2022

As NUI Galway is named the number one university in Ireland for Sustainable Development in Times Higher Education’s (THE) Impact Rankings 2022, and fifth in the world for Responsible Consumption and Production, we take a look at some of the projects leading the way in sustainably at the university. [Read]

Congratulations to BASS student Elizabeth Hunt, of NUI Galway, was named Editor of the Year Award for her work on Ethereal Magazine, the first time the award was given to a magazine editor. [Read]

Ireland is the only island nation without an integrated national coastal plan, and this creates barriers on the ground for communities in dealing with climate change, explains Eugene Farrell. [Read]

The Human Development Report Office of the UNDP published in February this year its Special Report on Human Security: New Threats to Human Security in the Anthropocene (https://hdr.undp.org/en/2022-human-security-report). This major report of 188 pages sets out the intertwined threats of human and environmental security the world is facing. Professor John Morrissey was one of the contributing authors. You can watch a summary of the report here. On 12 April 2022 (2-4pm), the Human Development and Capability Association (HDCA) will hold a webinar on the report, which will feature presentations from the report team leader at the UNDP, Dr Heriberto Tapi, and three of the authors: Andrew Crabtree (Copenhagen Business School) Oscar Gómez (Asia Pacific University) John Morrissey (National University of Ireland, Galway) Webinar registration: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/webinar-on-the-2022-undp-hdro-special-report-on-human-security-tickets-311330336417

You can now watch the 3rd session of NUI Galway's new Rural Voices Seminar Series on the Rural Studies Centre YouTube Channel. Please see: https://youtu.be/01Nv0i0tt5c   This session, entitled 'Exploring social enterprises as rural development actors – potential and limits of their engagement with their places', featured Dr Lucas Olmedo from the Department of Food Business and Development, Cork University Business School, University College Cork and Dr Mara van Twuijver from the Utrecht School of Economics, Utrecht University, Netherlands, who highlighted the potential of rural social enterprises as contributors to rural development through their research analysing the engagement of such enterprises within their local contexts and reflecting on the benefits and limitations of rural social enterprises as partners when contributing to sustainable rural development.   Registration details for the next session, taking place on the 27th of April from 3-4pm, will be released soon.

Participating in a side event panel at the UN Commission on the Status of Women on March 16, Dr. Una Murray spoke about promoting gender-equitable norms to advance women’s empowerment in the context of climate change.  [Further info]The photo includes Minister Roderic O'Gorman, The Irish Ambassador to the UN, Geraldine Byrne Nason, and Marta Lucía Ramirez, Vice President of Colombia and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, with Una in the bottom right of the photo. OECD’s twitter card highlighted the new Masters in International Development Practice available here.

On Friday March 25, Dr Eugene Farrell presented to over 5000 school children aged between 8-12 years in over 250 classrooms around Ireland. The "Meet the Scientist" webinar initiative is part of the START (Schools Teaching Awareness of Randomised Trials) Competition led by Prof Declan Devane and his team in NUI Galway and the Health Research Board-Trials Methodology Research Network. The school children got to learn what geography is, what geographers do and why coastal dunes are important.

Dr Gordon Bromley, supported by Dr Liam Carr, returned to An Teallach in the Scottish Highlands, to continue his research recording the retreat of Scotland’s last ice sheet 17-21k years ago. Over the space of 4 days and 50km, rock samples were collected for further lab analysis back in the PRU. 

As part of International Women's Day, Dr Una Murray and Dr Maura Farrell were featured in interviews in the Irish Farmers Journal and via a Podcast connected to the Journal's Irish Country Living Podcast Series.  The feature explored the gender aspect of agriculture both in Ireland and from an international development perspective.  The podcast can be accessed via the following link: https://www.spreaker.com/user/irishfarmersjournal/the-good-room-2

Helena Tatgenhorst and Katie McGovern, students in the MSc in Coastal and Marine Environments went to Inis Mór to collect data for Helena's thesis. A gorgeous three days was had on the island.  Quadrats were taken at two intertidal sites that are hand harvested by local seaweed harvesters. Helena will return throughout the semester to collect additional quadrat and drone data.

The new five-year Shared Green Deal is funded through the EU’s Horizon2020 scheme with researchers working with families in fuel poverty, schools, housing associations and businesses to cut carbon emissions. The overall project involves 24 separate social experiments - taking place in neighbourhoods across Europe - looking at how organisations and individuals can work together to make daily lives more sustainable. Prof Fahy's team is leading the Clean Energy strand of experiments. The research is intended to assist the EU in reaching the target of carbon neutrality by 2050 and to create change at the local level. [Further info]

Even though we all love our trips to the beach, we seldom give a second thought to how the beach is feeling (stick with me this is going somewhere!). Until that is, we can clearly see the beach or dunes are in a bad state, stressed and battered by winter storms maybe, or just looking a bit dishevelled and in need of some care. While they may not have feelings we can certainly think of them in the sense of being healthy or in bad health. As coastal scientists we try to better understand how they work: what are the factors that support healthy growth, or the causes of deterioration over time. [Read]

Professor John Morrissey was one of the contributing authors to the newly published UN strategy report on human security, New Threats to Human Security in the Anthropocene: Demanding Greater Solidarity. The report sets out the intertwined threats of human and environmental security the world is facing, and the urgent need for global solidarity in the Anthropocene. More from UN News, US Homeland Security, NHK World Japan, Saudi Gazette, Zee News India and Modern Diplomacy, or watch a summary on the report here.

NUI Galway Geography is hosting the Care Peat Peatland Management and Restoration Conference on the 28-29th of April. The conference will demonstrate the state of knowledge and science on peatlands from a policy, management, and restoration perspective, and will bring peatland experts from across the EU. Further information can be found HERE with links to register and submit abstracts.

Drawing on work from environmental education, evaluation, and practitioner research, this paper presents a discussion of programme evaluation practices from the practitioner’s perspective. This paper serves as a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners as it provides a framework to support future evaluations led by practitioner evaluators. [Read]

  The next session of NUI Galway's Rural Studies Centre Seminar Series will feature John Daly, Economist at the Northern and Western Regional Assembly (NWRA) who will present an overview of NWRA's recent report entitled 'Regional Vacancy and Dereliction Analysis', which has identified just over 44,000 properties that were either vacant or derelict in the Northern and Western Region, accounting for 37% of all empty properties in Ireland.  Date: Wednesday, February 23rd, 2022 Time: 15.00-16.00 Please register in advance for this Zoom meeting here: bit.ly/NUIGSeminar

Gordon Bromley has been awarded a Franklin Research Grant by the Americal Philosophical Society to explore the terrestrial impact of abrupt climate change in Ireland. This project combines cosmogenic geochronology and glacial geomorphology to test how the last glaciers in Kerry (a proxy for temperature) responded to rapid jumps in North Atlantic circulation at the end of the last ice age. 

Dr. Eugene Farrell (with partners Dr Steven Nash, Civil Engineering and Ms. Sheena Fennell, Earth & Ocean Science) received c.€400,000 funding from the Marine Institute to conduct a four-year investigation of the potential benefits of ocean-based NbS in Ireland on mitigating storm impacts by adapting existing wave-morphological models within the Brandon Bay Research Hub. The project also uses the extensive coastal community network available to the team to co-design low-cost citizen science monitoring programmes to systematically monitor coastal changes (topography; vegetation cover; biodiversity richness) in the vicinity of beach-dune NbS’s. 

Dr. Una Murray, Geography is evaluating a UN environmental governance project in support of the SDGs in 5 South-East European countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia).

You can now watch the opening session of NUI Galway's new Rural Voices Seminar Series, launched by Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, on the Rural Studies Centre YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/jeUcd8FyyCY President of NUI Galway, Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, delivered the opening address at this event, attended by 94 people, followed by a presentation from Dr Andrew Forde, Head of Rural Strategy and Social Enterprise at the Department of Rural and Community Development. Registration details for the next session, taking place on the 23rd of February from 3-4pm, will be released soon.

Despite Extractivism Exhibition Launch Thursday 20th January. V'cenza Cirefice's visual research on resistance to extractivism is part of this online exhibition and event series exploring the ways in which care, creativity and community persist, exist and resist despite - or because - of extractivism. The Despite Extractivism online exhibition assembles expressions of care, creativity and community from diverse sites of extraction and geographical contexts.   

V'cenza Cirefice and Patrick Bresnihan give the Seminar "The Spatial Injustice of Extractivism in the Sacrifce Zones of Ireland" for the Landscape, Law and Spatial Justice Seminar Series, UCD Sutherland School of Law from 12 noon- 1.30pm on Thursday 27th January. L106 Harty Boardroom. 

The opening session of Rural Voices, the Discipline of Geography's Rural Studies Centre Seminar Series 2022, established in conjunction with the Department of Rural and Community Development (DRCD), will feature Dr Andrew Forde, who leads on the development and oversight of the implementation of Our Rural Future. This session will focus on the national rural development policy context, the relationship between rural development and Ireland’s economic and social recovery, and the critical importance of prioritising a sustainable rural development agenda against a backdrop of mega trends such as climate change.   Date: Wednesday, January 26th, 2022 Time: 15.00-16.00   You can freely register in advance for this Zoom meeting here

Geography is proud to share that our very own Professor Michael O'Connell has been awarded the 2021 Frank Mitchell Award for Distinguished Service to Quaternary Research and Teaching by the Irish Quaternary Association (IQUA). Named for one of the leading figures in Irish Quaternary studies, Michael's award was announced during the IQUA Autumn Symposium (26th November) by his long-time colleague, Walter Doerfler, after which Michael was presented with a magnificent (and heavy!) sculpture of 5000-year old bog yew set upon engraved stone. Congratulations, Michael, and here's to many more years of Quaternary science!

A new white paper on Carbon Credits and Ecosystem Services has been jointly launched by the EU Carbon-Connects & Care-Peat projects. The analysis found that with the right framework in place it should be possible to finance the restoration of damaged peatlands, implement sustainable/alternative practices on peat soils, significantly reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions and provide a good living for farmers all at the same time. The report includes an analysis of a number of existing Peatland Carbon Credit schemes and accreditation standards and explores the potential of using Carbon Credits and other Ecosystem services to fund Peatland Restoration across Europe on a very large scale. The report also compares incomes from various types of farming common on peatlands across Europe with potential incomes from the sale of Carbon Credits and Ecosystem Services such as water storage and water purification. Download the White Paper Care Peat Website 

Brilliant to see the excellent work of so many of our geographers featured in the University Sustainability Report 

Congrats to Dr Eugene Farrell and all colleagues involved in the Coastal Atlas of Ireland which has just won theJournal.ie 'Best Irish Published Book of the Year 2021

Congratulations to Prof Cathal O'Donoghue, jointly awarded awarded the Miriam Hederman O’Brien Prize for 2020 for research on fiscal policy by the Foundation for Fiscal Studies.

The Moses research team at NUIG, Desiree Farrell, Dr Liam Carr, Prof Frances Fahy and Prof Stephen Hynes featured on RTE this week for their work on the Wild Atlantic Way [Read]

Dr. Terry Morley has recently been awarded a joint DAFM and EPA funded project in collaboration with Trinity College Dublin. The project, called RePEAT will digitise and geo-reference Irish peatland maps from the early 1800’s in order to allow for land use change and emission inventories and explore early environmental histories. The project runs for three years and will support one PhD and RA at NUI Galway and one post-doc at TCD. Further information can be found here

Professor John Morrissey was one of the contributing authors to the newly published UN strategy report on human security, New Threats to Human Security in the Anthropocene: Demanding Greater Solidarity. The report sets out the intertwined threats of human and environmental security the world is facing, and the urgent need for global solidarity in the Anthropocene. More from UN News, US Homeland Security, NHK World Japan, Saudi Gazette, Zee News India and Modern Diplomacy, or watch a summary on the report here.

NUIG led Energy PROSPECTS H2020 held it's project meeting and international expert panel workshop on energy citizenship in ULB Brussels from May 29th - June 1st.  Pictured here are NUIG Geographers Prof Frances Fahy and Dr Ben Schmidt

NUIG led Energy PROSPECTS H2020 held it's project meeting and international expert panel workshop on energy citizenship in ULB Brussels from May 29th - June 1st.  Pictured here are NUIG Geographers Prof Frances Fahy and Dr Ben Schmidt

Dr Eugene Farrell and leaders of the local voluntary group (Maharees Conservation Association) hosted the Climate Change Advisory Council secretariat and climate adaptation expert Karen Lavin (manager, New Zealand Climate Change Commission) last week to discuss the challenges of community-led coastal adaptation and climate actions in Ireland. 

Dr Eugene Farrell delivered a 1-day workshop for Engineers Ireland on 'Coastal processes and risk management'. The workshop focused on coastal protection in Ireland and future options linked to new technologies, new monitoring programmes and Nature-based Solutions.

MA in International Development students attended the Development Studies Association DSA Ireland Conference in the University of Limerick on November 17 which focused on Critical Perspectives on Sustainable Development. In the photo we have Olasunkanmi Akindele (Nigeria) Mai Ditie (Mali) Julieth Kweka  and Jackson Buzingo (Tanzania).

Congratulations to PhD student Chris Stewart who was awarded two 14C dates through the Bill Watts 14CHRONO Award from IQUA. These dates will be used on the lacustrine core retrieved from Glencullin Lough in County Mayo, helping constrain the timeline of sedimentation/environmental change since the Last Glacial Maximum in that locale. More information on IQUA awards can be found here: http://iqua.ie/awards/

After a series of six heats, 12 finalists have been chosen as contestants for the finale on Thurs 1st December at 5pm in the O'Donoghue Theatre. They will share the story of their research using three presentation slides, in three minutes, in front of three judges.  Finalists are from a variety of disciplines.  From Geography, Georgia MacMillan will be taking part and presenting her research on Dark Skies.   Tickets are free via Eventbrite - [more information]

Prof Frances Fahy, Lead Coordinator of the EnergyPROSPECTS European research project, was in Brussels this week with representatives from the EC to discuss the current status of the policy framework for Energy Citizenship.

Prof Frances Fahy and her SHARED GREEN DEAL team at Geography University of Galway are offering local/regional authorities and not-for-profit organisations the opportunity to partner with us to run social experiments focused on the following six priority Green Deal topics: Clean Energy, Circular Economy, Efficient Renovations, Sustainable Mobility, Sustainable Food, Preserving Biodiversity. SHARED GREEN DEAL will provide financial support of up to EUR 22,000 to run each local social experiment for one year from spring/summer 2023. In total, 24 European locations will be selected to run the social experiments (4 locations per stream).  See project website for more details: https://sharedgreendeal.eu/local-expt-call

“Benjamin Schmid, together with EnergyPROSPECTS partner Karin Thalberg (Jacques Delors Institute), participated in the 14th Citizens' Energy Forum, held in Dublin on 24 November. The Forum engages citizens’ interest groups, wide range of stakeholders including NGOs, businesses, as well as policy makers (ministries and regulators) on energy consumer issues in the context of the current energy crisis.” Link to event: https://ec.europa.eu/info/events/14th-citizens-energy-forum-2022-nov-24_en “

Dr Liam M. Carr was recently published in Coastal Environments in the West of Ireland: Sea, Land, and Spirit. His chapter, 'Can Knowledge Save Salmon? A Question of Consensus Ethics' examines the cultural and socioeconomic relationships between Atlantic salmon and coastal communities along the west of Ireland as a means of encouraging salmon conservation and restoration. The book is edited by Dr John Roney and Mark Beekey, both of Sacred Heart University. Dr Roney is Director of Sacred Heart's Irish Culture campus in An Daingean.

Dr. Rachel McArdle’s community mapping work with Pavee Point and TravAct Coolock is now published, and details of the launch are available here. 

PhD student Geoggia McMillan, last month,  presented as part of a panel at the Czech Republic Light Pollution workshop in Brno recently.  As her role is employment based, the main focus was on the work towards light pollution legislation, Georgia also got to include UG on the slides and reference the IRC position.   [Further info]

Associate Professor Maura Farrell provided the Keynote address for the recent EU CAP Network Rural Gender Equality event in Andolsheim, France. The event on the 15th November explored the crucial role of women in the economic and social development of rural areas. 

Dr. Una Murray attended the COP27 Climate Summit in Egypt as a member of the Irish Government Delegations Party Overflow. Una followed the COP27 Pavilion discussions on migration and displacement and attended Plenaries on Loss and Damage. The importance of keeping global warming within 1.5 degrees high on the Cop27 agenda was reiterated, along with need for a funding mechanism on Loss and Damage for those who already experience displacement due to climate change. Una met with Minister Eamon Ryan as part of the Irish delegation. 

New publication by Geography PhD student Yuhan Zheng, Deciphering the spatial and temporal evolution of urban anthropogenic resilience within the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration [Read]

A recent tourism publication to which Prof Mary Cawley contributed with colleagues in SEMRU (Socio-Economic Marine Research Unit), in the Whitaker Institute. Deely, John; Hynes, Stephen; Cawley, Mary (2022) Overseas visitor demand for marine and coastal tourism, Marine Policy, 143, 105176[Read]

In his column ‘Another Life’ in the Weekend Review of The Irish Times (Saturday, 5 November 2022), Michael Viney weaves a story around bog-deal (pine) in ancient & recent times in Ireland. The piece includes an iconic painting of pine stumps in west Mayo by Viney. Research carried out on bog-pine and oak in the Palaeoenvironmental Research Unit, University of Galway, is featured as well as related research on bog-oak and tephra (volcanic shards) carried out by palaeoecologists in Queen’s University Belfast and elsewhere in Europe and USA. See: Another Life: Connacht’s bog-deal - a gift of fierce fuel?https://www.irishtimes.com/environment/2022/11/05/another-life-connachts-bog-deal-a-gift-of-fierce-fuel/ The illustration used here shows a pine stump from Derryeighter bog, west of Oughterard, Co. Galway that was sampled for dendrochronology and radiocarbon dating. The ring-width pattern of this long-lived bog-pine, which started life over 5300 years ago and died about 360 years later, is shown (red curve). Further details regarding this and other fossil pine timbers in the region are available in: O’Connell, M., Jennings, E., Molloy, K. 2021. Holocene vegetation dynamics, landscape change and human impact in western Ireland as revealed by multidisciplinary, palaeoecological investigations of peat deposits and bog-pine in lowland Connemara. Geographies, 1 (3), 251–291. https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7086/1/3/15 ‘The Other Clare’ that Viney refers to is the current volume (vol. 46, 2022). The article he refers to is available at: https://aran.library.nuigalway.ie/handle/10379/17199.

On the 21st of October 2022, BSc Social Sciences students were given a talk from Kenneth Deery, CEO of Galway Chamber, and discussions included what the future of Galway will and should look like. 

Dr. Una Murray’s work as editor for the FAO UN Report on the State of Land and Water in the Near East ad North Africa Region is published. Link to the Report is [here]

One of the MA in International Development Practice Students, Jackson Buzingo from Tanzania, attended the 50th Session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FA) in between 10 to 13 October 2022.

Students from the new MA in Geography (International Development Practice) are settling in well to college life and study. Photo shows them at a lecture with visitors from Makerere University School of Law, Uganda, who talked about refugees and trafficking. 

Prof Cathal O’Donoghue published a major Forestry Economics Report during the Summer, which was presented to a cross-party Oireachtas Committee [Read]

Páraic Mac Donnchadha of Grid International ran a very engaging training workshop with our Geography Master’s cohort – 30 students from all around the world. In a world where multi-disciplinarity demands us to work in ‘Teams’ on a daily basis, Páraic and colleague Marion demonstrated through practical activities the value of utilising all the synergies that are possible when working in teams. The full-day workshop gave students training in teamwork skills where both concern for results and for people go hand in hand to achieve outputs that exceed those achievable by individuals. It was a challenging and rewarding day for us all. 

On Monday 24th October, students in the Geography and Geosystems BSc programme had a field trip to Connemara in conjunction with local community organisations. The aim was to perform a baseline ecological study of a degraded blanket bog to determine the status and condition for future restoration efforts.

Gordon Bromley is heading a new collaborative project, funded by Geological Survey Ireland (Short Call 2022 programme), entitled ‘A multi-proxy geology approach to resolving critical uncertainties in Irish cosmogenic nuclide geochronology. Involving partners at UCD, University of Maine, and Maynooth University, this Galway-led 14 month-long investigation will combine cosmogenic geochemistry and traditional techniques such as 14C and U-Th dating, along with Quaternary geomorphology, to constrain in detail the demise of the last Irish ice sheet and help calibrate the cosmogenic technique for improved application throughout Ireland.

MA-ESD Programme Director, Prof. John Morrissey, and MIDP Programme Director, Dr Una Murray, have been appointed to the Royal Irish Academy’s Standing Committee for International Affairs for a 4-year term.

On Friday 20th 2022, students from the first year BASS social sciences course had a fieldtrip to the Burren with Burrenbeo, led in part by Áine Bird, Geography PhD student.

When: Thursday 27 October 2pm-4pmWhere: Zoom - Register hereUniversity of Galway's Rural Voices Seminar Series is collaborating with the RURALIZATION Horizon 2020 Project to co-host the project’s final national conference in Ireland. This 2-hour online conference, taking place via Zoom, will engage with the issue of farm generational renewal and the wider question of facilitating new generations in rural areas. You can find more information and the draft conference agenda [here]

Are you a young person interested in the future that exists for you in a rural area? Then join us for an afternoon of tea and chat exploring different visions for a sustainable rural future.  Date and time: Thursday 22 September 2022, 3-5pmLocation: THB-G011 Seminar Room, Hardiman Research Building, University of Galway This event is targeted at young adults aged approximately 18 to 30. Registration is required – register [here] to save your place.  As part of the RURALIZATION project the Rural Studies Research Cluster explored the visions held by youth for their ideal or ‘dream’ future in a rural area in 2035. During this meet-up we will discuss what the research found and debate the wider challenges to realising these future visions.  You can also find out more [here]

Prof Frances Fahy represented the University of Galway at the Green Deal Arena in Brussels. In the event, which is part of the SharedGreenDeal project, future images and transition paths in the areas of energy, circular economy, renovation, mobility, food and biodiversity are being discussed.”

Prof. Lorraine Elliott (Australian National University), hosted by John Morrissey and the Geopolitics and Justice Cluster, presented a talk on Sept. 7th on ’the centrality of justice in pathways to low carbon economies’, as part of this year’s welcoming event for all new postgraduate students”. [More information]  

Researchers from NUIG (Dr. Terry Morley, Geography) along with Údarás and the local Arts community are hosting a public event this Saturday (27th August) in Connemara to launch part of the MultiPeat project. This aspect of the project will involve community-led restoration of degraded blanket bog habitat. [Read]

Dr. Terry Morley’s research project using the Bog Commissioner’s Maps (1814) as proxies for historical peatland extent was highlighted in the Silicon Republic  and Agriland recently.  https://www.siliconrepublic.com/innovation/peatlands-ireland-data-climate-research https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/repeat-project-200-year-old-maps-helping-to-direct-our-climate-change-path/

Between July 18 and July 22 Geography staff and students participated in the UGI—IGU Centennial Congress, including: Liam Carr, Mary Cawley, Bronagh Dillon, France Fahy, Kate Flood, Rachel McArdle. The congress was a great chance to learn from the organisers before the 35th International Geographical Congress is held in Dublin in 2024 by the Geographical Society of Ireland. Please follow @IGC2024Dub for more updates. 

Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates for a fully-funded (fees and stipend), full-time PhD position at Ollscoil na Gaillimhe - University of Galway. The University of Galway is ranked within the top 1 % of higher education institutions world-wide. The project aims to develop a better understanding of the role of culture and creativity in the development of places (namely cities in the peripheral European context). You will be part of a team tasked with the delivery of UrbanLab Galway's commitments as part of its role in the IN SITU project which brings together leading approaches to investigating economic evolution and diversification in considering the future of place development in the urban context of six partner EU regions.   Funding Agency:  The project is funded by Horizon Europe under its Research and Innovation Actions.   Qualifications / Expertise:  The candidate should have a 1st or 2:1 Bachelor’s degree and/or a Master’s in human geography, sociology, economics or in a related social science area. The ideal candidate should have experience in as many of the following techniques: quantitative research skills; data mapping; data mining; database construction; literature review. The candidate should have excellent communication and organisational skills; be highly motivated and passionate about developing new products; and have strong written, oral and interpersonal skills. The candidate should be able to work independently and as a part of team.   Duties:  The successful candidate will be involved in: the surveying of partner regions and the identification of key challenges in developing urban areas in peripheral regions. This will involve mapping data and collating information of the key socioeconomic characteristics of each region. Key will also be an investigation into the role of the cultural and creative industries in addressing the development challenges faced by each region. Other duties: Conference and Meeting attendance and participation; Report and paper writing; Participation to training courses; Undergraduate teaching and/or laboratory demonstrations; Travel to project partners’ institutes; Other duties relevant to the post.   Start Date:  October 2022.   To Apply:  Applicants should submit a cover letter outlining their suitability to the post, a detailed CV, transcripts and the contact details of three referees. The application pack should be emailed to Dr. Pat Collins (p.collins@nuigalway.ie). Closing date for receipt of applications is 12:00 on Thursday, 15th of September 2022.   Fully funded (fees and stipend), full-time PhD position. The project is funded by Horizon Europe.   Dr. Patrick Collins Lecturer in Economic Geography School of Geography, Archaeology & Irish Studies UrbanLab Galway NUI Galway @galwaylab     Recent article: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/2022/07/20/galway-is-well-able-to-carry-the-cultural-weight-of-the-nation-both-officially-and-unofficially/

Dr Eugene Farrell and Mr Brandon Taylor (2022 MSc Coastal and Marine Environments) successfully deployed Irelands first CoastSnap station in Derrynane, Co. Kerry in partnership with the OPW. The hugely successful worldwide CoastSnap project was designed in Australia. The Derrynane station stemmed from a student-led NUI Galway Explore project with Ms Emily Rick (2019 MSc Coastal and Marine Environments) and Dr. Farrell. [Further Info]

Seán Binder is a certified rescue diver who has spent years of his young life rescuing migrants from the sea at Lesbos in Greece. He now faces the threat of 25 years in prison, following charges by the Greek government of people smuggling and espionage. Seán joins John Morrissey in conversation at the O’Donoghue Centre on Saturday July 16th (2pm) for ‘Drowning’, an event that makes a stand for humanitarian, solidarity and human rights in protecting the most vulnerable. [Further info]

19-23 July Photovoice Exhibition of V'cenza Cirefice's research project exploring resistance to extractivism in the Sperrins. At the Playhouse Derry, opening night with artist talk on 21st July 7pm. All welcome. [further info]

Mars is the latest artwork by UK artist Luke Jerram.  Measuring seven metres in diameter, the artwork features 120dpi detailed NASA imagery of the Martian surface. At an approximate scale of 1:1million, each centimetre of the internally lit spherical sculpture represents 10 kilometres of the surface of Mars.  Urban Galway together with Galway international arts festival invites you to join us July 14th - 17th on Peresse's plaza Nuns Island.  [further info]

Geographers Prof Frances Fahy and Dr Gary Goggins discuss tackling energy consumption in the most recent edition of Cois  Coiribe [Read]

Maeve McGandy, PhD student in Geography, presented her current research at the International Summer School of Political Ecology at the University of Ljubljana this week. The theme of the week was 'new concepts for just transitions'.

Kathleen Stokes participated the 8th Antipode Institute for the Geographies of Justice in Barcelona this June. Hosted by Antipode Foundation, the UCLA Institute on Inequality and Democracy and La Hidra Cooperativa, the institute brought together movement-based and university-based scholars to consider housing justice, mutual aid and solidarity, and academic power and precarity.

Representing the NUIG-led Energy PROSPECTS project, Dr Benjamin Schmid spoke on “Energy Citizenship; Ideals, Ideology and Ideal types in the Energy Transition” at the 3rd International Conference on Energy Research & Social Science, held June 20-23 in Manchester [More information]

Dr Eugene Farrell writes about the potential benefits of coastal and marine Nature-based Solutions to build climate resilience and tackle key societal challenges in Ireland. Cois Coiribe is a platform for views and opinions from some of our university’s top academics and researchers, demonstrating impact through powerful stories. [Read]    

Postgraduate researchers from across the School of Geography, Archaeology & Irish Studies enjoyed a hybrid writing workshop led my Dr Irina Ruppo from the Academic Writing Centre at NUIG. Great day working through writing challenges with fellow postgrads.

NUIG led Energy PROSPECTS H2020 held it's project meeting and international expert panel workshop on energy citizenship in ULB Brussels from May 29th - June 1st.  Pictured here are NUIG Geographers Prof Frances Fahy and Dr Ben Schmidt

Dr Gary Goggins, Adjunct Lecturer in Geography was an invited speaker at EUGreen Week this May, presenting the Wild Atlantic Nature project.

Dr Eugene Farrell was invited to present his community-based research on 'SDG13 - Climate Action' to the prestigious EuroCoast Zoominar series on Friday 27th May. The lecture ‘Building coastal resilience: one local community directing national policy’ is based on his ongoing research in Ireland and within the European Marine Board working group on 'Coastal Resilience'.

Congratulations to Dr Rachel McArdle and Kate Flood who both won travel bursaries from the GSI to travel to the IGU in Paris in July 2022

Maeve McGandy was awarded a GSI Postgraduate Fieldwork Travel Award at the 2022 Conference of Irish Geographers. This award will support Maeve’s PhD fieldwork in Mayo this summer.

Congrats to Dr Gary Goggins (Adjunct Lecturer in Geography), Prof Frances Fahy and their co-authors on their new publication in the international journal Energy Policy (Citescore 10.1, Impact 6.1):  The role of culture in advancing sustainable energy policy and practice. Link to the article is here.

“We know that Ireland doesn’t have the money to defend the whole coastline and the reality is that the social fabric of rural communities – already tearing at the seams – will break down completely as areas are left to fend for themselves and are eventually abandoned for higher ground,” says Dr Eugene Farrell [Read]

Thanks to our colleagues in UL for hosting a great CIG in Limerick last week. Many of our postgrads and post docs presented this year, and for many the event was their first face to face conference in years!

Dr Kathleen Stokes, Dr Aurianne Stroude and Prof Frances Fahy - present their research findings and hosted workshops with 13 lighthouse cities from across Europe exploring governance and sustainable lifestyles (15-18th May 2022)

A team from Galway attended the First ENLIGHT European Dialogue in Uppsala University May 11th and 12th. The theme was sharing ideas on methodology for collaboration projects between universities and cities. Dr. Mark Justin Rainey, from Geography presented work on Community Conversations on Creative Space with a focus on Nuns Island and Dr. Una Murray attended to meet colleagues on ENLIGHT’s equity workpackage. Presentations from the event are available on the ENLIGHT Youtube channel and slides are published on the ENLIGHT website

Dr Kevin Lynch and the Bertra Connected group are busy this week with Biodiversity Week events. The group has secured Heritage Council funding to develop stewardship of this Natura 2000 site. They will be developing a long term vision by collaborating with all stakeholders in the area, as well as those with interest from further afield. Get involved Events running all summer. Instagram, Facebook & Twitter @bertraconnected

Dr Maura Farrell was one of two Keynote Speakers at the Irish Rural Link 30th Anniversary Conference in Athlone on Friday, 6th May. The conference explored changes in Rural Ireland, past, present, and future and was opened by the Minister Heather Humphreys, Minister for Rural and Community Development. 

Four students (Julia Maine, Ben Ryan, Carlotta Schwoerbel, Brandon Taylor) from MSc Coastal and Marine Environments did a networking event with the Offshore Wind Energy Development Team at Gavin & Doherty Geosolutions at Trinity College on April 21st. As part of the day, the students led a round of the MSP Challenge Game, which invites players to take on various stakeholder roles while working collaboratively to reach important sustainability targets as they plan the future use of their marine and coastal environments.