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National University of Ireland, Galway

 

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National University of Ireland, Galway



 
 
The National University of Ireland, Galway (NUI Galway) (Irish
Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic languages of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people....
 Ollscoil na hÉireann, Gaillimh or OÉ Gaillimh) is a tertiary-level
Tertiary education

Tertiary education, also referred to as third stage, third level, and post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school, secondary school, or gymnasium ....
 educational institution located in Galway
Galway

Galway is the fourth largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the only city in the province of Connacht in Republic of Ireland. The city is located on the west coast of Ireland....
, Ireland
Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
. 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
Queen's University of Ireland

The Queen's University of Ireland was established formally by Royal Charter on 3 September, 1850, as the degree-awarding university of the Queen's Colleges of Queen's College, Belfast, Queen's College, Cork, and Queen's College, Galway that were established in 1845 "to afford a university education to members of all religious denominatio...
.






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The National University of Ireland, Galway (NUI Galway) (Irish
Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic languages of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people....
 Ollscoil na hÉireann, Gaillimh or OÉ Gaillimh) is a tertiary-level
Tertiary education

Tertiary education, also referred to as third stage, third level, and post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school, secondary school, or gymnasium ....
 educational institution located in Galway
Galway

Galway is the fourth largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the only city in the province of Connacht in Republic of Ireland. The city is located on the west coast of Ireland....
, Ireland
Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
. 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
Queen's University of Ireland

The Queen's University of Ireland was established formally by Royal Charter on 3 September, 1850, as the degree-awarding university of the Queen's Colleges of Queen's College, Belfast, Queen's College, Cork, and Queen's College, Galway that were established in 1845 "to afford a university education to members of all religious denominatio...
. In 1906 Alice Perry graduated from the college, believed to be the first female engineering graduate in the world having received a first class honours degree in civil engineering. The Irish Universities Act, 1908 made this college a constituent college
University college

The term "university college" is used in a number of countries to denote institutions that provide tertiary education but do not have full or independent university status....
 of the new National University of Ireland
National University of Ireland

The National University of Ireland , , is a Federation university system of constituent universities, previously called university college, and recognised colleges set up under the , and significantly amended by the ....
, 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
Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic languages of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people....
 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
River Corrib

The River Corrib in the west of Ireland flows from Lough Corrib through Galway to Galway Bay. The river has only a length of six kilometres from the lough to the Atlantic....
. The oldest part of the university, the Quadrangle, designed by John Benjamin Keane, is a replica of Christ Church
Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church , is one of the largest Colleges of the University of Oxford of the University of Oxford in England. As well as being a college, Christ Church is also the cathedral church of the diocese of Oxford, namely Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford....
, one of the colleges at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford

The University of Oxford , located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation in the English-speaking world....
. 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
Scott Tallon Walker

Scott Tallon Walker is an architecture practice with its head office in Dublin, Republic of Ireland and further offices in London, Galway and Cork....
. 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
    Joseph W. Kirwan

    Rev. Dr. Joseph William Kirwan was an Irish clergyman and educationalist, who served as the first president of Queen's College Galway.Kirwan was born in Galway in 1796....
     1845-1849
  • Edward Berwick
    Edward Berwick

    Edward Berwick was an Ireland lawyer and educationalist, and served as President of National University of Ireland, Galway from 1850 until 1877....
     1849-1877
  • Sir Thomas William Moffett
    Thomas William Moffett

    Sir Thomas William Moffett was an Irish scholar and educationalist, who served as President of Queen's College Galway.Moffett was born at Castleknock, County Dublin, on 3 June 1820....
     1877-1897
  • William Joseph Myles Starkie 1897-1899
  • Dr Alexander Anderson
    Alexander Anderson (physicist)

    Alexander Anderson was an Ireland physicist and President of Queen's College Galway, later University College Galway, from 1899 until 1934.Alexander Anderson was born on 12 May 1858, the son of Daniel Anderson, of Camus, Coleraine, County Londonderry....
     1899-1934
  • Monsignor John Hynes
    John Hynes

    John B. Hynes , a Massachusetts politician, was mayor of Boston 1950-1960.John Hynes was a graduate of Suffolk University Law School. He was city clerk of Boston under James Michael Curley during Curley's 1946 - 1950 term....
     1934-1945
  • Monsignor Pádraig de Brún
    Pádraig de Brún

    Monsignor P?draig de Br?n was an Irish clergyman, mathematician and classical scholar, who served as President of University College Galway.De Br?n was born at Grangemockler, County Tipperary, in 1889, the son of a primary school teacher....
     1945-1959
  • Dr Martin J. Newell
    Martin J. Newell

    Martin J. Newell was an Irish mathematician and educationalist, who served as President of University College Galway from 1960 to 1975.Martin Newell was born in 1910, and received his secondary education at St....
     1960-1975
  • Dr Colm Ó hEocha
    Colm Ó hEocha

    Colm ? hEocha was an Irish scientist and educationalist, who served as president of University College Galway and Chairman of the New Ireland Forum....
     1975-1996
  • Dr Patrick F. Fottrell 1996-2000
  • Dr Iognáid G. Ó Muircheartaigh 2000-2008
  • Dr James J. Browne 2008 to 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
SIPTU

SIPTU , or in Irish language: CSTGT is Ireland's largest trade union, with around 200,000 members. Most of these members are in the Republic of Ireland, although the union does have a Northern Ireland branch....
 trade union (for academic, research, administrative and technical workers) and the Irish Federation of University Teachers (for academic workers only).

The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)

The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper distributed in the United Kingdom. There is also a Republic of Ireland edition; contrary to a popular misconception, the Irish edition of the Sunday Times is not linked to The Irish Times newspaper, which is published Monday to Saturday in Dublin....
 University Guide named the university as Irish University of the Year 2002-2003, 2003-2004, 2005-2006, 2006-2007 .

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.

NUI Galway has also announced details of to make the university a '', 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 (or the Historical Studies Society). The Cumann Staire hosts the annual 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. took place on 18 February and set a new record for size with over 1300 in attendance.

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
Rotaract

Rotaract originally began as a Rotary International youth programme in 1968 and has now grown into a major Rotary-sponsored organisation of over 7,000 clubs spread around the world and 173,000 + members....
 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 () 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
Macnas

Macnas, based at the black box theater in Galway, is Ireland's leading performance company. Its public performances are noted for exuberance, colour and spectacle....
, Druid Theatre Company
Druid Theatre Company

The Druid Theatre Company, was founded in Galway in 1975 by graduates of the National University of Ireland, Galway, Garry Hynes, Marie Mullen and Mick Lally- the first Ireland professional theatre company to be established outside Dublin....
 and The Galway Arts Festival
Galway Arts Festival

Galway Arts Festival is an annual arts festival that takes place each July in Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is Ireland?s leading arts festival and one of the most successful and influential arts enterprises in the country....
. In February the university hosts annually an on-campus arts festival entitled (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 - 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.

All rag week activities were cancelled in 2009 after the arrests of over 40 students.

Pop Culture

The actor Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen

Martin Sheen is an American actor who earned recognition for his performances as Captain Willard in the film Apocalypse Now and President of the United States Josiah Bartlet on the NBC political drama series The West Wing....
, who has never previously attended University, enrolled at the National University of Ireland, Galway, in 2006 for one semester..

Julian Gough
Julian Gough

Julian Gough is an Ireland novelist and singer with the rock band Toasted Heretic.Gough was born in London but grew up in Nenagh, County Tipperary....
 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
James Hardiman Library

The James Hardiman Library is the main library at the National University of Ireland, Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is situated on the main campus, beside the Arts/Science Concourse, the Arts Millennium Building and Aras na Gaelige....
, quad, Salmon Weir bridge, Eyre Square, GBC Coffee, and more.

The NUI Galway Teddy Bears' Hospital has been featured on TV3 News
TV3 News

TV3 News is the news at TV3 Ireland, a Property Republic of Ireland television station. The first News broadcasting of TV3 News took place at 6:00pm on 20 September 1998....
.

See also

  • NUI, Galway Students' Union
    NUI, Galway Students' Union

    The NUI, Galway Students' Union / Comhaltas na Mac L?inn, O?, Gaillimh is the representative body of students in the National University of Ireland, Galway in Ireland....
  • Education in the Republic of Ireland
    Education in the Republic of Ireland

    There are three distinct levels of education in Republic of Ireland: primary education, secondary education and higher education education. In recent years further education has grown immensely....
  • List of universities in the Republic of Ireland
    List of universities in the Republic of Ireland

    This is a list of colleges and university in the Republic of Ireland, some colleges are constituent colleges of universities....
  • List of alumni of the National University of Ireland, Galway


External links