University of Galway
Ollscoil na hÉireann, Gaillimh | |
 | |
| Motto | Deo Favente (With the favour of God) |
|---|---|
| Established | 1845 |
| President | Dr James J. Browne |
Academic staff | 526 |
| Students | 15,000 |
| Address | University Road , , Galway 53°16′40″N 9°03′43″W / 53.277784°N 9.061860°W |
| Colours | |
| Affiliations | AUA, Coimbra Group, EUA, NUI, IUA, UI |
| Website | http://www.oegaillimh.ie/ http://www.nuigalway.ie/ |
The National University of Ireland, Galway (NUI Galway) (Irish Ollscoil na hÉireann, Gaillimh or OÉ Gaillimh) is a tertiary-level educational institution located in Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as Queen's College, Galway and was more recently known as University College, Galway (UCG) (Irish: Coláiste na hOllscoile, Gaillimh or COG).
History
The college opened for teaching in 1849 as Queen's College, Galway with 37 professors and 91 students and a year later became a part of the Queen's University of Ireland. In 1906 Alice Perry graduated from the college, believed to be the first female engineering graduate in the world[1] having received a first class honours degree in civil engineering. The Irish Universities Act, 1908 made this college a constituent college of the new National University of Ireland, and under a new charter the name of the college was changed to University College, Galway. The university college was given special statutory responsibility under the University College, Galway Act, 1929 in respect of the use of the Irish language as the working language of the college. The university college retained the name University College, Galway until 1997 when the Universities Act, 1997 changed the name to National University of Ireland, Galway and made the college a constituent university of the National University of Ireland.
The university is located near the centre of the city and stretches along the River Corrib. The oldest part of the university, the Quadrangle, designed by John Benjamin Keane, is a replica of Christ Church, one of the colleges at the University of Oxford. The stone from which it is built was supplied locally. Newer parts of the university sprang up in the 1970s and were designed by architects Scott Tallon Walker. The 1990s also saw considerable development including the conversion of an old munitions factory into a student centre. Recent developments include a state-of-the-art University Sports Centre (Ionaid Spoirt).
Presidents of the university
- Rev. Dr Joseph W. Kirwan 1845-1849
- Edward Berwick 1849-1877
- Sir Thomas William Moffett 1877-1897
- William Joseph Myles Starkie 1897-1899
- Dr Alexander Anderson 1899-1934
- Monsignor John Hynes 1934-1945
- Monsignor Pádraig de Brún 1945-1959
- Dr Martin J. Newell 1960-1975
- Dr Colm Ó hEocha 1975-1996
- Dr Patrick F. Fottrell 1996-2000
- Dr Iognáid G. Ó Muircheartaigh 2000-2008
- Sir Dr James Brown 2008-Present
Recent developments
Like the other constituent universities of the National University of Ireland, the university follows the common college structure. The five Colleges of the University are: - College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies - College of Business, Public Policy and Law - College of Engineering and Informatics - College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences - College of Science.
Staff are represented by the SIPTU trade union (for academic, research, administrative and technical workers) and the Irish Federation of University Teachers (for academic workers only).
The Sunday Times University Guide named the university as Irish University of the Year 2002-2003, 2003-2004, 2005-2006, 2006-2007 [2].
Since January 2006 St Angela's College, Sligo has been a college of the National University of Ireland, Galway; it was previously a recognised college of the National University of Ireland. This change in the relationship will mean that students of St. Angela's College, Sligo will be registered as students of the National University of Ireland, Galway; whilst degrees and diplomas awarded will be those of the National University of Ireland[3].
NUI Galway has also announced details of plans to make the university a 'campus of the future', at a cost of around €400 million.
Student activities
With approximately 15,000 students, the university boasts an active and vibrant student life, with over 60 sports clubs and over 83 active societies. The oldest society on the campus is the Literary & Debating Society, founded in 1846. Another of the campus's oldest societies is appropriately enough that dedicated to the subject area of history, now known as the Cumann Staire (or the Historical Studies Society). The Cumann Staire hosts the annual Aistir international student history conference in March and since 2006 has been developing links with similar student groups internationally. Another large annual event organised by the Cumann Staire is the university's largest formal dress ball, the Arts Bál. Arts Bál 2009 took place on 18 February and set a new record for size with over 1300 in attendance.
The Business Society (NUIG BizSoc) aims to get more students thinking about business and opening their minds to new ideas or to help students who want to get involved in business in any form in the future. This is achieved by many entrepreneurial or business guest speakers lecturing on their real life experiences and how they made it to the top of their industry. Also it’s an important social society in NUI Galway organising events such as the Commerce Ball and the annual business society international tour. The Computer Society hosts all other societies emails and websites, and have one of the largest memberships. The Film Society founded the NUI Galway student cinema. The Rotaract Society, part of the international Rotary family, hosts the annual charity fashion show, 'Socs in the City' and is the largest Rotaract club in Great Britain and Ireland. The college's Drama Society (Dramsoc) has also been long regarded as one of the most important student societies for the arts in Galway having played a part in the formation of Macnas, Druid Theatre Company and The Galway Arts Festival.
In February the university hosts annually an on-campus arts festival entitled Múscailt (meaning to awake/inspire/celebrate in Irish). The annual festival showcases the emerging artists of the university. Almost every society on campus has input. Various shows, concerts and exhibitions are displayed throughout the college. The week often features various inter-varsity or on-campus competitions and award ceremonies.
The ALIVE Programme - A Learning Initiative and the Volunteering Experience - was established in 2003 by the National University of Ireland, Galway to harness, acknowledge and support the contribution that its students make by volunteering. The programme draws on a strong tradition of student engagement both on and off campus and assists students who wish to actively volunteer while developing tangible and transferable skills alongside practical volunteering experiences. The University announced it would be withdrawing its support for the Students' Union run RAG week in 2009 after the arrests of over 40 students.[2] €32,000 was raised for charity by the week.
Pop Culture
The actor Martin Sheen, who had never previously attended University, enrolled at the National University of Ireland, Galway, in 2006 for one semester.[4].
Julian Gough published his book, Juno & Juliet, in 2001. The title characters are students attending their first year at NUI Galway. As both are students in Classics, references are made to areas on campus & within the city; such as the James Hardiman Library, quad, Salmon Weir bridge, Eyre Square, GBC Coffee, and more.
The NUI Galway Teddy Bears' Hospital has been featured on TV3 News.[3]
References
- ^ The Engineers Journal, Engineers Ireland, Volume 59, December 2005.
- ^ [1]
- ^ 30th January 2009
See also
- NUI, Galway Students' Union
- Education in the Republic of Ireland
- List of universities in the Republic of Ireland
- List of alumni of the National University of Ireland, Galway