Tag Archives: University of Limerick

A HEARBROKEN Doora-Barefield mother-of-four has described her son, Fionn as a “talented young man and a well of endless potential”. Fionn O’Brien, (20), died following a tragic accident while he was surfing in Lough Donnell beach off the coast between Doonbeg and Quilty between 6.30am and 7am on Monday. It is understood that the former Rice College student got into some difficulty while he was in the water, his friends administered CPR and called the emergency services. Emergency services arrived and he was airlifted by the Shannon-based Coast Guard helicopter R115 for emergency medical treatment to University Hospital Limerick (UHL). He was pronounced dead on Monday around lunch time. In a heart-rendering tribute at his Funeral Mass in the Church of Our Lady, Fahy Hall, Roslevan, on Thursday, his mother, Michelle recalled their son, Fionn arrived promptly into their lives and their contented baby grew into the smiling calm and assured young man they knew and loved. She told the congregation the …

THREE Clare students have put themselves in the picture for award success on the double. Ennis Coláiste Muire students Sybil Perkins and Catherine Gorman, alongside Ella Bliss from St Joseph’s Secondary School in Tulla were among the students from the mid-west region to recently be presented with certificates of achievement from the Kemmy Business School (KBS) University of Limerick. The students were given the prestigious award after obtaining distinctions (90-100%) in Junior Cycle Business in 2019.  The event, held in association with the Business Studies Teachers Association of Ireland (BSTAI), celebrates and recognises excellence in Junior Cycle Business Studies. However, this wasn’t the only win for the talented Clare students. Following the awards ceremony, the Kemmy Business School ran a social media photograph competition asking awardees to submit photographs of themselves with their awards. So enthused by the effort and participation of applicants were the committee that it was decided to expand their prize pool to the 10 best photographs, with Sybil, Catherine …

PUPILS from an Ennis school have demonstrated their futures are bright when it comes to identifying and solving health issues in Ireland today. Transition year students of Coláiste Muire Isolde Hegarty, Molly Hennessy, Hannah Clune, Sinéad Ní Dhúlaing and Éabha Warner have received an award at the second BD STEM Stars competition. The local students scooped €5,000 in funding for STEM projects after coming in second runner up place. Their entry proposed an app to support teenagers in managing their mental health. The Vedriti App and Panic Button Technology is a safe space online to support the mental health and well-being of teenagers. The students identified the challenges of the pandemic as putting even greater pressure on mental health and looked at how they could provide teenagers with peer-to-peer support as well as information on where to go for further help. They beat off competition from across Limerick and Clare in showing step-by-step how they firstly identified an issue and …

THE University of Limerick has got a five star rating in an influential global ranking. UL has achieved the highest possible standard in the new QS Stars Rating System, the only university in Ireland to achieve this in 2021. UL joins an exclusive group of universities worldwide to receive the overall five-star status in the ranking, which is considered one of the most influential and credible ratings for universities globally. The QS Stars Rating System was launched in 2009 to assess higher education institutions more broadly than rankings alone and five stars is the maximum score that can be achieved. It is compiled by education analysts Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), the world’s leading provider of services, analytics, and insight to the global higher education sector. The five-star rating is valid until March 2024 and follows a rigorous and independent data collection process and analysis of performance metrics by QS. The evaluation process at UL lasted five months and focused on the …

A NEW transformational development costing an estimated €400 million across three key sites in Limerick City will generate major economic benefits for South-East Clare. That’s according to Deputy Cathal Crowe, who revealed plans will be unveiled in the near future for the development of a new industrial zone near Knockalisheen, Meelick. Limerick City and County Council has announced a new transformational development proposal across three key sites in Limerick City in an investment worth in the region of €400 million. This new development will include a new state-of-the-art medical facility and will see the creation of over 200 construction jobs across the sites. Some 108 new one to four bed affordable and social housing units are also included in this major project. The three key sites are in Thomondgate, Hyde Road Park and Coonagh, which is located on the Limerick Clare border. Deputy Crowe predicted there would also be an announcement in the near future about the provision of a …

TWO Clare students have been selected to receive prestigious scholarships. Annie Reeves from Mountshannon, who is studying mobile communication and internet security at the University of Limerick, has been named among the recipients of Intel’s Women in Technology scholarship programme. Also Intel Shannon has presented a Paul Whelan Memorial Scholarship to Tim Hannon, a computer science student from Ennis. 15 years ago Intel in Ireland launched its Women in Technology scholarship program for the first time. The scholarship program aims to encourage a new generation of high-achieving women to take up the challenge of a career in science and technology and to empower them by fostering educational opportunities. The scholarship program offers a monetary grant, valued at €3,000 per annum, as well as opportunities for work placements at the Intel Leixlip and Shannon campus’. Each scholar is also assigned a mentor who is an Intel employee to assist and provide advice on managing their academic career. Since the Intel Women …

THE new €19.5 million 60-bed block modular unit to tackle overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) will be fully operational almost two months after a recent predicted timeframe given by a government minister. Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People, Mary Butler stated in the Seanad recently “from a construction perspective, the new ward block should be ready to be operational by Monday, November 9”. However, it has now been confirmed the long-awaited modular unit will come on stream in three distinct phases, starting with 20 beds next Monday and will not be fully operational until January. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has told Deputy Cathal Crowe a new 20-bed ward, which is part of the 60-bed unit will open next Monday, this will be followed by a further 20 in December and the final 20 will be up and running in January. “A state-of-the-art facility will be in place at UHL now, and the timing couldn’t be better …

WITH the country now under further Covid-19 restrictions, a University of Limerick study has been examining the effect that lockdown can have on the mental health of children and adolescents. Covid-19 has caused major disruptions to the lives of families, through social distancing measures, school closures and lockdown, all of which threaten the wellbeing of young people and their families. Researchers at UL have been exploring the specific impact of one month in lockdown on the mental health of children and adolescents. The study, entitled Co-SPACE (Covid-19 Supporting Parents, Adolescents and Children during Epidemics) is led by Dr Jennifer McMahon and a team of researchers at UL. It is linked to a study of the same name in the UK led by Professor Cathy Creswell and Dr Polly Waite of the Department of Psychiatry and Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford. “Increasingly researchers and practitioners are concerned about the effects of strict restrictions, such as those experienced from March to June, …