. 

Dr Eugene Farrell participated in a field excursion to Inis Mór (Inishmore) Aran Islands to examine large boulder deposits that have been moved by storm waves. Previously it was thought that only tsunamis had the power to move these giant boulders - the largest recorded to have moved exceeds 600 tonnes! The decade long research is being conducted by Prof Ronadh Cox (Williams College, Massachusetts, USA)  who visited NUIG Geography in Spring 2019. The fieldtrip – led by Prof Cox -  was attended by geographers, geomorphologists, oceanographers, geologists, and geophysicists. [More Info]

Professor Ulf Strohmayer spoke to RTE1 Drivetime this week on 'Reclaiming the streets from the car' [Listen] 

Congrats to our former PhD Graduate and Colleague Dr Mary Greene on her recent appointment as Assistant Professor at the Environmental Policy Unit at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. Best wishes in the new post Mary!

Another great publication from the Energise research team: Dr Gary Goggins and Dr Frances Fahy have published a new paper exploring the Characteristics and governance of urban-based energy initiatives across Europe in the top ranked Journal of Cleaner Production. You can read the open access article here.

Visiting researcher Dr Russell Prince from Massey University in New Zealand is enjoying his time working in Geography at NUI Galway and explains the purpose of his research stay:    ‘I'm a political and economic geographer with particular interests in policy mobility, which refers to the movement of policy from one place to another, and the geographies of market and economy-making. My current research is trying to combine these trajectories with a historical study of New Zealand's adoption of statistical methods in the middle decades of the twentieth century and the related invention of the New Zealand economy as an idea in itself. While I'm visiting here at Galway I'm spending my time taking advantage of the broadband to trawl through the many historical documents from the period that the New Zealand national library has made available through their digitisation project.’

Dr Shane Conway, Postdoctoral Researcher in the Discipline of Geography's Rural Studies Research Cluster at NUI Galway, spoke to Ella McSweeney on RTÉ Radio One's Drivetime show last week.  You can listen to this RTÉ Brainstorm Podcast piece here (@10.20):

During August, Dr. Chaosheng Zhang gave keynote talks at 3 international conferences: ICEPH 2019 The 5th International Conference on Environmental Pollution and Health held in Harbin during August 4-6, 2019; ISEG 2019 The 11th International Symposium on Environmental Geochemistry held in Beijing during Aug. 7-10, 2019; MEDGEO 2019 The 8th International Conference on Medical Geology of International Medical Geology Association (IMGA) held in Guiyang during Aug. 11-15, 2019. Dr. Zhang also acted as one of the workshop leaders for Medical Geology Short Course on provided on Aug. 11 during MEDGEO 2019.

NUI Galway was recognised as one of the co-organisers in two international conferences: ISEG 2019 The 11th International Symposium on Environmental Geochemistry held in Beijing during Aug. 7-10, 2019; MEDGEO 2019 The 8th International Conference on Medical Geology of International Medical Geology Association (IMGA) held in Guiyang during Aug. 11-15, 2019. Dr. Chaosheng Zhang served as co-chair for these two international conferences. 

Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates for a fixed-term position as a Postdoctoral Researcher with the Department of Geography at the National University of Ireland, Galway. This position is available from November 1, 2019 for 12 months.  [Further Info]

Dr Eugene Farrell was an invited speaker to Edge Hill University Liverpool for the International Workshop on Coastal Resilience and Adaptation. The two day event included a field visit to Sefton Dunes and Formby where scientists met with managers from The National Trust and English Nature to discuss short and long term management practices and challenges. The team included members from the NERC funded Thai Coast Project. Items discussed included blowout mobilization to increase biodiversity; impacts of invasive species on habitats of natterjack toad and sand lizards; impacts of humans (visitors; pine plantations; Industry pollution); and community engagement.

Bertra Strand and its dunes are in a precarious state. It has been pounded by series of storms in the past decade with dire consequences.  An integrated vision is needed for the future welfare of the whole coastal landscape, where the natural environment is inextricably linked to that of the local communities of Murrisk, Lecanvy and Belclare. To kickstart local climate action an event is being run by the EU Aelclic Project.  The event on Tuesday Oct 1st at 7pm in The Tavern, Murrisk, Co Mayo, will hear of international experiences from Prof Enzo Pranzini (University of Florence), Prof Bas Pedroli (Wageningen University) and Dr Maura Farrell (NUI Galway).  Hearing of good practices from Ireland and abroad will demonstrate that solutions do exist that can be beneficial to the communities and the natural environment at the same time. The outcomes of the event are expected to be, a greater awareness of possible solutions and a solid commitment from those interested to work together to take action. [Further Info]

The latest peer-reviewed article from the H2020-funded ENERGISE project has just been published in the prestigious journal Energy Policy. The paper examines the importance of how energy demand problems are understood and framed, and what this means for the type of solutions that are proposed. The work is a joint publication between researchers at NUIG (Gary Goggins and Frances Fahy) together with their colleagues from Aalborg University. The Open Access article is available to download in full here.

Dr Gary Goggins recently published a Whitaker Institute Policy Brief which looks how we can best design and implement initiatives aimed at sustainable transformation of household energy use. The policy brief can be read in full here.

Dr Kathy Reilly has been invited to join Focus Ireland’s Research Committee. Focus Ireland works with people who are homeless or who are at risk of losing their homes across Ireland. The central function of the Research Committee is to provide guidance and advice in the planning and delivery of the organisation’s research and evaluation programme, within the context of Focus Ireland’s organisational strategic plan. This invitation is based on Dr Reilly’s current work exploring homeless experiences in Ireland, funded by the Irish Research Council’s Research for Policy and Society Scheme.

The 2019-20 MSc class in Coastal and Marine Environments spent three days on Inis Mór learning about life and livelihoods in the Aran Islands. As part of their visit, the students spent an afternoon with David OHalloran of Bláth na Mara (Flower of the Sea), learning about traditional seaweed harvesting techniques and how Bláth na Mara is establishing new markets for four different types of seaweed that grow locally. Learn more of their story at blathnamara.ie

Teagasc's 'TResearch Autumn 2019' quarterly magazine features research published in the International Journal of Agricultural Management on the topic of ‘Generational Renewal in Agriculture’ by Dr Shane Conway, Dr John McDonagh and Dr Maura Farrell in the Discipline of Geography's Rural Studies Research Unit at NUI Galway calling for policy makers to understand the 'language of farming', and also to value the older generation of the farming community's 'way of life' on their farms in later life when devising future farm transfer strategies (p.32-33). A piece by Dr Brian Leonard and colleagues at NUI Galway and Teagasc exploring farmer perceptions of risk in farm succession is also featured in this edition (p.34-35).

The School of Geography & Archaeology is a wonderfully vibrant and inspiring place to work and study, and this edition of Gortsceala captures some of our core passions: fieldwork, public scholarship and making critical knowledge count. 

Open Care_Peat Meeting Ireland, 27th September, 2019.  Two days of interesting speakers, discussions, workshops and site visits, together with the partners and other peatland organisations. For further info: @INTERREG_NWE

Dr Eugene Farrell held fieldtrips this week at Grattan Beach in Galway City with second year students registered in the Earth Surface Processes and Landforms module. Students assessed if Grattan Beach fulfilled all the criteria for a  Blue Flag designation. These criteria include: Environmental Education & Information, Water Quality, Environmental Management, and Safety and Services. The students also investigated for visible pressures (climate and human) on the coastline. Each team of students had to design long term coastal management strategies for the area spanning the spectrum of resistance to adaptation. The fieldtrips were supported by Geography staff and postgraduate students.

A new book co-edited by Frances Fahy, Gary Goggins (NUIG) and Charlotte Jensen (Aalborg University) was officially launched last week in Barcelona at the European Roundtable for Sustainable Consumption and Production (ERSCP) Conference by Dr Sylvia Lorek, Sustainable Europe Research Institute, Germany. The book, 'Energy Demand Challenges in Europe', examines the role of citizens in sustainable energy transitions across Europe. The book was published by Palgrave MacMillan as part of the Palgrave Pivot series and is free to download.

3rd year Geography students visited Athenry  as part of their Field Based Learning, module. They visited @teagasc and @galwayruraldev where they heard about agri sustainability and rural development measures. The students are currently undertaking a SWOT analysis of of Athenry.

Dr Eugene Farrell was invited to give a public lecture to the Galway Geological Association on the 22nd of October. The lecture focussed on the environmental monitoring programmes conducted by Dr Farrell in partnership with staff and students in NUIG. Observations collected during field experiments are critical to understanding how coastal system behave today but also how they will respond to changing boundary conditions such as rising sea levels and extreme water levels. Contemporary process-response models are an important part of the long term trajectory of mapping geomorphic systems evolution.

The NRN team at NUI Galway, Dr Shane Conway and Dr Maura Farrell, we have designed and produced an Irish language version of a booklet highlighting and promoting Ireland’s 23 EIP-AGRI Operational Group projects funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) under Ireland’s Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014-2020. This publication was officially launched by Dr Conway at an EIP-AGRI workshop at this year’s Burren Winterage School on the 24th of October 2019 in Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare. A piece about this launch and a link to the booklet can be found on the NRN website, please see here. 

Research by Dr Shane Conway, Dr Maura Farrell and Dr John McDonagh in the Discipline of Geography's Rural Studies Research Unit at NUI Galway, focusing on 'Intergenerational Considerations for Generational Renewal in Agriculture Policy Strategies' has recently been featured on the ARC 2020 (Agricultural and Rural Convention) platform. ARC 2020 is a multi-stakeholder European Union wide platform that involves over 150 civil society networks and organisations (from 22 EU Member States) all working on issues affected by the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).  Please see here.  

The Third Arctic Award – an award which highlights successful and impactful development projects from Arctic areas - was granted to the BuSK project (Building shared knowledge capital to support natural resource governance in the northern periphery), coordinated by the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) with NUI Galway as a research partner. [Read More]

As the ENERGISE project is soon to be concluded, the project team is happy to share a project summary video on the ENERGISE website and youtube about the project methodology, implementation process and outcomes.  The main project results were also shared with policy-makers, businesses, NGOs, academics and others at a final conference held in Barcelona on October 15th, and with a more general audience through a press release that you can read online, with links to more ENERGISE materials, including detailed research findings.   More information on ENERGISE is available on the project website, and you can join us on Twitter and Facebook as well.You can also contact the project coordinators:  frances.fahy@nuigalway.ie or gary.goggins@nuigalway.ie

Our MSc graduate Dearbhla Jordan (now of the Climate Action Regional Office) will appear on The RTE Documentary ‘Will Ireland Survive 2050?’ Article link, RTE, Monday 11th Nov @ 9.30pm.   Meteorologist Gerald Fleming and climate activist Dr. Cara Augustenborg examine the disturbing consequences of extreme global weather, with the programme featuring the plight of Bertra Strand, Co Mayo, where staff and students of Geography’s MSc have been working for a number of years.

Professor Mary Cawley of the Population and Migration research cluster, will be presenting on Diasporic links and on-going transnational relationships in migration and return, on Wednesday 13th November at 1pm.   All are welcome to attend. For more information click here.

Letter to the irish times on "Restoring geography as a compulsory school subject" [READ]

The Royal Irish Academy Oireachtas Science Pairing Scheme was officially launched on Monday, November 18th, by Ceann Comhairle, Seán Ó Fearghaíl, at Academy House in Dublin: https://www.ria.ie/oireachtas-science-pairing-scheme. The scheme is a collaborative project between the RIA and the Houses of the Oireachtas to enable expert research on a range of AHSS and STEM themes to positively impact in the political sphere. Three colleagues from Geography have been chosen for the scheme: Dr Marie Mahon and Dr Maura Farrell will be working with Deputy Declan Breathnach and Deputy Fiona O’Loughlin on the topic of rural sustainability; and Dr John Morrissey will be working with Senator Ivana Bacik on human security and Ireland’s international development policy.

Prof. Seamus Grimes was a guest lecturer at the East China Normal University Humanities and Social Sciences, Huashi city on November 13th, 2019, hosted by the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences of East China Normal University, the 146th "Educational Lectures on Humanities and Social Sciences of East China Normal University" hosted by the School of Urban and Regional Sciences The 539 meeting room of the school's Zihuan Building was held as scheduled. [further info]

Dr Maura Farrell attended the Volunteer in Sport Awards ceremony in Farmleigh House, Dublin on the 12th November as a member of the judging panel appointed by the Sports Council of Ireland.  Other members of the judging panel present: Paraic Duffy, Trevor Ringland, Maura Farrell, Joanne O'Riordan, Keith Kelly, Mary Knowlan Hickey, Shane O'Connor, Benny Cullen, Michelle Dwyer, Des Fitzgerald, Jimmy Deenihan and Nina Arwitz

Dr. Chaosheng Zhang attended ARC 2019 Asia Resilience Centre Conference at Korea University in Seoul during November 10-13, 2019 as an invited speaker, with the flight and local costs covered by the local organiser. Dr. Zhang made a presentation titled “Exploration of spatially varying relationships in environmental geochemistry in the big data era”.

Together with the Marine Institute and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the launch of the NARI, the Network of Arctic Researchers in Ireland

Dr Gary Goggins was recently invited to write a contribution for the journal One Earth on how we can transform society's food choices. This short reflection piece focused on the role of large organizations in the food system. To read this and other contributions to the debate, click here.