Nuacht ón gColáiste - Issue 11

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGETEACHTAIREACHT AN UACHTARÁIN

A Comhgleacaithe,

I write to you as we reach the end of what has been one of the mostexciting and productive phases in the 117 year history of the College.However, this occasion has been tinged with great sadness as werecently said farewell to our dear friend, Professor Peadar Cremin,former College President who passed away at home on Monday 30November following an illness. The high esteem in which he was heldby all who knew him both in person and by reputation was evident bythe overwhelming messages of sympathy and support received by theCollege over the past week. As indeed it was by the hundreds ofpeople who travelled from near and far to pay their respects to Peadarand his family as he lay in repose in the College chapel on Wednesday2nd December.

I succeeded Peadar as President of Mary Immaculate College in 2011.And so as President I want to formally extend the deepest sympathyof the College community - staff and students, the Trustees andmembers of An Bórd Rialaithe to Áine, to Siobhán, Ciara, Sorcha andClíodha and the wider Cremin family.

I first met Peadar in April 2011 in Limerick and we drove to MIC for atour of the campus. His enthusiasm for the campus was infectious andwe toured the Tailteann building, stopping to view the Imogen Stuart’sStanding Stone - whose work he admired so much - with the prayer toMary on the back which had been especially translated from Old Irishby Seámus Heaney, then onto the TARA building where he becameeven more excited showing me the magnificent Lime Tree Theatre.These buildings are in no small way a testimony and are part of thelegacy to his great work at Mary Immaculate College during hispresidency from 1999 - 2011.

Peadar had great energy and worked tirelessly on behalf of others,especially students. He also was keen on ensuring that students alsohad an opportunity to work and study in places such as the SubSaharan Africa – he was an advocate for the poor in that greatCatherine McAuley and Mercy tradition. He was also deeply committedto the Irish language and culture.

I had the great privilege just two weeks ago to thank Peadar in personon behalf of our current students and staff and on those who will cometo our College in the future for the great work that he achieved on theirbehalf.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

CollegeNews

Issue 11, WINTER 2015

President’s MessageTeachtaireacht an Uachtaráin

Tributes to Peadar CreminIn Ómós do Peadar Cremin

Recent Staff AppointmentsCeapacháin Forine le Déanaí

Recent NewsAn Nuacht Is Déanaí

Focus OnSpotsholas ar

Forthcoming EventsImeachtaí atá le Teacht

Lime Tree Theatre EventsImeachtaí atá le Teacht

Professor Peadar Cremin 1949 - 2015An tOllamh Peadar Ó Croimín 1949 - 2015

MIC Newsletter AUTUMN 2015 print.qxp_Layout 1 11/12/2015 14:50 Page 1

I was delighted at the start of this semester to inform you of ourforthcoming incorporation of St. Patrick’s College, Thurles, to berenamed as MIC, St. Patrick’s Campus, Thurles. As a result of thisincorporation, which will take place formally in July 2016, MaryImmaculate College will become a multi-campus institution offeringnine undergraduate degree programmes in Education and theLiberal Arts, as well as a wide range of Continuing ProfessionalDevelopment offerings for teachers and numerous postgraduateopportunities to Masters and PhD level. This development willconsolidate the position of MIC as the most significant provider ofinitial teacher education outside of Dublin and the largest institutionoperating independently in Ireland as a specialist provider ofprestigious, high quality programmes for those wishing to becomeprofessional teachers at primary and secondary levels.

We are currently engaged in a pre-incorporation programme thatwill ensure a cohesive student experience at both campuses, withthe high quality of educational provision and infrastructure that MICis known for in Limerick City extending to St. Patrick’s Campus,Thurles; thereby ensuring an important new development for highereducation within the Mid-West Regional Authority Area and itsStrategic Plan for 2012-30. I would like to thank the many officesand their teams for their on-going contribution to this process.

This year marked a new high-water mark in student numbers whichexceeded 3,500 for the first time. Our suite of undergraduateofferings has expanded dramatically and now includes a new andinnovative BA in Contemporary & Applied Theatre programme, andwe were delighted to welcome the Minister for Diaspora Affairs,Minister Jimmy Deenihan T.D. on campus recently to officially launchthe programme.

Demand for each of our existing undergraduate programmesremains high as does our postgraduate growth with our recentconferring ceremony seeing the 100th doctoral award since our firstPhD student processed in 2003.

I would like to thank every member of staff for their personalcontribution to these and to our many other recent achievements.In particular I would like to congratulate our colleagues Martina NíFhátharta and Seán de Brún, Department of Language, Literacy, andMathematics Education, following their recent European LanguageLabel of the Year Award 2015 for Bua na Cainte, a creative,innovative and fully-interactive Irish language programme forprimary schools. Congratulations also to Anne Marie Morrin, VisualArts Educator and Dr Anne Dolan, lecturer in Primary Geography,MIC, who were among the 20 nominees shortlisted for the NationalForum Teaching Experts Award 2015. Anne Marie and Anne’snomination was based on their innovative interdisciplinary workwith third year B.Ed. students from Visual Art and PrimaryGeography.

I am delighted to inform you that the National Forum, through itsTeaching Enhancement Fund, has just funded three projectsinvolving MIC. The most significant of these is REX, ResearchExpertise Exchange project, which MIC will lead, and which webelieve will make a major national contribution. Dr Anne O’Keeffe,Dr Marek McGann, Marie Ryan and Dr Deirdre Ryan are to be

commended for this successful application. This will be the first timethat MIC has led a project under the Teaching and LearningEnhancement fund.

Mary Immaculate College recently signed its first MoU in Brazil withthe Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo, one of Brazil's largestand most prestigious universities. Indeed it is considered to be oneof the most important universities in Latin America in the fields ofEducation, Philosophy, Communications, Law, Social Sciences,Economics and Social Service. It is hoped that this partnership willsee an exciting exchange of ideas through research collaboration,short teaching exchanges and student mobility.

Work is progressing on a number of key and immediate areas ofcollaboration including the development of NISE, the creation of aFederated Graduate School, regional academic planning and thedevelopment of an enhanced programme in the Humanities. Wewill continue to keep you updated of any new developments.

Our current Strategic Plan states that by 2016, we will have made‘significant progress’ in achieving the aim of building our new libraryand I am delighted to inform you that we are on schedule to deliveron this objective. Stage 1 of the procurement process to appoint aDesign team has been completed and a short-list of six architect-ledmulti-disciplinary teams has been established. The six teams havenow visited the campus and are currently working on their tenderproposals for submission this month. The process will be completedin January 2016 and the appointed team will set to work designingthe new Library facility.

cont’d

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Engagement with the Higher Education Authority in relation to theprovision of funding for the Library project is on-going.Representatives of the HEA visited the campus in September 2015,and confirmed their concurrence with the Feasibility Studyrecommendation that delivery of a whole new Library building,followed by demolition of the existing Library, is the most appropriateoption. Both College Management and the Students Union continueto lobby public representatives regarding funding for the project.

The design stage for the refurbishment of the Mount which will beknown as the John Henry Newman Campus, as a fit-for-purposeresearch and postgraduate facility is now completed and submissionsfor the construction tender have been received. On awarding theconstruction tender the works to refurbish, repurpose, and revitalisethe building and surrounds will commence in January 2016, leadingto the delivery of MIC’s John Henry Newman campus later in 2016. APlanning Application has been submitted to Limerick City and CountyCouncil for a new direct pedestrian walkway to appropriately link theJohn Henry Newman campus with the main MIC campus. Subject tothe granting of this permission, the pedestrian walkway will beadded to the refurbishment works contract.

2016 is already shaping up to be an exciting year for the College withthe RDS Primary Science Fair Limerick taking place on campus onJanuary 15th and 16th. We were delighted to learn that applicationsfrom Munster schools to the 2016 fair almost doubled on last year’sapplicants with over 120 classes applying to attend the event in MaryImmaculate College alone.

There are a number of exciting events being planned on campus tomark the 1916 centenary including conferences, photographic andacademic poster exhibitions, public lectures, drama workshops and acommemorative quilt project. We look forward to hearing moreabout these events as the year progresses.

To all of those staff members who joined us since the summer Isincerely hope that your first semester as part of the MIC communitywas an enjoyable one. You are now part of a uniquely close-knit andcollegiate professional community and I know that you will have arewarding experience here.

In conclusion I would like to take this opportunity to wish everymember of staff and your families a very happy and peacefulChristmas and a joyful New Year.

Go dtuga Dia Nollaig mhór mhaith duit féin agus do mhuintir agus godté sibh go léir slán sa bhliain nua.

_____________________________

Prof. Michael A Hayes

CollegeNews

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Tributes to the late Prof. Peadar Cremin, former President of Mary Immaculate College.

Died Monday, 30th November, 2015

A native of Kerry, Professor Cremin taught in Scoil Íosagáin, Farranree, Cork from 1969 to 1976. He joined the staff of MaryImmaculate College in 1976 as a lecturer in the Education Department. From 1978 to 1998, Professor Cremin lectured in Socialand Environmental Studies and was responsible for the organisation of Teaching Practice. From 1994 to 1999, he was theActing Head of Education.

In 1999 Professor Cremin was appointed as the first lay President of the College in 101 years. Over the term of his presidency,the College community expanded dramatically with, by the time of his retirement in 2011, over 3,000 students enrolled on30 different academic programmes at undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral levels.

Professor Cremin contributed hugely to the development of the College, including the growth in student numbers, theintroduction of new academic programmes and the physical transformation of the campus. He oversaw the completion ofa major capital investment programme to a total of €40 million, resulting in the provision of class-leading facilities thatinclude Tailteann, our award winning multi-purpose sports complex, and TARA – a teaching and research building. ProfessorCremin was also the driving force behind the establishment of Limerick's premier theatre venue, the very successful 510-seat Lime Tree Theatre.

Throughout his long and exceptional career in Mary Immaculate College, Peadar – as he was always known - made anindelible mark in three respects particularly. He was a natural leader, as likely in company to make the first foray into taleor rhyme as he was, amongst colleagues, to set an ambitious vision and marshall all and sundry towards its realisation.Secondly, with remarkable tenacity, and in the face of towering odds, he succeeded in orchestrating the physicaltransformation of the campus by wrestling funds from an economy entering free-fall in mid-2008. Lastly, and mostimportantly, he fostered and epitomised the hallmark quality of the College so prized by our students and colleagues, pastand present: that of community - or, to portray that notion more fittingly in the Irish language he loved, meitheal.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.


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Peadar Cremin will always have a special place in the history of theMary Immaculate College. He was the first President of the Collegewho was not a Mercy Sister and was very conscious of the heritagethat was placed in his hands. Generous in giving of himself and of histime, Peadar was zealous in his commitment and dedication to theadvancement of the College for the benefit of students, staff and thewider community in Limerick, and further afield that the Collegeserves. It was under his presidency, and as a result of his persistence,that the fine new buildings, lecture halls, classrooms, including theLime Tree Theatre were built, resulting in a campus worthy of theexpanding role of the College in the city and in the country. Under hispresidency too, great strides were made in developing the relationshipbetween Mary Immaculate College and the University of Limerick,facilitating the approval of new programmes. Committed to Catholichigher education, Peadar put considerable efforts into theestablishment of links with Colleges abroad, especially in the UnitedStates, and built on the relationships that existed with Mercy Collegesin the USA. We have much to be grateful for in remembering Peadar’scontribution throughout his 35 years in Mary Immaculate College,especially his 12 years as President. Bishop Brendan Leahy, Bishopof Limerick; Chairperson of the Board of Trustees and An BordRialaithe of Mary Immaculate College

Peadar made an unparalleled contribution to Teacher Education inIreland and to many other fields of education internationally. In hisrole as President of Mary Immaculate College and as a member of theUniversity of Limerick Governing Authority, he played a pivotal role inthe development of the positive institutional, professional andpersonal relationships that have established and built the linkbetween Mary Immaculate College and the University of Limerick. Iknow I speak for all the campus community in extending ourcondolences to Peadar’s wife Áine, his daughters, grandchildren andfamily and his colleagues in Mary Immaculate College. May he rest inpeace. Professor Don Barry, President, University of Limerick

Peadar was a regular attendee at INTO Congress and the INTO AnnualEducation Conference. Over many years he made numerous valuablecontributions to INTO conferences, particularly in the area teachereducation and teacher professionalism. He was proud of theachievements of teachers, passionate in his support for teachers andteaching and a strong opponent of what he saw as efforts to reducestandards. President of the INTO Emma Dineen described him as afriend and ally of teachers and said he would be sadly missed by hismany colleagues and friends in the world of education both in Irelandand abroad. INTO

I extend the sympathy of all here in the HEA, Board and Executive, tohis friends and former colleagues in the College. Tom Boland, HEA

My deepest sympathy to you and your colleagues on Peadar'suntimely death. I am quite shocked - I had heard he was unwell buthadn't expected this outcome so soon. He was a kind and generousfriend whom I held in the highest regard. Pauric Travers, PresidentEmeritus of St. Patrick’s College, Drumcondra

We at St Patrick's College Drumcondra, sister College to MaryImmaculate College Limerick, wish to extend our deepest sympathyto Peadar's family, and to his colleagues in MIC. Peadar was a great

friend to the College and would have taken the long road to Dublin formany meetings in Drumcondra over the years. We deeply mourn hispassing. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dilis. Professor Daire Keogh,President, SPD

Tá brón ar Gaelcholáiste Luimnigh a chloisteáil gur cailleadh an DrPeadar Cremin @MICLimerick - Ar Dheis Dé go raibh a Anam Dílis.Gaelcholáiste Luimnigh

Peader was the personification of the caring ethos of this College. Iwas always amazed at his ability to turn up to the funerals of closerelatives of both students and staff. Often, I am sure at great personalinconvenience to both himself and his family, he would get from oneside of the country to the other, or from an important meeting toempathise, support and comfort the bereaved student or staffmember. His presence meant so much to people at their times ofsadness and grief and was much appreciated. Many of the formerstudents I met at his wake in the College Chapel on Wednesday lastwere there because Peadar and Aine were with them in their time ofloss. Ni bheidh a leitheid aris ann. Fr. Michael Wall, College Chaplain.

It is hard to get my head around the fact that somebody who was sodynamic, vibrant, determined and steadfast has been taken from us.Peadar was an extraordinary man. There are not too many peoplewho are known universally by just their first name, but that wasPeadar. There are not too many people who found it easy to engagewith people from all walks of life, irrespective of gender, creed, rank,status or nationality, but that was Peadar. His kind hospitality, (andthat of Áine’s), knew no bounds. I was always amazed by his energy,his focus, his dedication and his good humour. The Nobel laureate,Seamus Heaney, once wrote that “I have begun to think of life as aseries of ripples widening out from an original centre”. No doubt, thatwas Peadar’s philosophy too, given the manner in which he reachedout to so many people at home and abroad. He did make a difference.His charitable and voluntary work at home and abroad, particularly inAfrica, displayed his deep-rooted concern for his fellow human beings.He was a man of deep faith, which no doubt helped sustain him inrecent months. Above all else, Peadar was a devoted husband andfamily man. Ruairí R. Walsh, former HR Manager, MIC

Peadar was a great and generous man and we are the poorer for hispassing. He left the world a better place than he found it. Prof. JohnOzolins, ACU in Australia

We cherished our friendship with Peadar and Aine and got to meettheir children and watch them grow over the years. Peadar was Irishto the core. It was he who brought MIC into ICUSTA, with urging byJohn Hayes, and MIC has been one of the stalwarts in the organisation.May God bless Peader and Prof. Hayes for their work in Catholic HigherEducation. Tip and Norma McFadden

Peadar was a pioneer in the fight for social justice, devoting hisconsiderable energy and talent to the cause before it became popularto do so. He harnessed the resources of the College to benefit thecommunity in Limerick, Ireland, and the world and he encouraged andfacilitated others in the College to become involved in the work. Ipersonally benefitted hugely from his mentorship and support. Peadarhad a love for the natural world and was a champion for care of the


environment. He had an insatiable curiosity and thirst for learning andI learned something new in every conversation I had with him. ProfClaire W. Lyons, former Head of the Department of Learning, Society,and Religious Education, MIC

Underlying all the wonderful tributes which have been paid to Peadar,whether in relation to his own academic work or to his manyoutstanding administrative achievements, the quality which mostcharacterised him as a person was his essential human goodness. Herespected and trusted people, and even those who sometimes sawthings from a different perspective found it hard to deny how single-mindedly he pursued those objectives which he honestly felt neededto be achieved. Siobhán Ní Mhuirthile, MIC

Ba mhór an onóir agus an phribléid dom aithne a chur ar Pheadar –ba Ghael go smior é agus ba dhuine uasail é chomh maith. Mairfidhcuimhní cinn Lóchrann im’ cheann go buan. Ní bheidh a leithéad arístann. Caitriona Breathnach, CMgS

As the academic year 1980/81 drew to a close our much lovedcolleague, Muiris O’ Ríordáin, posed a problem of subtle logic to somestaff members, three of whom were Peadar, Des McCafferty and I.While Des and I scribbled, scratched and supped at many a highcounter tackling the problem, Peadar toiled diligently in his officecreating truth tables and flow charts. Peadar and Des solved theproblem after close on a month’s deliberations and each proudlypresented their solutions to each other; but to this day it is unclearwho passed the post first. While arriving at the solution itself was notearth-moving, it was indicative of the determination and meticulousnature of Peadar, the fruits of which can be seen in the impressiveinfrastructure of which the College can now boast. May he rest inpeace. Diarmuid O’Driscoll, MIC

Tá an tOllamh Peadar Ó Croimín, scoláire agus Iar-Uachtarán imitheuainn.Ceannaire lách, cruaoibritheach, fadradharcach ab ea é inármeasc. Bhí sé fial flaithiúil lena chuid ama. Bhí an-mheas aige ar anbhfoireann ar fad agus bhí a dhoras ar oscailt dúinn go léir in am anghátair agus nuair a bhí ócáid le ceiliúradh againn. Bhí fís in aghaidhfíse aige do Choláiste Mhuire gan Smál agus bhí sé i gcónaí mórálachas gach uile ní a bhain leis an gcoláiste, na mic léinn agus anfhoireann, ach go háirithe.Go raibh leaba i measc na Naomh aige agusgo raibh suaimhneas síoraí aige i measc na naingeal. Siobhán NíMhurchú, CMgS

Peadar embodied the spirit of MIC and worked tirelessly for thecollege. It was his life's mission. He loved the staff and the studentsand always made time to speak with everyone. He will be greatlymissed by those of us who had the pleasure to know him and to workwith him. Deirdre Carroll, MIC

Fear uasal le croí mór ab ea Peadar. As a very young new recruit toMary Immaculate College, Peadar, who had only arrived a short timebefore me, took me under his wing and made my transition fromprimary school teacher to third level lecturer as smooth as was

possible. His generosity of spirit extended beyond the walls of MIC tohis home in Oakview in Tralee where he decreed it unthinkable thatI should spend Septembers alone in hotels while supervising studentson their home TP, but instead his family should take care of me. I spentmany happy Septembers in the family home first with Monica andDerry and later with Phil and PJ for which I will be forever grateful.This was to be the beginning of a lifelong respect for Peadar, the man.Mile Buíochas, a Pheadair. Ní dhéanfaidh mé dearmad ort go deo.Áine Ni Chriagáin, CMgS

“There’s a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” LeonardCohen. Peadar had a way of finding the light in the cracks. He saw opportunityin every difficulty and saw people the way they wanted to be seen,rather than noticing their faults. His enthusiasm could convince peoplethat they could do anything. Peadar shared his time and energy freelywith people without expecting more than to leave a positiveimpression and the satisfaction of a job well done. His main prioritywas making connections and building relationships. Through warm,personalised interactions he let each person he communicated withknow that they were interesting and important to him. Peadar livedby the College motto, “Making a difference” and certainly left anunforgettable legacy for those of us at Mary Immaculate Collegefortunate enough to have known him and for future generations ofstudents and staff. Míle, míle buíochas, a chara mo chroí. Beir buaanois is i gcónaí. Holly Cowman, MIC

A lot will be written now about Peadar’s achievements as President ofthe College, and rightly so, as he deserves all the accolades for themost far-reaching building programme on the campus since the sitewas first dedicated to education: indeed it was he who made it acampus! But what will remain with me are the personal touches thathe brought to the job. Peadar and I found ourselves on numerouscommittees, sub-committees, working groups and task forces over theyears (decades!), and it’s fair to say we spent a lot of time arguing! Butthrough the heat of the debate one thing was clear: Peadar wasprobably the most positive-minded, sunny and happy man at his workthat I have known. He made it very hard for you to grumble – whichcould be infuriating at times! The Presidency didn’t change him at all,and he performed the role with a very light touch. I’ll remember thehearty laugh ringing up the stairs from his office to mine, and thereassurance it brought that, whatever the frustrations of the day,things were pretty much ok in the bigger picture. Des McCafferty, MIC

The President’s Office was described to me as a ‘happy place’ bySheyla Ryan and my experience of working there has proved that tobe a very true description. I used to smile when Peadar would say tovisitors as he welcomed them to the office with the greeting‘welcome to paradise’ – as if paradise was a place of meetings,minutes, schedules, telephone calls, letter writing, speech writing,endless e-mails and invitations to events ! But it was a paradise ofsorts as he was a really wonderful person to work with and deeplyappreciative of everyone’s efforts to support his work and that of theCollege. I will miss him forever. Orla Banks, MIC

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Professor Peadar Cremin 1949 - 2015An tOllamh Peadar Ó Croimín 1949 - 2015


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APPOINTEE POSITION

Dr Edward Corry Lecturer in Education with expertise in ICT and Digital Learning

Dr Eoin Flannery Lecturer in English

Ms. Edel Foster School Placement ManagerEducation Office

Dr Fiodhna Lecturer in Education withGardiner-Hyland expertise in English Language

and Literacy

Ms. Elaine Gleeson Executive Officer, Research and Graduate School Office

Dr Miriam Hamilton Lecturer in Education with expertise in Science

Mr. Padraig Horgan Student Academic Records Officer

Dr Elaine Kinsella Lecturer in Psychology

Ms. Carla McGuigan Clerical Officer, BAECP (1 year contract)

Dr Donna Mitchell Post-Doctoral Teaching Fellow in English (10 month contract)

Ms. Anne Executive Officer, Student Murray-Browne Services Office

Dr Margaret Nohilly Lecturer in Education with expertise in Policy of Education (4 year contract)

Dr Róisín Ní Gharbhí Lecturer i Roinn na Gaeilge

Mr. Trevor O’Brien Lecturer in Education with expertise in SEN

Dr Terry O’Brien Post-Doctoral Fellow Literacy Development (1 year contract)

Mr. Conchúr Ó Brolcháin Lecturer in Education with expertise in Gaeilge (4 year contract)

APPOINTEE POSITION

Mr. Kevin O’Connor Teaching Fellow in Drama Education (1 year fixed term contract)

Dr Anne O’Dwyer Lecturer in Education with expertise in Science

Mr. Kevin Pires French Language Assistant (8 month contract)

Dr Ruth Rafferty Post-Doctoral Teaching Fellow, Department of Arts Education andPhysical Education (6 month contract)

Dr Deirdre Ryan Educational Developer/Teaching and Learning Projects (3 year contract)

Mr. Frank Ryan General Operative (1 year contract)

Dr Fionnuala Tynan Lecturer in Education with expertise in SEN (2 year contract)

Ms. Karen Walsh ICT Services Helpdesk Assistant

The following persons have joined MIC on JobBridgeInternship schemes, a national internship scheme thatprovides work experience placements for interns for a nine month period.

Sinead Boyce Human Resources Office

Katie Brosnan Student Services Office

Mairead McCormack Sports & Recreation

Michelle O’Donnell Health & Safety Office

CollegeNews

NEW STAFF APPOINTMENTSCEAPACHÁIN FOIRNE LE DÉANAÍ


RECENT NEWSAN NUACHT IS DÉANAÍ

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CollegeNews

Niamh Armstrong represented the Department of Mathematicsand Computer Studies (MIC) at the EXCITED Digital Learning Festivalin Dublin Castle which took place in May. The Festival broughttogether students, teachers, academia, industry and ed-techcompanies. The Festival included exhibitions from former GraduateDiploma and Master in ICT students, who demonstrated how theyare engaging with and embracing new and innovative ways ofteaching, learning and assessment. Pictured at the event wereConor Power, former MIC BA student and now a teacher in ColáisteChiaráin, Croom, Niamh Armstrong and Gerard O'Sullivan, DeputyHeadmaster, Coláiste Chiaráin, Croom.

Nicola Spokes, former ICT Graduate Diploma & Master student andnow Principal of Scoil Oscair Community National School, Lucan, Co.Dublin; pictured centre with her student, Senator David Norris (L)and Ciaran Cannon, TD (R).

The 7th annual League o’ Legends Soccer Blitz took place on June11th with over 110 boys and girls from fifth and sixth classesparticipating. The League o’ Legends is a joint venture betweenthe Transforming Education through Dialogue (TED) Project, aCollege initiative that works directly with primary and post-primary schools, and the PLUS schools network comprisingrepresentatives from nineteen local DEIS Limerick schools. ScoilÍosagain C.B.S., Sexton Street retained the winner’s plaquefollowing their impressive win over the boys from Our Lady ofLourdes N.S. with a winning score of 4 – 1. Pictured here with theirteachers Donal O’Brien (L) and Michael O’Sullivan (R) acceptingtheir plaque from Prof. Gary O’Brien, Associate Vice President ofMary Immaculate College.

Ben Dillon (pictured left),Captain of the victorious team,was named Player of the BoysTournament for his valiantefforts.

Winning girls’ team from Corpus Christi N.S. pictured above withtheir teacher Rory Walsh (R) and Prof. Gary O’Brien, Associate VicePresident of Mary Immaculate College.

Team captain Sophie Quinn(pictured left) and team-mateChloe McInerney were namedPlayers of the Girls Tournamentfor their impressive footwork.

Our Lady of Lourdes N.S., Rosbrien, also featured in the girls’ finalbut unfortunately for them they were beaten for a second year ina row by the mighty Corpus Christi N.S. team having knocked up a4 – 0 defeat on the final score board. Pictured above with theirteachers Roisin Relihan (L) and Mary Jones (R) and Prof. GaryO’Brien, Associate Vice President of Mary Immaculate College.

Bishop Brendan Leahy, Bishop of Limerick, officially openedO’Dwyer House in June. The house, which homes MIC internationalstudents, is named after the Bishop of Limerick who, along withthe Sisters of Mercy, founded Mary ImmaculateCollege in 1898. The house was refurbished lastyear as a high-spec residence for internationalstudents. It has eight bedrooms and threebathrooms, with a communal kitchen/diningarea. As well as all mod-cons, including wifi,the students living in the house benefit from atwice-weekly housekeeping service and swipe-card access to rooms.


Campus radio station, WIRED FM swept the Boards at theCommunity Radio Awards 2015 held in June, taking home no lessthan three out of a possible four awards; the highest number ofaccolades awarded to any one radio station on the night. MICstudents Liese Gubbins and Sinead Butler accepting, on behalf ofWIRED FM, the CRAOL Best Speech Programme award from MaryLennon, Chair of CRAOL.

The renowned Irish language scholar,An Moinsíneoir Pádraig Ó Fiannachta,launched a new book by Dr Breandán ÓCróinín of Roinn na Gaeilge, MIC, at anenjoyable event in the College in June.The book, Piaras Mac Gearailt, A Shaolagus a Shaothar, provides a new editionof the work of the famous 18th-centurypoet based on surviving manuscriptsources and many of the texts areedited from the poet’s autographmanuscript which is housed in theRussell Library in the NationalUniversity of Ireland, Maynooth. An Dr

Breandán Ó Cróinín, Roinn na Gaeilge agus An Moinsíneoir PádraigÓ Fiannachta ag seoladh an leabhair nua, Piaras Mac Gearailt, AShaol agus a Shaothar.

MIC PhD research student, Maryanne Lowney, was awarded aprestigious Government of Ireland scholarship to undertakeresearch in the area of mental health promotion in schools.Maryanne’s PhD Research Thesis focuses on how mental healthprogrammes can be created and sustained as ways of combatingadolescent alienation, self-harm, attempted suicide and death bysuicide. Her project will be carried out in conjunction with MaryImmaculate College and Kerry Education and Training Board, witha sample of second-level schools in County Kerry. Pictured here(centre) with Dr Angela Canny, Assistant Dean of Education (L) andProf. Jim Deegan, Head of Graduate School, MIC (R).

On Saturday June 13th 2015, a number of 2nd year and 4th yearundergraduate Psychology students travelled to All HallowsCollege, Dublin to present their research at the ‘Irish Association ofTeachers in Special Education’ (IATSE) annual conference, supportedby ‘Psychology of Education’ lecturers Claire Griffin and Marie Ryan.This research was undertaken by the students in Spring 2015through modules Psychological Perspectives on Behaviour (Year 2,delivered by Marie Ryan) Developmental Psychology II (Year 4,delivered by Claire Griffin) and Educational Psychology Elective(Year 4, delivered by Dr Suzanne Parkinson). The research,presented in poster format, was based on the conference theme‘Our School Community – Promoting Resilience and Wellbeing’ andserved to bridge the gap between theory, research and practice.This was the first occasion that the IATSE conference hosted aposter symposium from undergraduate students and on the day,a prize was awarded for the best poster. This conference presenteda unique opportunity for the students involved to share theirresearch with a large national audience.

The winning poster was entitled “The ‘Pursuit of Happiness’ in theclassroom: Is autonomy the answer?” and was compiled by EoghanLinehan, Jason Banville, Fiona Brennan, Jennifer Cahill and SeánGleasure, B.Ed. in Education & Psychology students. EoghanLinehan and Jason Banville pictured here with IATSE conferencedirector Isobel Ryan.

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27 mature learners from varying ages and cultures graduated inJune from MIC’s two adult access programmes, the FoundationCertificate Programme and the Pre-University Programme (PUP).The one year part-time Foundation Certificate Programme is opento all mature students who might not necessarily have completedthe Junior or Leaving Certificate. The course introduces maturestudents to a sample of a first year university level courses,thereby equipping them with the necessary skills to participate inand benefit from a third level course. Prof. Gary O’Brien, AssociateVice President of Administration, pictured with the students fromthe Foundation Certificate for Mature Learners programme.

The Pre-University Programme is a part-time access programmefor mature students who wish to dip a toe in the waters of thirdlevel education. The programme is delivered off-campus, in acommunity setting and is designed as a stepping-stone to otheraccess programmes such as the Foundation Certificate. This yearthe programme was delivered by MIC in conjunction with OurLady of Lourdes Community Services Group in Rosbrien. Prof. GaryO’Brien, Associate Vice President of Administration, pictured withstudents from the Pre-University Programme.

Claire Griffin travelled to Ghent,Belgium in June to partake in aninternational project on UniversalDesign for Learning (UDL). Thisproject was organised by theAssociation for Higher EducationAccess & Disability (AHEAD) andinvolved a two day workshop inGhent, Belgium (June 24th - 25th2015), whereby nine academicsfrom Belgium, Norway & Irelandworked together on the project. Thisproject is funded by Erasmus+ andformally coordinated by ‘Universell’(Norway).

Secondary-school teachers of French from various parts of thecountry gathered at Mary Immaculate College on Friday 26th andSaturday 27th of June to attend a Continuous ProfessionalDevelopment seminar hosted by the Department of French Studiesand sponsored by the French Embassy.

Following on the success of lastsummer’s Servant Leadership prog-ramme, Mary Immaculate Collegewelcomed a group of studentvolunteers from Seton Hall Universityand Gannon University in the firstweek of July, who spent a dedicatedweek volunteering in communityorganisations across Limerick city.Throughout the week, the studentsworked with the Franciscan Friars atSt Patrick’s Friary in Moyross,Limerick Youth Service, NorthsideFamily Resource Centre, NovasInitiatives and the Butterfly Club in

Rathkeale. The 14 students and 5leaders were committed to servingthe community and spentevenings and weekends paintingat Our Lady of Lourdes CommunityCentre, working with Limerick TidyTowns, Novas Initiatives soup runand fundraising for RapecrisisMidwest.

The International Office was delighted to host twelve West ChesterUniversity communications students and their leader, Dr Ed Lordan,for the beginning leg of their ambitious three-week study tripexamining media in Ireland in July. During a week-long stay inLimerick, the group visited the Limerick Leader, as pictured here,Lyric FM, travelled to Spiddal to visit TG4, partook in some touristicfun at Bunratty Castle and King John’s Castle and also found timefor class work!

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Pictured at the launch of the ‘Companion and Study Guide to theEncyclical Praise Be To You by Pope Francis’ were Prof. EamonnConway, Head of Theology and Religious Studies, MIC; Fr. TimBartlett, Episcopal Vicar for Education in the Diocese of Down &Connor, and Colm Hogan, Development Officer with Trocaire. Thestudy guide to Pope Francis’s landmark encyclical of theenvironment was coedited by Prof. Eamonn Conway and CathalBarry, Irish Catholic, with forward by Eamonn Meehan, CEO,Trocaire. Published by Grace Communications the publication maybe purchased from most religious shops or ordered directly [email protected]

Dr Margaret Egan attended the 5th annual European Network forSocial and Emotional Competence (ENSEC) in Portugal in July todeliver her paper “Pull-Out”; it’s the way the system works, it’s atradition, a culture’: The Social and Emotional Impact of HowInclusion gets ‘done to’ our Children”. ENSEC, of which Dr Egan isa founder member, is a growing network of European Researchersand Practitioners who are interested in children’s and youngpeople’s social and emotional development, particularly inworking to develop their resilience and their social and emotionalcompetence. Pictured at the conference here (centre) withcurrent Chair, Dr Carmen Husser and fellow founding member DrCarmel Cefai.

Paul McNamara from Doon CoLimerick, a MIC BA in English andHistory graduate, won best varietyaward and best overall medal in theLimerick’s Got Talent competition inAugust for his self-penned poem “LeFemme”. The competition, held in theLime Tree Theatre, was fierce withsome incredible acts and outstandingpoetry. Pictured (centre) with (L)Limerick’s Got Talent organiser, PaulO'Connor and (R) Nigel Mercier, judgeon the night.

Over 340 innovators of the future, aged between 5 and 12 years,attended the Learnit Summer Camps 2015 during the months ofJuly and August. The camps which were supported by theCurriculum Development Unit/ TED in association with ICTEducation Faculty, were offered both on the MIC campus and inClare Education Centre. Children used a variety of LEGO Educationproducts to explore the basics of structural engineering, thecomplexities of robotics and the software engineering (coding)required to operate them. Through hands-on workshops childrendeveloped a wide range of skills in areas such as STEM,communication, team-work, problem solving and much more.Similarly, 12 teachers attended week-long professionaldevelopment in early July on the use of constructionism toenhance technology and learning in the Primary Curriculum.

The fourth annual convocation of ISSTA (Irish Sound Science andTechnology Association) took place in Limerick on 12th and 13thAugust. The two day event, consisting of performances of electro-acoustic and experimental music, sound art installations, researchpapers on creative sound technologies and practical workshops,was well attended by academics, designers, performers andsound- based artists from all over Ireland and the UK. The Keynotespeakers, Professor Miller Puckette (San Diego California) andXimena Alarcón (CRISAP, London) gave presentations, respectively,on the electronic manipulation of the Voice and the representationof memory in site specific installations. The convocation, whichwas supported by MIC and UL, in collaboration with MIC's AudioResearch Centre and UL's DMARC centre for digital Arts, wassuccessful in bringing international specialists into contact withIrish practitioners and experimenters. As in previous years it isexpected that this will generate collaborative ventures in bothtechnological and creative spheres.

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FOCUS ON...SPOTSHOLAS AR:

Corporate Communications TeamThe Corporate Communications Office (CC Office) was established in 2013 in accordance withPillar 7, Goal 5 of the Strategic Plan 2012-2016. Over the past two years the original remitof the CC Office, and the initial team charged to execute this remit, has developed andexpanded, in direct response to the changes occurring on the education landscape and inaccordance with the strategic priorities of the College.

As Director of Corporate Communications, Ciara Ní Shúilleabháin manages a proactive andenthusiastic team of four, who as a collective play a key strategic role in how the Collegecommunity, external stakeholders and the wider public view and engage with MaryImmaculate College. Working closely with relevant Departments/ Offices the CC Officedevises and implements effective marketing and communication strategies, raising theexternal profile of the College while simultaneously helping to realise a number of goals asoutlined in MIC's Strategic Plan 2012-2016.

Having over ten years’ experience in the planning, development and implementation ofcreative marketing, public relations, communication and event management campaignsCiara joined MIC in November 2007 as the College’s first PR & Marketing Officer. Prior to thisshe spent the previous decade working in the arts sector, as General Manager of theEveryman Palace Theatre, Cork; as Chief Executive of the Cork Midsummer Festival and asCompany Administrator with internationally renowned theatre company, Druid, Galway. Herinterest in the arts remains as she currently serves on the Board of the Lime Tree Theatre.

Ciara has overall responsibility for both the Marketing and Communication division of the Corporate Communications office with specificresponsibility for communications. This involves the development and application of a proactive programme of both external andinternal activities designed to positively contribute to MIC’s profile within the community and within the educational landscape. Activitiesinclude identifying proactive media opportunities for MIC and handling reactive responses to media enquiries; creating and managingcorporate brand awareness; and management and promotion of key MIC events. Key internal communication activities includingproduction of the quarterly staff newsletter, e-bulletins and content management of various communication tools such as the Collegewebsite, Text Alert Service and electronic screens.

Sinead Copeland, Marketing Executive, joined the marketing division of the CC team, in April 2014, withmore than 12 years’ experience in all areas of corporate public relations and marketing. After completingher MA in Public Relations Sinead worked for six years in the Communications Department of DublinInstitute of Technology (DIT), Ireland’s largest third level institution, as Assistant Public Relations Officerbefore being promoted to the role of Public Relations Officer. Subsequent to DIT she spent three years asMarketing and Communications Executive with regional development agency, Shannon Development. Inher initial role as Marketing Executive with MIC Sinead was responsible for marketing the campus as aleading venue for conferences, seminars, meetings and sporting events. During this time she coordinatedand/or assisted in the successful pitches for a number of large scale event such as BIAPT 2016, IrishBishops Synod 2016, RDS Primary School Fair, Limerick, to mention but a few. Following theannouncement regarding MIC incorporating St. Patrick’s College, Thurles, Sinead has recently beenredeployed to the position of Programming Marketing Executive where she is competently assisted byPatrick Cosgrove, Student Recruitment Officer.

MIC!

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Upon receipt of a PhD in History from Maynooth University in 2008, Patrick lectured in History inMaynooth for a number of years before taking up the position of Student Recruitment Officer in MICin July 2013. Working closely together the marketing division of the CC team are charged withexecuting the marketing strategy for the College’s nine undergraduate programmes and close on 30postgraduate programmes. This is achieved through visiting over 140 post primary schools andattending close on twenty career fairs promoting the College’s programme. Other marketing activitiesinclude organising Open Days, Taster Days, and Information Evenings offering potential students theunique opportunity to experience, and witness, life as an MIC student. The programme marketingstrategy also includes the production of various promotional materials, video repository, andimplementing aggressive advertising campaigns both on-line and via the traditional routes.

A native of Limerick, Grace Cameron joined the CC team just over a year ago on a JobBridgeInternship. Having obtained an MA in Film Studies from NUIG, and a M.Phil in Popular Literaturefrom Trinity College Dublin, Grace spent a number of years working in the Irish film industry asan Assistant Director. Following the successful completion of her nine-month internship, Gracejoined the communications division of the CC team with specific responsibility for managingMIC’s Social Media accounts, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and the soon to belaunched Yik Yak, Periscope and Snapchat accounts! She is also responsible for developingrelations with MIC Alumni through hosting alumni specific events, issuing Alumni e-newslettersand management of Alumni website and database.

Following the closure of the Print Room in May of this year Cecily O’Grady was redeployed to the CC Office. Cecilyjoined MIC in 2000 as a Computer Laboratory Assistant with the ICT Department, where she remained for tenyears until she joined Student Services in 2010 before moving to the Print Room in 2012. Cecily is responsible forinternal room bookings and provides invaluable administrative support to the rest of the team.

The success of the many CC strategies may be directly witnessed by the increase in student numbers with this year’s intake at an allhigh of 3,600. 2015 saw the highest number of CAO applications to MIC in a decade. Postgraduate growth continues with a 34%increase in taught MA students and a doubling of research students for the 2015/2016 academic year.

Life in the Corporate Communications Office looks set to remain busy for the next few months with current projects including separatemarketing strategies for MIC St. Patrick’s Campus; the BA in Contemporary and Applied Theatre Studies and new postgraduateprogrammes in addition to a redesign exercise including the roll out of a new MIC website and an MIC Alumni website.

We wish them all the very best in their rolesas they continue to successfully promoteMary Immaculate College and its manystrands of activity.

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Congratulations to PhD student,Jason Murphy, whose documentaryAn Open Verdict was recentlybroadcast on RTE Radio 1. Jason,from Cork, is currently researchinga PhD in the Department of Mediaand Communications at MIC wherehe is looking at ways to engageyoung people in participatorymedia. Jason won a bronze awardfor Best Newcomer at the 2012PPI's and has had many docu-mentaries and features broadcast

on community and regional youth radio. Jason traveled to Malawiin October to report on UN development goals and how theyrelate to young people there.

Pictured at the Global Limerick DNA event which took place inAugust in Mary Immaculate College as part of Heritage Weekwere L-R: Dr Cathy Swift, Project Collaborator, MIC; , MinisterJimmy Deenihan, Minister for Diaspora Affairs, Prof. Michael AHayes, President of MIC; Brian Hodkinson of the Limerick Museumand John King of the Irish Ancestry Research Centre (IARC).Entitled Global Limerick DNA, the aim of the project is to bringtogether the historical and genealogical research already collatedby the many Limerick experts in these areas, and to examinethem in the context of the latest discoveries in Y-chromosomeDNA. The objective is to research the genetic history of Limerickfamilies and communities both here and abroad.

Congratulations to B.Ed. graduateCatriona Casey who has beendescribed as ‘the best femalehandball player that has ever lived’having completed a stunningcareer grand slam of winning everymajor Open Title in Irish handball.Catriona represented Ireland in theWorld Handball Championshipsheld in Canada in August whereshe was unfortunately beaten byUSA’s Danielle Daskalakis in atoughly contested semi-final beforeMs. Daskalakis went on to securethe 2015 Ladies Open WorldChampionship crown.

Pictured at the Pre-Show Reception sponsored by the Departmentof Drama & Theatre Studies, MIC in advance of the GalaFundraising Performance of 'Language Unbecoming a Lady' byBottom Dog Theatre Company, which took place recently in TheLime Tree Theatre were L-R; Aideen Wylde, PhD student, Dept. ofDrama & Theatre Studies, MIC; Emma Fisher, PhD student, Dept. ofDrama & Theatre Studies, MIC; and Dr Michael Finneran, Head ofDepartment of Drama & Theatre Studies, MIC. Having toured to 19venues across Ireland since 2009, Myles Breen’s hit one-man playhad its international debut at Origin’s 1st Irish Festival in New YorkCity this September.

Pictured at the MIC Research Day which took place in the Collegeon September 1st, were, L-R: Prof. Jim Deegan, Head of GraduateSchool, MIC; Prof. Michael A Hayes, President of MIC; Dr FintanBracken, Research Services and Bibliometrics Librarian, Universityof Limerick and Prof. Michael Healy, Associate Vice-President forResearch, MIC. MIC Research Day reflects the outcomes ofresearch conducted at MIC, with financial assistance provided bythe College through the Research Seed Funding Scheme. The day’sproceeding consisted of reports on 24 different research projectsfunded through this scheme with keynote speeches from Dr FintanBracken, Research Services and Bibliometrics Librarian, UL and aroundtable session on ‘Purposes and Principles of the NationalFramework for Doctoral Education’ led by Mr. Muiris O’ Connor fromthe HEA.

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Much refurbishment took place over the summer monthsincluding the complete redesign of the Student Services office inroom 112.

The Print Room, situated in G01, closed in June allowing for thecomplete re-configurement of this space which now houses theAccess Office and the Admissions Office.

A healthy start to the academicyear was in full swing thanks tothe new Pulse Bar in therefurbished Canteen. Energiseyour day with superfood filledsalads and smoothie shots.

The Research and Graduate School hosted an Orientation event forpostgraduate researchers on Wednesday, August 26th, 2015, ledby the Head of the Graduate School, Prof. Jim Deegan. This eventbrought together the postgraduate research community as a wholefrom all departments and provided information on the people,places and services available in the College to help manage apostgraduate career. The research on quality postgraduate studentexperiences highlights the importance of balancing scholarlyactivities with career management planning and the orientationwas designed with this in mind. A number of key contacts camealong to introduce themselves, including the Head of the Researchand Graduate School, Prof. Mick Healy, as well as representativesfrom College offices, such as Student Services, Fees, ICT, Library,and MISU - MIC Students' Union.

Orientation 2015 took place on Wednesday 2nd and Thursday 3rdSeptember as we welcomed close to 1,000 new entrants over thecourse of two days in addition to 700 parents attending the Parents'Orientation Evening on the Tuesday evening. Prof. Michael A Hayespictured with incoming first year students as the Coffee Morningsheld as part of Orientation.

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Comedian Karl Spain made a welcome return as part ofOrientation 2015. Pictured here with MISU President, JamesDeegan; Deirdre Kennelly, MISU General Manager; and MISU VicePresident, Alison Dervan.

Following a very competitive application process, MIC is delightedto welcome its first two Brazilian Government of Irelandscholarship recipients, Luiza Giombelli and Giovanni Santos. Luizawill study for one year on the BA programme and Giovanni plansto complete the new MA in Applied Linguistics during his yearhere. The scholars will work closely with the International Officeto further the relationship between MIC and their homeuniversities and will also work to promote MIC as an internationalstudy destination for Brazilian students. L-R: Luiza Giombelli; Prof.Michael A Hayes, President of MIC; Giovanni Santos and HollyCowman, Director of the International Office.

On the occasion of Brazilian National Day, September 7th, 2015,His Excellency Alfonso Cardoso, the Ambassador of Brazil,welcomed five MIC students to a special event at Astra Hall,University College Dublin. Pictured L-R: (L-R): His ExcellencyAlfonso Cardoso, the Ambassador of Brazil, Esther Rolim; VictóriaPinheiro; Leandro Mori; Luíza Giombelli; Giovani Santos; HollyCowman, Director of the International Office, MIC and MarianaReis, Higher Education Authority.

Pictured at the 78th Annual Conference of the Association forGerman Studies in Great Britain and Ireland (AGS) held in MICfrom the 2nd to 4th of September were Prof. Michael A Hayes,President of MIC; Dr Christiane Schönfeld, Head of German StudiesMIC; President of the AGS Professor Sarah Colvin (CambridgeUniversity) and Mr Peter Adams, First Secretary, German EmbassyDublin. The AGS was founded as the Conference of UniversityTeachers of German in Great Britain and Ireland in 1932, with theaim of meeting annually 'to discuss matters pertaining to thestudy of German in all its branches, to promote the study thereof,to encourage research, and generally to foster high standards ofcompetence among university teachers of German'. In theintervening years the conference has held over 70 annualconferences across Great Britain and Ireland, changing its name in2009 to the AGS in order to focus more strongly on promoting anddefending the discipline of German Studies in Higher Educationin Britain and Ireland.

On Tuesday 8th September Mary Immaculate College Students’Union (MISU), Mary Immaculate College (MIC) and An GardaSíochána, Henry Street launched the 2015/2016 Garda CampusWatch at MIC. Pictured L-R: Garda Michael Hennessy, appointedGarda Liaison for the Garda Clinics; Prof Michael A Hayes, Presidentof MIC; Chief Superintendent David Sheahan, Henry Street; JamesDeegan, President of MISU; Deirdre Kennelly, General ManagerMISU and Superintendent Derek Smart, Henry Street.

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Congratulations to Daithi McMahon, PhD student with theDepartment of Media & Communications, MIC, who won a PPIAward (national radio awards) for his play based on the AnnLovett story. Daithi was also nominated for a prestigious PrixEuropa Award in the radio fiction category for his radio dramaproduction 'William Melville: The Queen's Detective'. This is thethird nomination for 'William Melville: The Queen's Detective'after it was also nominated for a Zebbie Award by the WritersGuild of Ireland in May and won the Gold award for Best Writingin July at the prestigious New York Festivals International RadioAwards 2015. The recent success at the New York Festivals meansthat McMahon and O'Connor have written the world’s best radioprogramme two out of the last three years after their Gold forBest Writing in 2013. McMahon, whose thesis examines the useof social media by Irish radio stations, is an MIC alumnus havinggraduated in 2010 with an MA in Irish Media Studies with firstclass honours. We wish him every continued success.

Soracha O’Rourke, from Tuam, Co.Galway, was recently named as a HighlyCommended Entrant in The Under-graduate Awards 2015, being identifiedas an outstanding academic at inter-national level. She performed in the top10% of the 2015 Undergraduate Awards,with her paper "Successful Ageing forAgeing Ireland – The Pursuit of Utopia?”.This year, the competition received 5,117submissions from students in 255universities across 39 countries. Picturedhere at the recent MIC graduations whereshe received the College Medal for firstplace in Psychology.

Congratulations to MIC students, Cian Lynch, Jody Hannon, RichieEnglish, Darragh O’Donovan, and Brian Finn, who were all part ofLimerick’s All-Ireland U21 winning hurling team. Limerick beatWexford, with a 16 point victory, securing their first All IrelandU21 title since 2002.

Congratulations to 1st year B.Ed.student, Thomas Monaghan, whoplayed centre forward with the AllIreland 2015 winning GalwayMinor Hurling Team.

Tá An Seomra Caidrimh (spás neamhfhoirmiúil atá oscailted’fhoireann agus do mhic léinn ar aon, le coinníoll amháin gurab ían Ghaeilge teanga chumarsáide an tseomra) i bhfoirgneamh naleabharlainne oscailte do ghno don seimeastar! Baineann AnCumann Gaelach, Bord na Gaeilge, Aontas na Mac Léinn, AnSéiplínacht agus go leor leor eile úsáid as an spás ar bhonn rialtaagus ar ndoigh feidhmíonn An Seomra Caidrimh mar cheannárasd’imeachtaí Seachtain na Gaeilge gach bliain. I mbliana reach-táilfear Seachtain na Gaeilge 2016 ón 7-11 Márta 2016 agus beidhsé mar chuid de cheiliúradh náisiúnta ‘An Teanga Bheo’, inaléireofar áit lárnach na Gaeilge in ídéil na glúine réabhlóidí agusina ndéanfar an teanga a ceiliúradh – coimeád súil amach doshonraí na Seachtaine a chuirfear amach go luath. I meascimeachtaí eile a bheidh ar siúl an seimeastar seo reachtáilfar CiorcalComhrá do bhaill foirne agus do mhic léinn, An Bricfeasta Folláine,Seisiúin Ceoil, ranganna Gaeilge don bhfoireann ag gach leibhéal,Margadh na dTeangacha agus a thuilleadh nach ea. Bíonn AnSeomra Caidrimh ar oscailt cúig lá na seachtaine ó 9r.n. go dtí 6i.n.

Tuilleadh eolais: [email protected] nó [email protected]

An Seomra Caidrimh (a social space for staff and students with onlyone rule applying – conversation must take place through themedium of Irish) which is situated in the library building, is nowopen for the new academic term. It functions as an alternativespace for a tea break, for conversation circles and even impromptumusic sessions. In addition it is used by An Cumann Gaelach, Bordna Gaeilge, MIC Students’ Union, and during Seachtain na Gaeilge.Seachtain na Gaeilge 2016 will take place 7-11 March and will bea part of ‘An Teanga Bheo’, a programme of events reflecting onthe central place of the Irish language in the ideals of theRevolutionary Generation and celebrating the language itself –watch out for details of all events which will be disseminated soon.Other events that will take place in Seomra Caidrimh include CiorcalComhrá (conversation sessions for staff/students), An BricfeastaFolláine, Irish classes for staff, Traditional Music Sessions andMargadh na dTeangacha to mention but a few. An Seomra Caidrimhis open Monday – Friday, 9am – 6pm.

More Information: [email protected] or [email protected]

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Staff and students at St. Patrick’s College Thurles celebrating theannouncement from Minister for Education & Skills, Minister JanO’Sullivan T.D., regarding the incorporation of by Mary ImmaculateCollege (MIC) of St. Patrick’s College, Thurles. Front Row: DrRebecca Purcell, Head of Business Department, St. Patrick’sCollege Thurles; Fr. Tom Fogarty, President of St. Patrick’s College;Minister Jan O’Sullivan; Minister Alan Kelly, T.D.; Minister for theEnvironment, Community and Local Government; Prof. Michael AHayes, President of MIC and Paula Hourigan, St. Patrick’s College,Thurles.

Minister for Education and Skills, Minister Jan O'Sullivan T.D.,lending a helping hand to MIC at the Higher Options Career Fair atthe RDS recently. Pictured here with Paula Hourigan (left) andSinead Copeland (right).

MISU hosted a very well received Volunteer Fair on campus inSeptember providing staff and students with an opportunity tomeet with voluntary organisations looking to recruit volunteers.There were 20 stands on the day, including; Pieta House; HopeFoundation; Limerick Animal Welfare; Adapt House; St. Vincent dePaul; Claire’s Wish; The Samaritans and many more.

Pictured at the opening of the Studio Classroom exhibition held inMary Immaculate College were Back Row: L-R: Dr Ann Higgins,Coordinator of the TED Project; Eucharia McCarthy, Director of theCurriculum Development Unit, MIC; participating artist Julie Brazil,teacher Cushla Hehir from Presentation Primary School; AnneMarie Morrin, Visual Arts lecturer, MIC; Dr Sandra Ryan, Chair ofTED Project and Ruth Bourke, Ted Project. Front Row L-R:promising artist, Leah Cosgrave aged 13, with Prof. Michael AHayes, President of MIC and budding young artist Lianna Zidovska,age 13, also from Presentation Primary School.

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Pictured at the Ireland-China Forum, which took place in Dublinin September, was Prof. Gary O’Brien, Assoc. Vice President ofAdministration, MIC; Zhang Weihong, Vice President; and Dr SunWubin, Deputy Director and Executive Dean, NorthwesternPolytechnical University. The networking event was jointlyorganised by Education in Ireland and the China EducationAssociation for International Exchange (CEAIE) with repres-entatives from 23 of China’s top universities.

Pictured at the Aramark Cooking Demonstration which took placeon the 23rd September were L-R: Elbha Purcell, Dietician,Aramark; Pat Browne, Catering Manager, Aramark; Derek Reilly,Chef, Aramark; Lorraine Kelly, Head Chef, Aramark; Elaine Griffin,Assistant Health Promotion Coordinator; Sinead Ryan, StudentHealth Promotion Officer; Carol O’Sullivan, Chair, CollegeCommittee for Health Promotion, MIC.

Holly Cowman, Director of the International Office, DIO, and Prof.Teresa O’Doherty, Dean of Education, MIC; undertook a verysuccessful visit to the USA in September in order to investigatethe potential for international programme development, toexpand relationships with existing partners and to progress thedevelopment of prospective partnership agreements. Betweenthem they visited thirteen universities (including University ofNotre Dame, IN; Loyola University, IL; Boston College, MA; St John’sUniversity, NY and Teachers College, Columbia, NY), one high

school and two elementary schools. Pictured here with Dr ZoePetropoulou, Assistant Provost for Global Initiatives; Dr MichaelSampson, Dean of Arts; and Matthew Pucciarelli, Associate VicePresident of Office of Global Studies at St John’s University, NY.

Holly Cowman, DIO, also attended at three-day National Associationfor College Admission Counselling (NACAC) convention in SanDiego, CA.

Prof. Eamonn Conway, Head ofTheology and Religious Studies,MIC, (centre) pictured in Romepresenting Pope Francis with acopy of the Companion and 'StudyGuide to the Encyclical Praise BeTo You by Pope Francis' written byProf. Conway and Cathal Barry ofthe Irish Catholic.

September saw two visits from St. Cloud State University, USA.Pictured L-R: Mr Shazad Ahmad, Director, Multicultural StudentServices; Dr Mark Springer, Dean of College of Liberal Arts; Dr LisaFoss, Associate Vice President/Associate Provost, Office of Strategy,Planning and Effectiveness and Prof. Michael A Hayes, President,MIC.

Following this visit, the Inter-national Office welcomed agroup of 8 students, picturedhere enjoying the Septembersunshine.

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On Saturday, 26th September we were delighted to welcome backso many of our Alumni. The Class of 1965 pictured here with Prof.Michael A Hayes (centre) and Fr. Michael Wall (back row).

Liam Dillon, Brian Mangan, Fergus McDaid and Tom O’Sullivan fromthe Class of 1975 pictured at the MIC Alumni Reunion 2015.

Fergus and Bridie McDaid,returned to MIC for the AlumniReunion having first met asstudents when studying inMary Immaculate College 40years ago.

Margaret Healy, English Language School Coordinator, attended anEducation in Ireland promotional trip to several universities acrossthe state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, on behalf of the InternationalOffice in October. Ms. Healy promoted MIC as a postgraduate andstudy abroad destination to Brazilian undergraduate students, inaddition to promoting MIC’s English language programmes.Universities visited included: Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto;Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Universidade Federal deUberlandia and Universidade Federal de São Carlos. Pictured herewith Clíona Campbell, International Manager, LIT.

Grow in Love (Veritas), the new primary school Religious Educationseries for Catholic primary schools in the South and North ofIreland, was co-written by Dr Daniel O’Connell, MIC; pictured herewith his co-author Elaine Mahon.

Congratulations to MIC lecturers Martina Ní Fhátharta and Seán deBrún who were presented with the European Language Label ofthe Year Award 2015 for Bua na Cainte, a creative, innovative andfully-interactive Irish language programme for primary schools.Pictured here at the European Language Label Awards 2015 wereL-R: Catherine O'Carroll, Department of Education and Skills; Seánde Brún, Head of Department, Department of Language, Literacy,and Mathematics Education, MIC; Martina Ní Fhatharta, Lecturer,Department of Language, Literacy, and Mathematics Education,MIC and Manchán Magan, Guest Speaker at the award ceremony.

Kathleen Horgan, Department of Reflective Pedagogy and EarlyChildhood Studies (pictured right), Alison Dervan, MISU Vice-President and MIC students pictured celebrating the 100th birthdayof Jerome Bruner, an educationalist who has been hugelyinfluential on early years and teacher education during his life.



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Pictured at #StartupMIC, which took place in MIC on Wednesday7th October, were L-R: Colm O’Brien, founder of Carambola Kidz; DrMaeve Liston, Director of Enterprise and Community Engagement,MIC; Tara Doolan, BA graduate and founder of Honest ArtsProduction Company; Dave Fenwick, BA Graduate, founder ofColour TV Television Production Company; Prof. Michael A Hayes,President of MIC; Rob O’Halloran, former MISU President andcurrent Programme Director of Common Purpose; Roisin Meaney,B.Ed. graduate and author; Michelle Costello, BA graduate andEditor-in-Chief of Fusion Magazine and The Limerick Magazine,TLM; and Pat McDonagh, B.Ed. graduate and founder ofSupermac’s, Ireland largest and fastest growing indigenous fastfood group. The event, which took place as part of the StartupGathering 2015, was designed to celebrate and showcase theentrepreneurial success of our talented alumni. It is envisaged that#StartupMIC will become an annual event.

Over 100 children from local primary schools partook in a morningof activities at MIC in October as part of Maths Week 2015. Thisconstituted one of the largest Maths Weeks events in the countryinvolving primary children with participating children from ScoilMháthair Dé, Nicker National Scoil, St. Fergus National School Glin,and St. Michael’s NS in Pery Square. The event, which wasorganised by Dr Aisling Leavy, Dr Mairead Hourigan, Maura Walshand Claire Carroll with a large team of volunteers from PME andB.Ed. students, saw the participating children engaging withmathematics puzzles, logic problems, magic tricks, orienteeringactivities and a range of other problem solving tasks.

The Study of Cubism and Expressionism Combined, an exhibitionfeaturing the work of graduates of the Certificate in Generallearning and Personal Development (GLPD) at MIC was officiallylaunched on 14th October. Pictured at the launch were JessicaKeegan (centre) from Limerick city pictured with Orla Slattery,Inclusion Co-ordinator, MIC (L) and Anne O'Byrne, Lecturer inInclusive Education, MIC.

The day was also marked by the planting of a tree in NormanWatson’s name after a generous donation received from theNorman Watson Foundation.

Over 4000 post primary studentsfrom around the country attendedMIC Open Days 2015 to learn aboutthe range of programmes availableboth in MIC, St. Patrick’s CampusThurles and in Mary ImmaculateCollege, Limerick. Claire Nagle(MISU Guide) pictured with SimoneBrennan & Aisling Brennan from St.Attracta's Community School, Co.Sligo.

Pupils from Colaiste Mhuire, Askeaton enjoying MIC Open Days2015.



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The International Office hosted another well-attended StudyAbroad Fair on October 20th in the Forum. Current US and Brazilianstudents graciously represented their home universities whileinternational representatives, Brian McDonald from DeSalesUniversity, Lora Steiner and Michael of Gwynedd Mercy Universityand Wade Sherman of St Cloud State University, travelled from theUSA to promote their study abroad programmes. Mr John Fawsittmade the long trip from Kibi International University in Okayama,Japan to promote one of several exciting new opportunities foroverseas study in Japan. Japan is among a range of new studyabroad destinations, along with Brazil, China and Korea, and newstudy options are available in the USA and Australia.

In October the Institute for Irish Studies, IIS, at Mary ImmaculateCollege, hosted a Public Lecture by Professor Rand Brandes, aninternationally acknowledged expert on the work of SeamusHeaney entitled “Furtherances: The Publishing Life of SeamusHeaney”. Dr Eugene O’Brien, HoD English Language and Literature,and Director of IIS pictured here with Prof. Brandes.

Congratulations to MICAlumni Craig Speer whorecently received an IFTAas the editor of awardwinning children’s seriesOur Farm.

Olympic Champion and Aramark Health and Wellness AmbassadorKatie Taylor visited the campus in October in an effort to raiseawareness about the importance of healthy living among staff andstudents. Pictured here receiving a gift from Prof. Michael A Hayes,President of Mary Immaculate College.

Cian Lynch, U 21’s Limerick Hurler and current MIC student, picturedwith Olympic Champion Katie Taylor.

Pictured at the recent Mary Immaculate College conferringceremonies were Back Row: L-R: Prof. Jim Deegan, Head ofGraduate School, MIC; Dr John Treacy, Dr Paul Gadie, Prof. MichaelA Hayes, President of MIC, (centre); Prof. Michael Healy, AssociateVice President for Research, MIC; Prof. Michael Breen, Dean of Arts,MIC; and Dr Rabson, Ndlovu. Front Row; L-R: Dr Anna Stiepel, DrVivien Hennessy, Dr Daniela Panzera, Dr Miriam Walsh and DrCiarán Ryan. 625 students from 20 counties and 3 continents wereconferred with academic awards across the College’s 27programmes in addition to the College’s 100th PhD award.



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Not only were students conferred with awards on undergraduate,diploma, graduate diploma and master programmes but this yearmarked the first graduation of students from the Certificate inGeneral Learning & Personal Development, a programme forpeople with intellectual disabilities. Back Row: L-R: OwenMcDonagh, Ennis; Colette Walsh, Nenagh; Jane Slattery, Nenagh;Eanna O’Mahony, Cappamore; Prof. Teresa O’Doherty, Dean ofEducation, MIC; Prof. Michael A Hayes, President of MIC; Paul O’Dea,Bruree; Kate Crotty, Ennis; Claire McLoughlin, Nenagh; and AndrewKerr, Dundrum, Co. Tipperary. Front Row: L-R: Anne O’Byrne,Lecturer in Inclusive Education, MIC; Sarah Casey, Aine Carey, JessicaKeegan, Limerick city; Deirdre Corry, Orla Hannon, Sixmilebridge;Michael O’Doherty, Limerick city and Orla Slattery, Inclusion Co-ordinator, MIC.

Cian Ó Tiarnaigh, North Circular Road, Limerick, who graduatedwith a Graduate Diploma in Adult and Further Education, picturedwith his daughter Áine, sons John, Gerrard and Fionn and Prof.Michael A Hayes.

Aisling Brennan from Ferrybank, Co. Waterford was awarded theCertificate in Religious Education Medal for achieving first place inthe Certificate in Religious Education, B.Ed. in Education &Psychology programme. Pictured here with Bishop Brendan Leahy.

Grace Cardiff from Bridgetown, Co. Wexford, was the recipient ofno less than four awards. Prof. Michael A Hayes presented herwith the College Medal, for achieving first place in the Bachelor ofEducation in Education and Psychology Programme. She was alsoawarded the Carlisle & Blake prize, presented by the Departmentof Education and Skills to the graduate who is awarded first placein Education, Theory and Practice. Grace was this year’s recipient ofthe Bonn Vere Foster award, presented by the President of theIrish National Teachers’ Organisation, Emma Dineen (pictured here)for first place in Teaching Practice and Curriculum Education. Gracewas also awarded the Frostburg Scholarship, (presented by theCollege’s Faculty of Education in conjunction with Frostburg StateUniversity in Maryland, USA).

Alice O’Driscoll from Rochestown, Co. Cork, was awarded theCollege Gold Medal, presented by Prof. Michael A Hayes, Presidentof MIC, for coming first place in the Graduate Diploma in Education(Primary Teaching) programme.



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Mai Burke Hayes from Raheen, Co. Limerick, who was awardedthe College Medal, for coming first in the BA Early Childhood Careand Education programme.

Richie English, 3rd year B.Ed., received the Award for OutstandingAchievement. The College presents this award to a student who,in the year of the award, has demonstrated outstandingachievement in any field of endeavour. Richie was presented theaward by Prof. Michael A Hayes, President of MIC, in recognition ofhis sporting achievements with the Limerick under 21’s hurlingteam.

Suzanne O’Keeffe, from Pallaskenry,Co. Limerick, was awarded an MICPostgraduate Award.

Tara Hayes (BA graduate) fromCastleconnell, Limerick waspresented with the CollegeMedal for coming first in theBachelor of Arts Degree; theCollege Silver Medal for comingfirst place in Philosophy and theCollege Silver Medal for comingfirst place in Geography.

Lorenzo Girardi, Department ofPhilosophy, from the Netherlands,who was awarded the MICDoctoral Award by Michael AHayes, President of MIC.

Bronnadh Bonn Airgid anCholáiste ar Lisa Lynch (céimí BA)ó Phort Umna, Co. na Gaillimhe asucht an chéad áit a bhaint amachi Staidéar na Fraincise. BronnadhBonn Uí Bhroiméil uirthi chomhmaith as ucht an chéad áit abhaint amach sa Ghaeilge.

Laura Hurley, BA in English andHistory graduate, from Ballyneety,Co. Limerick; pictured with herdaughter Sophia Casey, age 2.

A range of MIC Mementos were launched in advance of graduationsthis year. Items include branded Teddy Bears, Card Wallets, CompactMirrors, Pens, Umbrella and Cufflinks and are available to purchaseonline VIA our Alumni website.

John Coady, Vice President Adminis-tration & Finance, could BEAR-LY containhis excitement on the receipt of his MICBear.



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Congratulations to MIC Ladies Football Team who defeated TrinityCollege Dublin in the Intermediate All-Ireland Freshers’ Blitz inOctober.

Holly Cowman, Director of International Office, undertook a verysuccessful trip to China in October to promote MIC’s range ofprogrammes. Pictured here at the CEE Fair, Beijing, at whichIreland was declared, “Country of Honour” for 2016, with Ministerfor Education and Skills, Minister Jan O’Sullivan T.D. and ClíonaCampbell, International Manager, LIT.

Holly was joined on her trip by colleagues from UL and LIT on visitsto three HEI’s in the city of Dalian in an effort to explore thepossibility of joint programmes and regional collaborations.Pictured here with Mr Wang Fuhe, Vice Director, Department ofInternational Cooperation and Cultural Exchange, Dalian Vocational& Technical College; Clíona Campbell, International Manager, LIT;Donnacha McNamara, Head of International, LIT; Lisa Pan,International Office, UL; and Josephine Page, Manager,International Office, UL.

During her two week hecticschedule Holly visited SichuanInternational Studies University inChongqing, China, where JohnGalvin, who formerly worked inthe Curriculum Development Unitat MIC, is now based.

As well as attending a secondCEE Fair in Shanghai, Hollyvisited 11 universities in total,in four cities in China and twocities in Japan. Pictured hereMs. Helen Sun, Assistant to theDirector; and Mr. Subin Wang,Deputy Director, InternationalExchange Division, East ChinaNormal University (ECNU), inShanghai.

Dr Eóin Flannery lectures in the Department ofEnglish Language and Literature, having joinedMIC in August 2015, after eight years lecturing atOxford Brookes University in the UK. His latestpublication, entitled Ireland and Ecocriticism: Literature, History andEnvironmental Justice, was published in October. Providing originaland nuanced readings of Irish cultural texts and personalities interms of contemporary ecological criticism, Dr Flannery’s readingsof Irish literary fiction, poetry, travel writing, non-fiction, and essaywriting are ground-breaking in their depth and scope. Picturedhere with Dr Eugene O’Brien, HoD English Language and Literature,and Director of Institute for Irish Studies (IIS) MIC, following hislecture “Listen to the Leaves’: Irony and Commitment inContemporary Irish Eco Poetry” as part of the IIS Lunchtime Series.



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Pictured at a recent public lecture presenting Norwegian and Irishresearch concerning Artists in Education were (L-R) Dr MichaelFinneran, Head of Drama & Theatre Studies, MIC; Dr Ailbhe Kenny,Lecturer in Music, MIC; Dr Catharina Christophersen, BergenUniversity College and Dr Dorothy Morrissey, Lecturer in DramaEducation, MIC.

Congratulations to MIC alumni andacclaimed Limerick artist SamuelWalsh who was invited to representIreland at an exhibition as a Laureateat the Pilsen International DrawingBiennale in Czech Republic, as part ofthe city’s designation as EuropeanCapital of Culture.

Pictured at the recent opening of MAKE, an exhibition of work byartists and educators from Mary Immaculate College and LimerickSchool of Art and Design, was Niall Quinn, Visual Art Technician,MIC.

Tanya Power, lecturer in VisualArt Education, MIC, picturedwith her work at MAKE.

Sinead Dinneen, lecturer inVisual Art Education, MIC,pictured with her work at MAKE.

A number of MIC students took a unique approach to teachingchildren about the environment recently when they took on thechallenge of explaining Pope Francis’s recent encyclical on theenvironment, Laudato Si’, to a class of 12-year-olds at Corbally’sScoil Íde.

Congratulations to Anne Marie Morrin, Visual Arts Educator and DrAnne Dolan, lecturer in Primary Geography, MIC, who were amongthe 20 nominees shortlisted for the National Forum TeachingExperts Award 2015. Anne Marie and Anne’s nomination wasbased on their innovative interdisciplinarywork with third year B.Ed. students fromVisual Art and Primary Geography. Theyhave established an interdisciplinarycollaboration through an exploration oflocal landscapes using both a geographicaland artistic lens. In the process, studentsexplore and acknowledge the inter-relationship between Art and the world inwhich we live.



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One of the most significant pieces of research into rural vibrancyever undertaken in Ireland was recently completed by Dr BrendanO’Keeffe, Geography Department, MIC. The report, entitled RuralVibrancy on North West Europe – the case of South Kerry, wasconducted as part of the INTERREG Rural Alliances project in whichSouth Kerry Development Partnership (SKDP) was involved. MaryImmaculate College acted as South Kerry DevelopmentPartnership’s academic partner during the four year project whichincluded findings from surveys conducted with more than 100 civilsociety organisations and 1,000 individuals throughout South Kerry.Pictured at the launch were L-R: Dr Brendan O'Keeffe, Dept ofGeography, MIC and report author; Dr Emer Ring, HoD, Departmentof Reflective Pedagogy and Early Childhood Studies, MIC; MichaelO'Regan, Irish Times Dáil Correspondent; and Lisha O’Sullivan,Department of Reflective Pedagogy and Early Childhood Studies,MIC.

Members of MIC GoverningBody Caitríona Breathnachand Mairead Horan picturedwith Dr Paul O’Connell, formerIreland Rugby Captain,following his receipt of anHonorary Doctorate from theUniversity of Limerick.

Prof. Gary O’Brien, Associate Vice President of Administrationpictured here with Lucinda Creighton, T.D. on her recent visit to theCollege.

THE public bike scheme in Limerick city, launched almost a yearago, has proved popular with both residents and visitors alike withthe station located at MIC proving by far the most popular, withalmost 4,500 visits since it opened.

MISU recently raised €343 for Enable Ireland as part of MentalHealth Week when they spent a day ‘in someone else’s shoes’ orin this case someone else’s chair. Well done all.

Pictured at the launch of the Institute of Guidance CounsellorsNational Conference were L-R: Betty McLaughlin, President IGC,Prof. Michael A. Hayes, President MIC; Prof. Teresa O’ Doherty,Dean of Education, MIC; Prof. Eugene Wall, Vice President ofAcademic Affairs, MIC; and Mai Kerins, Vice- President IGC. TheIGC National Conference, which is supported by Mary ImmaculateCollege, will take place in UL from 26th-27th February 2016.

Prof. Michael A Hayes pictured atthe launch of the launch of theInstitute of Guidance CounsellorsNational Conference with L-R: BettyMcLaughlin, President IGC; NiallMurphy, Chairperson, TipperaryBranch IGC Conference OrganisingCommittee and GC, PresentationConvent, Thurles; and Tipperaryactor Rachel Pilkington, Ambass-ador for Pieta House.



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Pictured at the Inaugural Conference of the Limerick Early ModernStudies Forum held in UL in November were L-R: Professor AlisonRowlands (University of Essex); Professor Anthony McElligot (UL);Dr Clodagh Tait (MIC); Dr Richard Kirwan (UL); Professor RaymondGillespie (University of Maynooth); Professor Dan Carey (NUIGalway); Dr Liam Chambers (MIC); Dr Michael Griffin (UL); Dr KarolMullaney-Dignam (UL).

Organising by Dr Liam Chambers (HoD History, MIC), Dr Michael J.Griffin (UL), Dr Richard Kirwan (UL), Dr Karol Mullaney-Dignam (UL)and Dr Clodagh Tait (MIC) the aim of the interdisciplinaryconference was to explore the theme of ‘becoming’ in earlymodern European and Irish culture.

Mary Immaculate College recently signed its first MoU in Brazilwith the Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo. The MoU willsee the two institutions collaborate on various projects, includingresearch and staff and student mobility. Holly Cowman picturedhere with Herbert Souza, International Relations Officer, PontificalCatholic University of Sao Paulo.

To celebrate Science Week 2015 MaryImmaculate College, the University ofLimerick, and Limerick Institute ofTechnology in collaboration withScience Foundation Ireland cametoge-ther to develop the ‘LimerickFestival of Science’, a jam packedweek full of science magic and fun indifferent venues around Limerick. TheScience Education Team in MIC,comprising of Dr Maeve Liston, DrMiriam Hamilton and Dr Anne ODwyer organised a wide variety of

science activities for children of all age groups and adults. This yearwas bigger and better than ever with almost 1,400 attendeesenjoying a jam packed week full of science magic and funincluding science shows for schools and the general public andworkshops for both children and adults. MIC would like to thankScience Foundation Ireland and the Irish American Partnership fortheir continued support and funding for such initiatives.

Pictured at the launch of MIC’s newest programme of study, the BAin Contemporary and Applied Theatre Studies, were L-R: Dr MichaelFinneran, Programme Director; Prof. Michael A Hayes, President ofMIC; Joan Sheehy, Arts Council member and theatre maker; MinisterJimmy Deenihan T.D., Minister for Diaspora Affairs and LouiseDonlon, Theatre Director of the Lime Tree Theatre.

L-R: Dr Michael Finneran, Programme Director; Sheila Deegan, ArtsOfficer at Limerick City & County Council and Bid Team Limerick2020; Louise Donlon, Theatre Director of the Lime Tree Theatre andMike Fitzpatrick, Director of Limerick European City of Culture Bid atLimerick City & County Council.

BA CATS students pictured at the programme launch.



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Congratulations to MIC Camogie team who were crowned All-Ireland Fresher Champions in November after they defeatedLimerick City rivals University of Limerick by a single goal in thefinal played in Dublin City University’s GAA grounds.

Pictured at the IIS Lunchtime Lecture series in November was OrlaSlattery, Inclusion Co-ordinator, MIC, who presented a paper,entitled The Marriage of Faith and Reason: George Berkeley andthe Golden Age of Irish Philosophy. Pictured here with Dr EugeneO’Brien, HoD English Language and Literature, and Director ofInstitute for Irish Studies, MIC.

MIC Foundation arranged a social evening on campus on Friday20th November 2015 with Mr. Justice Peter Kelly, a recently retiredsenior judge. Mr. Justice Kelly, who spent an extensive careerworking on some of the country’s most high profile legal cases,regaled his audience with a variety of witty anecdotes andmemories of his career. Foundation Chairman Mr Páidí O ‘Lionáirdhosted the evening and brought some members of the audience,made up largely of the local legal profession, on a short tour of thecampus afterwards. Facilitated by Foundation Board member Mr.Ian O’Herlihy, the event was very enjoyable and a success in termsof bringing MIC’s continuing development to the attention of someof the city’s key influencers.

L-R: Mr Páidí O Lionáird, MIC Foundation Chairman; Prof. Michael AHayes, President of MIC; Mr. Justice Peter Kelly; Mr. Ian O’Herlihyand Rev. Canon Tony Mullins, Foundation Board Members.

Prof. David Hall, Founding Dean, La Salle Academy for ReligiousEducation, ACU, visited MIC in November. Pictured here withDirectors from the Irish Institute for Catholic Studies, MIC, Dr LiamChambers and Dr Patricia Kieran.

Return of iconic Belltable venue has recently been announced. TheLime Tree Theatre sign a Service Level Agreement (SLA) withLimerick City and County Council Arts Office to undertake themanagement and programming of the former Belltable ArtsCentre. The Lime Tree Theatre also has reached agreement withthe relevant authorities to acquire the trading name and thereforeuse the iconic Belltable name, which has been synonymous withthe local and national Irish arts scene since the early 1980s. A newbrand for the venue will be officially launched in early 2016.

Pictured here Brendan Lane, Chair of the Lime Tree Theatre Board,Louise Donlon, Theatre Director of the Lime Tree Theatre; Cllr JerryO'Dea, Mayor of the Metropolitan District and Sheila Deegan,Limerick Arts Officer sign the Belltable agreement.



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200 post primary students visited MIC on Thursday 26th Novemberto sample a taste of college life as part of College Awareness Week2015.

The visiting students from Coláiste Mhichíl CBS Sexton Street,Coláiste Nano Nagle, St. Nessan’s Community College and theCrescent College, Limerick, attended taster lectures in the areas ofPsychology, Early Childhood Studies, English Literature and TheatreStudies.

For those interested in pursuing a career in media they had theopportunity to witness the workings of a live radio studio whenthey visited MIC’s on-campus radio station Wired FM. The studentswere also brought on a tour of the campus, visiting the manySupport Services available to MIC students, before attending aQ&A session with current MIC staff and students, hearing first-hand what life as a 3rd level student is really like.

Shirley Kearney (L) and Maura Moore (R) from MIC’s Access Officepictured with participating students from Coláiste Mhichíl CBSSexton Street on receipt of their certificates for completing theCollege Awareness Programme 2015.

On Thursday 26th November Prof. Hayes hosted a Thanksgivinglunch for all our students from the United States. Pictured herewith L-R Kenzie Key from University of St Thomas, Houston, Texas;Kellan Roybal, Regis University, Denver; and Paul Sutherland of theMountbatten New York Programme.

Pictured at the launch of the partnership between BizWorld Irelandand Mary Immaculate College were Fiona McKeon, CEO of BizWorldIreland, Professor Michael A. Hayes, President of Mary ImmaculateCollege; Dr Maeve Liston, MIC; Minister for Education and Skills,Jan O’Sullivan T.D., and children from Limerick School Project (l tor) Fionn O'Dwyer, Vicky O'Connell, Anna Odufuwa, and MeganMichs. Officially launched by Minister for Education and Skills, JanO’Sullivan T.D. this exciting partnership will see BizWorld trainingMIC students in the delivery of its programme for primary schools,which is aimed at teaching children about enterprise, moneymanagement, problem solving and critical thinking in fun andcreative ways.

Pictured with Minister for Educationand Skills, Jan O’Sullivan T.D., are (lto r) Fionn O'Dwyer, Megan Michs,Vicky O'Connell and Anna Odufuwafrom Limerick School Project.


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gColáisteNuacht ónDATES FOR YOUR DIARY

IMEACHTAÍ ATÁ LE TEACHT

Tuesday 15th December @ 6pm, College Chapel

*MIC Carol Service

Thursday 17th December @ 6pm

*MIC College Christmas Party

Thursday 24th December – Sunday 3rd January inc.

College Closed for Christmas Holidays

Friday 15th & Saturday 16th January 2016

RDS Primary Science Fair, Limerick

Complementing the RDS Primary Science Fair Dublin that happensalongside the BT Young Scientists & Technology Exhibition each January,the RDS Primary Science Fair Limerick will take place on January 15th and16th 2016, in Mary Immaculate College, with schools deciding on thevenue they wish to attend.

Further Information: [email protected]

January 13th 2016 @ 11am

National Forum Seminar Series 2015-2016

Assessing the Impact of Cultural Diversity Education: How to evaluatelearning from development and intercultural education. Delivered byBrighid Golden, DICE Project Officer, MIC and Dr Anca Minescu, UL.

G10, Foundation Building


January 20th 2016 @ 9.30am


Negotiating the relationship between assessment and learning: Tacklingthe tensions between competing assessment purposes within the third-level sector. Delivered by Dr Angela Canny and Dr John O’Shea.

T1. 17, TARA Building


22 Eanáir 2016


Measúnóireacht ar Scrúduithe Cainte: Dea-chleachtas + CórasCaighdeánaithe le Máire Ní Neachtain



Saturday 23rd January, TARA Building, 11am – 1pm

MIC Open Days

MIC will host an Open Day on Saturday 23rd January from 10am – 1pm.

Course presentations, information stands on student support services,and campus tours will be available. This event will be of particular interestto 5th & 6th year students and their families. It will also be of interest tomature students.


January 27th 2016 @ 1pm

*Institute for Irish Studies Lunchtime Lecture Series

The making of a nation saint? The beatification and canonisation of OliverPlunkett. Delivered by Dr Clodagh Tait.



February 9th 2016 @ 5.30pm

*Centre for Historical Research

Limerick, London, Paris: the three lives of the Kerry man – Sir DanielArthur (1630-1705): Irish merchant, popish agent, banker of the kings.Delivered by Dr Nathalie Genet Rouffiac, Service Historique de la Défense,France.

Room G08, Foundation Building

February 15th – 20th inc.

1916: Memory and Vision

As part of the MIC commemoration of the 1916rising, the Department of Learning, Society, and Religious Education willhost a series of events in February with an overall theme of 1916:Memory and Vision. Events will include a wide variety of displays,installations, poster presentations, and other initiatives, culminating in aone-day conference on Saturday 20th February. It is anticipated that theproject will engage College staff, students and the general public in anhistorical journey that explores aspects of 1916 in the context of MaryImmaculate College and of Limerick City and County. The dual focus ofMemory and Vision will allow for an exploration of socio-economic,educational and cultural developments over the past century and providean opportunity to reflect on ‘learning from the past into the future’.


February 17th 2016

Inter-cultural and Inter-religious Education – one day seminar

Lime Tree Theatre, TARA Building


February 19th 2016


Assessing Creative Arts Practice in Higher Education: Opportunities andChallenges. Delivered by Dr Ailbhe Kenny.



March 1st 2016 @ 5.30pm


How to win friends and humiliate your enemies: Latin invective in theseventeenth Century. Delivered by Dr Jason Harris, UCC.


1 – 17th March 2016

*Seachtain na Gaeilge


March 17th 2016

College Closed for St. Patrick’s Day

March 22nd 2016 @ 5.30pm


The components of elite diet in sixteenth-century Ireland. Delivered byDr Susan Flavin.


March 25th 2016

College Closed for Good Friday


Goldilocks - The Circus Panto

Category: Comedy, Family, Musical

Theatre

Performance Dates: 27th Dec - 3rd Jan

Performance Times: Various see

www.limetreetheatre.ie

Ticket Price: €17/€19/€66 (Family Ticket)

Moondance:

The Van Morrison Project on Tour

Category: Music

Performance Dates: Sat 23rd Jan

JanPerformance Times: 8pm

Ticket Price: €16/€20

Sean Keane

Category: Music

Performance Dates: Fri 22nd Jan

JanPerformance Times: 8pm

Ticket Price: €20

Dr Michael Murphy

A series of four public talks about music

in Ireland.

Jan 20th, 7pm, €8

Soldiering on: Ireland’s National Anthem

from 1916 to 2016

Feb 2nd, 7pm ,€8

Work in Progress: Composers in Ireland

1742 to 2016

April 4th, 7pm, €8

Is there a little room for chamber music

on your life?

May 3rd, 7pm, €8

Why listen to sad music if it makes you

feel sad? Puccini’s La Boheme and the

beauty of sadness

Apres Match Live

Category: Comedy

Performance Date: Fri Feb 5th

Performance Times: 8pm

Ticket Price: €27

The Dublin and Shannon Gospel Choirs

Category: Music

Performance Date: Sat Feb 6th


Ticket Price: €22/€18

Eleanor Shanley, Forever Young

Category: Music

Performance Date: Sat Feb 13th


Ticket Price: €21

Songs of Ireland: Commemorating the

Rising of 1916

Category: Music

Performance Date: Tues Feb 16th


Ticket Price: €8

Dolans Present

Mary Black

Category: Music

Performance Date:Sat Feb 27th


Ticket Price: €30

Jason Byrne

Category: Music

Performance Date:Sat Mar 5th


Ticket Price: €21

Lime Tree Theatre

FORTHCOMING EVENTSBox Office T: 061 774 774 www.limetreetheatre.ie



Nuacht ón gColáiste - Issue 11

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