Maoinithe  ag an Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta, is do mhic léinn ar an Máistir Gairmiúil san Oideachas na sparánachtaí seo   Leathnú ar an scéim sparánachta don Máistir Gairmiúil san Oideachas (MGO) fógartha ag an Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta i gcomhpháirtíocht le Ollscoil na Gaillimhe.  Bronnfar €2,000 sa bhliain ar gach mac léinn MGO, maoinithe ag an Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta. Is clár máistreachta, dhá bhliain lánaimseartha in oideachas tosaigh múinteoirí,  trí mheán na Gaeilge atá san MGO, a ullmhaíonn múinteoirí ábhar don earnáil iarbhunscoile lán-Ghaeilge.  Tá na sparánachtaí seo maoinithe ag an Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta (COGG). Dúirt an tAire Spóirt agus Gaeltachta Jack Chambers: "Fáiltím roimh an dul chun cinn suntasach seo i leith múinteoirí faoi oiliúint a thugann faoin MGO in Ollscoil na Gaillimhe. Tugann na sparánachtaí seo tuilleadh tacaíochtaí do mhúinteoirí faoi oiliúint, a chinnteoidh múinteoirí ardcháilithe don earnáil Gaeloideachais. Tagann sé seo le hobair mo Roinne féin, tacaíocht a thabhairt don teagasc trí Ghaeilge i scoileanna Gaeltachta. Traoslaím le hOllscoil na Gaillimhe as leathnú a dhéanamh ar an scéim agus táimid ag súil leis na torthaí a fheiceáil amach anseo i scoileanna a dhéanann teagasc trí mheán na Gaeilge."  Ag labhairt ag an seoladh dúirt Jacqueline Ní Fhearghusa (Príomhfheidhmeannach COGG) “Tá an-áthas ar an Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta (COGG) cur le líon na sparánachtaí don chúrsa Máistir Gairmiúil san Oideachas (MGO) in Ollscoil na Gaillimhe i mbliana.  Tuigeann COGG an ghéarchéim a bhaineann le hearcaíocht múinteoirí sna hiar-bhunscoileanna lán-Ghaeilge agus Gaeltachta, agus an brú a chuireann sin ar phríomhoidí agus ar phobail scoileanna.  “Aithnítear go bhfuil an cúrsa MGO in Ollscoil na Gaillimhe fíorthábhachtach maidir le ceist an tsoláthair agus tá ríméad ar COGG a gcuid tacaíochta a leathnú go suntasach i ndáil leis an oiliúint ríthábhachtach atá ar bun go leanúnach ag foireann an MGO i Scoil an Oideachais, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe.” Dúirt Pól Ó Dochartaigh, Uachtarán Ionaid agus Meabhránaí Ollscoil na Gaillimhe: “Táimid go mór faoi choimín ag COGG agus cinnteoidh na sparánachtaí seo go mbeidh ar ár gcumas líon na mac léinn ar an gclár máistreachta eiseamlárach agus ceannródaíoch seo, a mhéadú, rud a chuirfidh go mór le soláthar agus caighdeán na múinteoirí don earnáil.” Is féidir iarratas a dhéanamh ar an MGO tríd an Postgraduate Applications Centre (www.pac.ie) Críoch

Funded by An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta, the scheme is open to Máistir Gairmiúil san Oideachas students  University of Galway, in partnership with An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta, have announced the extension of the Máistir Gairmiúil san Oideachas bursary scheme. All student teachers who undertake the Máistir Gairmiúil san Oideachas (MGO) programme at the University will receive an award of €2,000 per year, funded by An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta.  The MGO is two-year Irish immersion Professional Master in Education programme, an initial teacher education programme that prepares teachers for the second level Irish-medium school sector.  Minister of State for Sport and the Gaeltacht Jack Chambers said: “I welcome this important development for student teachers who undertake the Máistir Gairmiúil san Oideachas (MGO) in University of Galway. This initiative provides greater supports for student teachers and will ensure more highly skilled and exceptionally qualified teachers for Irish language medium schools. This development complements work by my department across a range of areas to support teaching through our language in Gaeltacht schools. I congratulate University of Galway on the extension of this scheme and look forward to the benefits it will bring for the teaching through Irish.” Speaking at the launch of the bursaries, Jacqueline Ní Fhearghusa, Chief Executive of An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta, said: “We are delighted to extend the number of bursaries available for student teachers on the MGO programme in University of Galway. We understand only too well that there is a recruitment crisis across gaelcholáistí and scoileanna sa Ghaeltacht, which is a huge strain on principals and wider school communities.  “An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta recognises the importance of the MGO programme and the vital role it plays in providing suitably qualified teachers for the Irish medium schools. We are very pleased to be able to provide continued and extended support to the MGO in recognition of their work in this sector."  Professor Pól Ó Dochartaigh, Deputy President and Registrar at University of Galway, said: "Not only will these bursaries allow us to raise our student numbers on the Masters programme but it will also ensure that we attract high quality graduates to the sector. We are indebted to An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta for their continued support.”  Applications are now being accepted for the Máistir Gairmiúil san Oideachas through Postgraduate Applications Centre at www.pac.ie.  Ends

Hundreds of fossils discovered on Wexford coastline date back to long before dinosaurs roamed  A team of scientists, led by experts from the School of Natural Sciences at University of Galway, have discovered an exceptionally well-preserved group of fossil sea urchins at Hook Head, County Wexford.  The find is one of the most important in Irish palaeontology in recent times. Sea urchins, or echinoids, are a group of marine animals, related to starfish. They have globular plated bodies covered by numerous defensive spines, which fall away and are quickly lost after the urchin dies. Over 200 complete fossil echinoids are preserved in exquisite detail on a limestone surface, in an area of just 1m2 . All of the Hook Head specimens have their spines still attached and they apparently died together on the seafloor almost 350 million years ago - a dramatic moment now frozen in time on the rock surface on the coast of south-east Ireland. The limestone layer containing the fossil urchins was in danger of being lost to coastal erosion, so the scientific team mounted a rescue operation to save it.  The site at Hook Head is protected under law and approval for the recovery was granted by several state agencies, as well as the local landowner. Following successful removal, the team immediately entrusted the fossil-bearing slab to the National Museum of Ireland for conservation and further study.  The discovery and recovery of the hundreds of fossil sea urchins was recently reported in the Irish Journal of Earth Sciences, which is published by the Royal Irish Academy.  One of the international scientific experts who peer-reviewed the paper remarked: “Speaking as a Paleozoic echinoid worker, this is one of the most exceptional and striking fossil finds in the last century.” Palaeontologist Dr Nidia Álvarez-Armada, the lead author in the study, said: “I initially discovered these fossil sea urchins on a rocky coastal outcrop when I was surveying the geology of Hook Head peninsula for my undergraduate Bachelor of Science thesis at University of Galway. When I first noticed the echinoids on the limestone surface, I was completely astonished by both the sheer number of fossil specimens present and also their exceptional preservation.  “The significance of the find was instantly apparent and I immediately began mapping and recording the shape, size and position of each individual urchin on the rock surface. This work took several weeks to complete, but it was important to carefully document the fossil find in as much detail as possible.” The Hook Head fossil find has considerable potential to reveal important information about the nature of seafloor communities during the Carboniferous, a time period that occurred long before dinosaurs ever walked on land, when the marine realm was very different to today. Dr John Murray, School of Natural Sciences, University of Galway, who co-authored the paper and supervised the original project, said: “It is quite exceptional to find Carboniferous fossil sea urchins so perfectly preserved and in such large numbers like this. In life, these particular echinoids had very flexible plated bodies, covered with many spines, which usually disarticulated and dispersed rapidly after death, leaving little trace of them behind. The Hook Head urchins must have been buried quite quickly after they died, with little or no post mortem disturbance; however, it remains unclear why they congregated in such large numbers at this location on that ancient seafloor.” Dr Murray added: “The significance of this discovery was such that all of the members of the rescue team willingly volunteered their time and expertise to travel to Hook Head to help salvage the fossil-bearing slab. We consciously chose to leave this important fossil find in the care of the National Museum of Ireland immediately - I guess it was our way of giving this piece of priceless geoheritage back to the people of Ireland.” To read the full study in The Irish Journal of Earth Sciences, visit: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/868440/pdf Ends