Latest news with #UniversityOfGalway
Irish Times
20-07-2025
- Science
- Irish Times
‘Deep and rich' story of medieval high rulers and nobles determined by archaeologists in Galway
A ringfort overlooking Galway bay was a settlement for high-status rulers and nobles in Ireland's early medieval period, archaeologists have determined. Rathgurreen Ringfort, in the Maree area of Co Galway, has been described as an impressive, 'high-status' settlement that could date anywhere from the 5th to 12th century AD, with evidence of contact with Rome, Scotland, France and Scandinavia, possibly including the trade of valuable purple dye. An eight-week archaeological excavation, directed by Dr Michelle Comber and Dr Noel McCarthy of the discipline of archaeology at University of Galway , determined the ringfort was the settlement of a king or a lord. Glass and amber beads; an Iron Age knife; ancient axe heads and stone tools; French pottery found at Rathgurreen Ringfort. Photograph: Aengus McMahon The ringfort, on a panoramic site with views south to the Burren, west to the Atlantic and north across Galway was first investigated and proposed as a high-status settlement by professor Michael Duignan, then chair of archaeology at the university, in the late 1940s. Excavations now suggest that parts of the site are potentially 1,000 years older than previously thought. A team of professionals, students and volunteers took part in the archaeological dig this summer on a section of the 100m diameter ringfort. Dr Comber, lecturer in archaeology at University of Galway, said it could be asserted with some certainty that Maree is an ancient territory. There are up to 40 ringforts in the area, most of which are only a third the size of Rathgurreen, as well as a number of earlier prehistoric sites. The name Mearaí (Maree) appears in several early legends, often associated with warriors or other figures bearing that name. Dr Comber said the team's research confirms that Rathgurreen was the home of a noble family – 'hence the description as high-status.' 'But the story is much deeper and richer. We have evidence of continuity and change at this site – a settlement that possibly dates back to the iron age, that was later developed into a very fine ringfort. A new home with links to ancestors would certainly have been very attractive to early medieval nobility.' Dr Michelle Comber holding a turquoise and red glass bead found at the Rathgurreen Ringfort and believed to date from Early Medieval Ireland. Credit: Aengus McMahon The archaeology team found a number of glass beads, some coloured blue and another turquoise and red. These have parallels in other parts of Ireland and Scotland in the Iron Age – the era that immediately precedes the early medieval period. The dig has also confirmed the presence of early medieval pottery from northern France and amber beads likely connected with Scandinavian trade routes used by the Vikings. Evidence of the manufacture of purple dye at Rathgurreen comprises the remnants of dog-whelk shellfish that were processed at the settlement to produce the rare, and therefore, valuable colouring. Dr Comber said: 'We are working in an ancient high-status settlement located roughly midway along the Atlantic seaboard. In no sense, though, would it have been viewed as 'wild' or isolated – on the contrary it was part of a wider community and had links with other parts of Ireland, Scotland and mainland Europe. The adjacent coast provided relatively easy access to the outside world – seaways were the motorways of their day. 'The big takeaway from this site is that a place like Galway had a wider significance in the past, and that significance translates into the present. This one site has many tales to tell and roles to play. People come to the west of Ireland and they think it's isolated and remote, but Maree's ancient remains tell us that western Ireland was not cut off from the wider world, geographically or culturally.' The modern excavations began with geophysical surveys that provided hints of what might be present beneath the grass. In conjunction with the results from the 1940s, these helped guide the work this summer. The excavation marks the launch of a new research project exploring land use through time on the Maree peninsula in Galway with the university team hoping to continue digs at the site in 2026 and to pursue other locations in the area in future years. The larger project is supported by the Discovery Programme: Centre for Archaeology and Innovation Ireland. It also involves local, national and international communities – developing a conservation management plan for Rathgurreen, in conjunction with landowners, ecological and archaeological experts and funded by the National Monuments Service Community Monuments Fund via Galway County Council.
Daily Mail
15-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Ozempic found to slash risk of disease affecting 6.7m Americans each year
Blockbuster weight loss drugs could slash the risk of developing memory-robbing dementia, a major study suggests. Researchers in Ireland analyzed clinical trials of nearly 165,000 taking drugs to lower their glucose (blood sugar) and treat diabetes. The team found most glucose-lowering treatments had no significant impact on dementia risk. However, people taking GLP-1 agonists like Ozempic and Wegovy were 45 percent less likely to develop dementia at some point in their lives than people on other drugs. While it's unclear exactly how the active ingredients in these drugs - most often semaglutide and tirzepatide - reduce the likelihood of dementia, the researchers believe they may lower inflammation in the brain. Neuroinflammation is thought to damage neurons and disrupt communications to part of the brain responsible for memory, triggering dementia symptoms. GLP-1 agonists may also reduce toxic amyloid and tau proteins, hallmarks of dementia. The team suspects GLP-1 agonists like Ozempic may help prevent both diabetes and dementia, both of which are on the rise in the US. Dr Catriona Reddin, senior study author and researcher at the University of Galway, said: 'This research represents a significant contribution to our understanding of how some diabetes medications may impact brain health. 'Diabetes is a known risk factor for dementia, but whether glucose-lowering therapies can help prevent cognitive decline has remained unclear. 'Our findings suggest that GLP-1 receptor agonists, in particular, may have a protective effect on brain health.' The study comes after a similar experiment from the University of Florida, which tracked 400,000 Americans on glucose-lowering drugs and found dementia risk was 33 percent lower for GLP-1 users compared to other interventions. Around 8million adults in the US have some form of dementia, and 500,000 are diagnosed every year. Meanwhile, one in eight US adults has reported taking Ozempic or similar medications at least once for diabetes or weight loss. In the new study, published in JAMA Neurology, researchers identified 26 studies that explored the relationship between GLP-1 agonist use and dementia. These included a total of 164,531 participants, most of whom (65 percent) were men. The average age was 64 with a follow-up time of 31 months. Studies included in the analysis were published between 2015 and 2024. Of the 26 in the review, 10 looked at the impact of GLP-1 agonists. The team suspected GLP-1 agonists may lower inflammation, which is a major driver of dementia. It's thought to activate the immune cells microglia and astrocytes in the brain, which damage neurons and disrupt the blood-brain barrier, the brain's protective layer. GLP-1 agonists have also been shown to lower blood pressure and protect blood vessels, reducing the risk of vascular dementia. A study published in April also found GLP-1s may stimulate neural growth in the hippocampus, an area of the brain responsible for learning and memory formation. However, this research is early. Professor Martin O'Donnell, Dean of the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at University of Galway: 'Given the increasing prevalence of both diabetes and dementia, findings from this study have important public health implications for prevention of dementia.' Recent reports from the Alzheimer's Association report rates of Alzheimer's disease - the most common form of dementia - have risen 25 years in a row in the US. Diabetes, meanwhile, affects 12 percent of Americans - 38million. Reports published in 2022 suggest rates in the Americas have tripled in the last 30 years. There were several limitations to the new study, mainly including a lack of data on subtypes of dementia like vascular and Lewy body dementia.
Irish Times
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Galway hotel fire ‘pulled our community together to help other newcomers', says professor
On Saturday, December 16th, 2023, the former Ross Lake House Hotel in Rosscahill near Oughterard, Co Galway, was set on fire in a suspected arson attack. The previous week, protesters had gathered outside the building after it was announced it would be used as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers. Frustrated by the spreading misinformation about migrants , local Rosscahill resident Prof Afshin Samali, a leading cancer specialist from the University of Galway who came here as a refugee in the 1980s, decided to speak out. He posted a thread of messages on X about why Irish people should be 'open-minded and compassionate' towards refugees. In the days that followed, after nearly four decades living in Ireland, he experienced racism for the first time in this country. After posting the online thread, he received a 'barrage of hate speech and racist comments'. READ MORE A year and a half on, Prof Samali still feels saddened when he recalls this anti-migrant incident. However, those attacking him 'were a very small minority', he clarifies. Most messages he received in the wake of his post were words of 'kindness and support'. Prof Samali arrived in Ireland in December 1985 aged 15 with his parents and siblings as part of a small group of Bahá'í refugees who were resettled in Ireland. His family had fled Iran where members of the Baháʼí faith experienced persecution, exclusion and sometimes imprisonment or execution. Before the fire in December 2023, Prof Samali and his wife and colleague, Prof Adrienne Gorman, were preparing to launch an NGO dedicated to removing barriers to education for refugees and asylum seekers in Ireland. [ On Sanctuary Sunday, we share a responsibility to oppose hostility towards migrants and asylum seekers Opens in new window ] 'We did register the foundation in 2024 but some serious threats were made against myself and my family, so I felt we needed to regroup.' Almost exactly 18 months on, on June 17th, Prof Samali and Prof Gorman gathered at the Royal Irish Academy with friends, colleagues and supporters, including Minister of State for Migration Colm Brophy, to launch the Samali Foundation. The non-profit is dedicated to advancing access to third-level education for minorities who face systematic and structural barriers to participation, he told attendees. 'The foundation's primary focus is to research, identify and remove barriers to education that hinder refugees and asylum seekers from accessing education,' says Prof Samali. This will include mentorship programmes and the development of a postgraduate access programme. 'I could see there was a gap – we'd started seeing larger numbers of refugees coming here who had studied in their own home countries but when they came here with those qualifications, they were being forced into low-paid jobs and [to] start from scratch,' Prof Samali told The Irish Times. 'This pushes these people into a vicious cycle of poverty. I felt I could do something unique by bringing my own personal experience as a refugee, and professional experience in academia, together. 'I felt a moral obligation and duty to help with the integration of refugees. The better the integration, the better it is for the country. And education is key in that process.' [ Prof Afshin Samali: 'We need to think of refugees as people who have a lot of potential' Opens in new window ] The foundation recently secured financial backing from the highly sought-after UN High Commissioner for Refugees-led innovation fund to develop a pilot postgraduate access programme for migrant groups. It was one of just 14 groups selected out of 3,500 international applications for the support. The pilot will formally begin later this year, with a goal of enrolling its first students in September 2026. The foundation is working directly with the University of Galway and is also collaborating with the University of Limerick and Maynooth University. In recent years, Prof Samali and his family have hosted a number of Afghan refugees in their home, some of them students. He was also part of a community sponsorship group in Rosscahill that formed in the wake of the Ross Lake House Hotel fire. 'The fire at Rosscahill actually pulled our community together to help other newcomers. After I spoke out, a lot of our neighbours rallied around us and were very supportive. That was the positive outcome from a sad incident – before we just lived in Rosscahill, but now we really feel we're an integral part of the community.' [ The idea that immigration fuels Ireland's housing crisis is wrong Opens in new window ] Later this year, Prof Samali will mark 40 years living in Ireland. However, he still feels a strong link to Iran and is concerned the Israel-Iran conflict will prompt a new wave of refugees into Europe. 'It upsets me to see what is happening there, I see my family and friends living in fear of what's going to happen next,' he says. 'And it's not only Iranians. Almost 10 per cent of the population is made up of displaced Afghans. I also have friends and colleagues in Israel who fear being attacked by neighbouring countries. And I'm also concerned about the plight of the Palestinians. 'At the end of the day, we should want the same safety for newcomers coming here from war and conflict as we want for our own families. We need to help them build their lives here again.'
Telegraph
18-06-2025
- Science
- Telegraph
How red squirrels are fighting back against their grey cousins
Red squirrels are staging a comeback after being eliminated by their grey cousins, a study has suggested. A resurgence in pine martens, the natural predator of squirrels, has had a greater impact on the greys, which are not native to the British Isles and do not know to fear them. Red squirrels, which evolved alongside pine martens for centuries, can easily avoid the predators and become more wary when one is nearby, the study found, making the 'predator naive' greys easier prey. The reds have started to thrive as a result, despite increasing numbers of wild squirrel hunters. Red squirrels are native to the UK but have suffered significant population decline in recent decades because of the arrival of the larger grey variety from the US in the late 19th century. They have been reduced to small populations in parts of the British countryside such as Scotland, Anglesey and the Isle of Wight as their shared habitat was overtaken by greys, which are indiscriminate in what they eat and able to reproduce at a faster rate. Decline of pine martens Pine martens have also suffered a catastrophic population decline in recent decades, but efforts to protect, reintroduce and nurture the species in Britain and Ireland has assisted red squirrels. The study by the University of Galways laid wildlife cameras around the Irish countryside to monitor activity at feeding sites and discovered that red squirrels become wary in the presence of pine martens. However, greys were more unaware of the signs and were therefore more likely to be killed. Dr Emily Reilly, the study's lead author, told The Telegraph: 'Red squirrels would rarely even eat any food if a pine marten had been there in the last eight hours.' 'They slowly became less cautious but you could still see the effect even days after the pine marten visit. 'The grey squirrels do not have this response. This is most likely why their numbers have been decreasing since the pine marten has made a comeback.' A total of 491 squirrel visits were recorded in the study, compared to 226 pine marten sightings detected by the cameras. The data collected in western Ireland will probably apply to Britain, where pine marten numbers are also increasing, Ms Reilly said. The study said: 'Following a pine marten visit to a feeder, red squirrels displayed a typical anti-predator response, exhibiting increased vigilance and decreased feeding.' 'There was no difference in the duration of the red squirrels' visits to a feeder, meaning red squirrels did not display a flight reaction in response to recent pine marten presence.' The study is published in Royal Society Open Science.
Irish Times
03-06-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
Almost 50% of children and teenagers struggling with ‘feeling low'
There has been a large increase in the proportion of children in the Republic who report feeling low at least every week, according to fresh research. A report published on Tuesday found that almost half of children and teenagers (46.3 per cent) reported 'feeling low' on at least a weekly basis in 2022, up from 23 per cent in 1998. Girls were more likely to report feeling low than boys: 57.6 per cent compared with 35.2 per cent. The Irish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey monitored the health behaviours and outcomes of young people every four years between 1998 and 2022. Those surveyed ranged in age from 10 to 17. READ MORE The report found a decrease in the proportion of young people happy with life at present (down from 88.1 per cent to 78.5 per cent) and in those reporting a high level of life satisfaction (down from 76 per cent to 61.6 per cent). The latest report also found an increase in the number of children and teens feeling pressured by school work (up from 32.9 per cent to 47.8 per cent), and increases in the number of children who reported experiencing headaches (up from 26 per cent to 38.2 per cent) and sleep disturbances (30.9 per cent up to 46.3 per cent). There was a small increase in the proportion of those who reported going to school or bed hungry because there was not enough food at home: up from 16.6 per cent in 2002 to 18.3 per cent in 2022. Prof Colette Kelly, who co-led the research at the University of Galway , said the number of those reporting feeling low is 'definitely worrying'. The survey doesn't ask children why they feel low, noted Prof Kelly, but she said young people are consuming information about war, climate change and the cost-of-living crisis. They are also dealing with the long-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, she added. There was a small increase in the proportion of those who reported being bullied at school once or more in the past couple of months: up from 24.6 per cent in 1998 to 28.6 per cent in 2022. The number of girls who reported being bullied increased from 19.6 per cent to 29.5 per cent during the same period, while the number of boys who reported being bullied decreased slightly from 29.2 per cent to 27.7 per cent. The proportions of young people smoking, drinking and using cannabis have reduced significantly in recent years. The number of children who reported ever being 'really drunk' decreased from 33 per cent in 1998 to 17.8 per cent in 2022. There was also a moderate reduction in the proportion of children and teenagers who reported cannabis use in the last 12 months: down from 12.3 per cent in 1998 to 6.5 per cent in 2022. The research also found that smoking rates reduced from 22.6 per cent to 4.7 per cent in the same period. Minister of State for Public Health Jennifer Murnane O'Connor was not present at the launch but spoke via a pre-recorded video message. 'The good news is that we are seeing a significant long-term decline in the use of tobacco, alcohol and cannabis in young people. Compared to 1998, today's young people are less likely to smoke, drink regularly or experiment with drugs,' said Ms Murnane O'Connor. The junior minister added that the report highlights ongoing challenges, particularly in mental health and social inequality. 'Many adolescents continue to report pressure at school, bullying, sleep difficulties, and going to bed hungry. While substance use is declining, disparities remain, particularly for students from disadvantaged backgrounds or marginalised communities,' she said. 'We need to support equality and ensure that no young person is left behind.'
