OCTOBER 2007 www.ucd.ie/ucdtoday Featured in this issue: • UCD, Mater and St Vincent's form Dublin Academic Health Care • UCD awarded €30m under PRTLI Cycle 4 • Appointment of Programme Deans inside Don't push nature too hard, it may not 3 be able to bounce back. what’sThe number and variety of many kinds of plants We’ve said ‘Farewell to and animals have been declining in the Irish countryside for many decades. Seán Duke talks to Dr Gordon Purvis and his colleagues at UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science. the Terrace’ and now 6-7 Spotlight on UCD Library UCD Library has a proud tradition of being at we’re saying ‘Welcome the heart of the university for over a hundred years. We go behind the scenes to learn about how the Library consistently anticipates and adapts to changing reader needs. to the Gateway’. A new approach to healthy food Last May thousands of alumni and guests enjoyed four days of events organised to 11 Claire O’Connell talks to Professor Dolores commemorate the lives and careers of students and staff spent in Earlsfort Terrace over O'Riordan about the tremendous amount of 124 years. We feature the highlights of the events on pages 20. And, for those who would research that goes into ensuring that what you like to read more, you will find further pieces on the web at www.ucd.ie/farewelltotheterrace eat is appealing, convenient and healthy. and in the commemorative book, Farewell to the Terrace, available from the campus bookshop. Immigration and Social Change in the We recently announced that Ingenhoven Architects of Dusseldorf have been selected as the 12 Republic of Ireland preferred competitor on the prestigious Gateway project. They were selected from a list of 62 Kate Hickey speaks to Dr Bryan Fanning about firms who took part in an international competition. The winning design will shortly go on display the role of academic research in facilitating the on campus and the next stage of the process is to liaise with potential partners who will help integration of immigrants to the New Ireland. make Gateway a reality. UCD today has been around now for almost three years and we recently undertook some Appointment of New Deans qualitative market research with a range of administrative and academic staff on campus to get 16-17 Profiles of the newly appointed UCD Deans. their views and opinions on its impact. We looked at aspects that staff like and having taken on board comments in relation to layout and content, we have made some changes to this issue UCD - the number one centre for which reflect the breadth of comments received. We hope you enjoy this edition and please let us 19 Joycean studies in the world know any feedback by emailing [email protected] with your comments. Conall Ó Móráin talks to Professor Anne Fogarty about Joyce and the rise of Eilis O’Brien Joycean Studies. Director of Communications Farewell to the Terrace 20 A round-up of events from the series of events held to commemorate UCD's last days in Earlsfort Terrace. Sport 31 Highlights of UCD's recent sporting achievements and successes by our students and alumni. Contributors: Design: Suzanne Bailey, Joe Brady, Adrian Brock, Deirdre Brophy, Loman Cusack Design Catherine Carey, Eamonn Ceannt, Patrick Clancy, Vanda Clayton, Tony Coote, Genevieve Dalton, Damien Dempsey, Print: Orla Donoghue, Sean Duke, Marie Ennis , Bryan Fanning, DC Kavanagh | eBrook Gerard Fealy, Anne Fogarty, Crystal Fulton, Lorraine Hanlon, Thanks to: Kate Hickey, Isabel Hidalgo, Vincent Hoban, Donal Hughes, Padraic Conway, JP Donnelly, Catherine Godson, Ann Lavan, Kathleen James Chakraborty, Emma Kavanagh, Mark Keane, Maurice Manning, Cliona de Bhaldraithe Marsh, Damien Paul Kelly, Jean Kennedy, Liam MacMathuna, Kate Manning, McLoughlin, Patrick Wall Cathal McCauley, Grace Mulcahy, Lynda Mulvin, Caroline In the compilation of this publication, every care has been Murphy, Sean Murray, Clar Ni Bhuachalla, Triona Nicholl, taken to ensure accuracy. Any errors or omissions should be Paddy Nixon, Valerie Norton, Claire O'Connell, Deirdre brought to the attention of UCD University Relations O’Grady, Eleanor O'Higgins, Conall Ó Móráin, Gary O'Reilly, ([email protected]). We also welcome your Dolores O'Riordan, Aidan O'Sullivan, Jim Phelan, suggestions for articles in future editions. Bill Powderly, Niamh Puirseil, Gordon Purvis, Elaine Quinn, Bairbre Redmond, Anthony Roche, Mark Rogers, Paula This publication is also available online at Russell, Rob Sands, Mark Simpson, Caroline Somers, David www.ucd.ie/ucdtoday Timoney, Claire Twomey, Liming Wang, Miceal Whelan. The colours and codes on this image represent the potential phasing for the overall Science Centre Produced by: Please Recycle development. The inset photo shows the original Science Centre, which was the first building Eilis O’Brien, Mary Staunton, Claire Percy and constructed by UCD on the Belfield site, in the early 1960s. Dominic Martella 2 Don’t push nature too hard, it nat may not be able to bounce back. The number and variety of many kinds of plants and animals have been declining in the Irish countryside for many decades. Dr Gordon Purvis and his colleagues at UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science have received funding to find out just how serious the problem is, writes Seán Duke. This has been a kind of albatross hanging bees are good bio-indicators as the public around everyone's neck since. It seemed, from readily identifies with them, but bees, for the politicians' point of view, a safe enough instance have a very practical importance for target, pushing the issue into the future. The pollination. Aquatic invertebrates are important reality is that it has crept up very quickly, and because they reflect water quality, or the lack we still have an unresolved issue; now, I guess of it, while parasitoid wasps have complex there will need to be some revision and relationships with practically all other insect ure extension of that target”. groups and reflect overall insect diversity.” Ireland The next step for Dr Purvis and his colleagues was to understand the relationships between In Ireland, the issue of biodiversity necessarily these biological indicator groups and farming revolves around agriculture, and what practice. The kinds of questions that he wanted agriculture is doing, as Ireland remains a to answer included: What kind of impacts do predominantly agricultural landscape. At changing farming practices have on European level post-Rio, policy-makers began Biodiversity. Yet another environmental fad? biodiversity? How can farmers better manage to try and push agriculture in a more Something that we don’t have to pay much their land to enhance biodiversity? attention to? A bit like global warming, the environmentally friendly direction. This ozone layer, and the loss of rainforests? was done through the introduction of By finding the answers to these questions, Too vague to be of relevance to me. agri-environmental schemes, which became a practices that are very damaging can be central plank in rural development policy. curtailed, while those having positive effects Does this thought process feel familiar? can be encouraged. This approach promises to The need for information If so, perhaps you should know that the loss of provide, for the first time in Ireland, a means for biodiversity, meaning the global loss of plant One of the problems facing anyone who wishes policy-makers to make informed decisions on and animal species, could ultimately have very to study changes in Irish biodiversity over time how best to protect biodiversity, and balance detrimental effects on human health and is that the records are poor. Researchers have that against the need to protect farming wellbeing. only belatedly started to gather information on livelihoods. biodiversity. For example, a countryside bird Agri-Baseline Paying attention now? Good. survey has been established in Ireland that in Alarmingly, many experts believe that we are recent years, and has started to gather critical The need to focus on creating scientific now losing species so fast, there is a danger information on bird diversity, showing apparent ‘baselines’ forms the basis of a second major that we could be fast approaching a ‘tipping declines in some populations, but gains in biodiversity research project, Agri-Baseline, point’ where, even if we introduce last ditch others. Even more recently, a national Irish co-ordinated by Dr Purvis and funded by the measures, we may lose vital ‘ecosystem Biodiversity Records Centre has been Dept of Agriculture. established in Waterford to collate the Dr Gordon Purvis of UCD School of Biology and services’ on which the natural world and Agri-Baseline has a highly practical aim; it is increasing amount of biological data being Environmental Science ourselves depend. That could mean, for applying the knowledge gained from Ag-Biota collected. example, that we end up with sterile soils about how to measure biodiversity in farmland. where no crops will grow, crops that cannot be It is not good enough to simply follow what To do this, 180 individual farms in three regions effectively pollinated, and pest problems that has been done in the UK, or elsewhere, said - Cork, Sligo and Offaly - were chosen for a run out of control because of the failure of Dr Purvis, as Ireland's geography, topography major survey of land use practices, habitats and natural biological control. There are even worse and the nature of its farming is different. biodiversity. scenarios, where the failure of natural ecosystems leads to our planet becoming “The Irish landscape is quite different from AE-Footprint much of the UK, being relatively similar to almost unfit for human life. And these The next step was AE-Footprint, an western parts of Britain like Wales, for instance, doomsday predictions do not take into account EU-supported project to develop common with a predominance of small, mainly grassland the incalculable loss of aesthetic quality in our methods for agri-environmental evaluation fields, but quite different from south-eastern lives, if we were to lose much of the natural across Europe.