Latest news with #DANU
Irish Daily Mirror
30-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
High tech training systems to help Irish sprinters at LA Olympics
Irish sprinters could be in line for gold medals at the next Olympics in Los Angeles with the help of high tech training systems being developed here. It has been revealed that elite Irish sprinters are involved in a study at Lero, a leading software research centre at the University of Limerick. Among those taking part in the study is sprint star and Olympic hopeful, Sarah Leahy, from Killarney, Co Kerry. The groundbreaking research at UL hopes to give Irish sprinters a competitive edge at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. While the country has always excelled when it came to long and middle-distance athletes such as Sonia O'Sullivan and Caitriona McKiernan, in recent years sprinters have been on track for glory. Sharlene Mawdsley and Rhasidat Adeleke brought home gold from the European Championships in Rome last year when Ireland won the mixed 4x400m relay. They also bagged a silver medal in the women's 4x400m relay and there are high hopes that they can do even better at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. These successes and those of other Irish stars has regenerated an intense interest in athletics in this country as the green singlet becomes ever-more prominent in sprint disciplines. And these successes have not gone unnoticed internationally with singer Rihanna now a big fan of Rhasidat Adeleke. The work at UL will test the effectiveness of high-tech spike sprint shoes, potentially boosting their chances for success. Lero researchers at UL's Sport and Human Performance Research Centre have partnered with DANU, an innovative Irish sports analytics company. They are recruiting athletes to use DANU's wearable smart socks technology to capture and analyse athlete-specific data, focusing on the biomechanical assessment of super spike shoes. Professor Ian Kenny said the research will clarify if athletes choose super spikes for sponsorship or for their technological benefits and injury prevention. He said: 'Using real-world metrics on the track and not the lab, we will gain key insights into the benefits of DANU's technology, super spikes, and their impact on our elite sprinters – gaining a fraction of a second could give an Irish athlete a podium finish and a medal. Lero, which is funded by Taighde Éireann—Research Ireland, formerly Science Foundation Ireland - is now one of the world's top software research centres. DANU founder and chief executive Oisín Lennon said they are delighted to continue their collaboration with the University of Limerick, describing the facility as leaders in software and research innovation. He said: 'UL supported us in our early development, playing a vital role in validating our technology and shaping the direction of our platform. 'That early partnership was instrumental in helping us move from concept to a scientifically grounded product. 'Now, it's incredibly rewarding to see Lero and UL using our technology to drive groundbreaking research in elite sprinting – pushing the limits of what's possible in biomechanics and performance science. 'Collaborating with researchers of this calibre not only validates our approach but also ensures we stay at the forefront of innovation. We're excited to contribute to work that has the potential to impact sport at the highest level.'
Irish Independent
29-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Independent
Three-day seminar on regenerative farming to take centre stage in Wexford this weekend
From Friday, May 30 in the Riverside Hotel, to Sunday, June 1 in Enniscorthy Castle, a three-day seminar to do with regenerative farming is being hosted by Moyne Veterinary Hospital, with a very impressive line-up of speakers from various parts of the industry and country. Regenerative farming is about restoring the natural rhythms to the soil - bringing the living layer back to a vibrant and healthy balance. This humus layer when working right can hold one hundred times its own volume of water, acting as a living sponge. In the South East of Ireland, organic matter has reached an all time low of two per cent. According to Joe Kavanagh of Moyne Veterinary Hospital: 'Farmers have seen a huge upsurge of input costs squeezing margins, with them having to milk more cows, or grow more grain. To do this they have been pushing the land, the animals, and themselves further, with more chemical inputs, higher feed bills, and spiralling costs. This is the model that many farmers have been in for quite some time.' "There is a new breed of farmers emerging that are taking a different approach. They are looking to reduce inputs, build soil carbon, enhance the microbial life of the soil, bring back the biodiversity in our fields hedgerows, and build a new future,' he added. As such, the event will be a forum of farmers talking to farmers on how they can produce great quality food, with higher nutrient value and enhance the land. Mike Walsh, a college lecturer in SETU within the Masters of Science in Agriculture programme and dairy famers, will be kicking off the programme on the Friday with a talk on maximising the use of slurry using enzymes, and harnessing the farm's potential with multi-species swards. David Wallis, a former Teagasc advisor, farmer and coordinator of the DANU project, will speak on the EU funded project which is already illustrating impressive results. According to the study, grassland farmers reduced nitrogen usage from 40 to 70 per cent, and tillage farmers reduced it by 40 per cent, fungicide usage reduced by 70 per cent, and insecticide usage by 100 per cent. through regenerative and biological farming.t Other speakers include, tillage farmer Tommy Tierney, beef and sheep farmer Bronagh O'Kane, and father and son dairy farmers Fraser and Jonathan Rothwell. The next day, author and lecturer Dr Verner Wheelock will be speaking on the detrimental effects of poor food quality and how to can change it. Well known vet Tommy Heffernan will speak on the microbiome - from soil health, to animal and human health, while Yvanna Greene will talk on bees and biodiversity. Sunday will feature Alan Poole, dairy farmer ambassador of Farming With Nature, on making a difference through enhancing biodiversity. Herbalist Silja Harms will do a workshop on how to make your own herbal salves, and give a talk on common 'herbal heros' that are all around. The concluding speaker will be Mary Reynolds, Chelsea Flower Gold medallist, best-selling author and tireless environmentalist, on how to be 'guardians not gardeners.'
