Search Results (737)

Communication of screen-positive newborn bloodspot screening (NBS) results is inherently challenging for both parents and HCPs. There is no internationally accepted gold-standard model, with heterogeneity in practice and with many jurisdictions reporting suboptimal parent and HCP experience. This service evaluation aimed to assess the model for communication of initial screen positive results for metabolic conditions through the Irish National Newborn Bloodspot Screening Programme (NNBSP). Under the current model, screen-positive results are communicated to parents by a healthcare professional (HCP) (usually over the phone) and follow-up is arranged through the maternity hospital of birth. The evaluation required engagement with three cohorts, comprising two parent cohorts (a True Positive (TP) cohort and a False Positive (FP) cohort) and one HCP cohort. A separate survey was designed for each cohort, informed by a review of the international literature and subject matter expertise. Overall, our evaluation found that the current model for communication of screen-positive results is acceptable to HCPs, the majority of whom regard communicating these results as an appropriate part of their role (61%) and feel confident doing so (68%). However, many parents reported that they did not receive key information, and 70% wanted more information at this first communication. Parents wanted clear, reassuring, and actionable information, including details of the suspected condition, next steps, and where to seek further support. HCPs wanted additional resources to support communication of screen-positive results, including guidelines, expert contacts, condition-specific information resources, and checklists. The findings of this evaluation will inform revisions of the current model, aimed at ensuring a better experience for parents and HCPs. Full article

This paper explores the development and delivery of an inclusive higher education programme for adults with intellectual disabilities within an Irish university. The programme was developed between two academic departments within an Irish University, to provide this student cohort with access to university life, enabling them to study and graduate alongside their peers. Central to the study is a module in arts-based communication, which aims to support students’ expressive, emotional, and social engagement in learning. Adopting a reflective, practice-based approach, the paper draws on the experiences of an educator involved in teaching on the programme. Through critical reflection on teaching practice, the study examines how arts-based pedagogies can enhance communication, participation, and inclusive learning environments for students with intellectual disabilities. The findings highlight the transformative potential of arts-based learning in supporting not only skill development but also confidence, self-expression, and relational engagement. The research also illustrates how reflective practice can inform the ongoing development of inclusive pedagogies in higher education. This study contributes to the field of inclusive education by offering practitioner-based insights into the role of the arts in fostering meaningful participation and engagement for diverse learners. Full article

Ireland has elevated rates of obesity; Eurostat EU-SILC data indicate Ireland ranks approximately 12th in the EU for combined overweight and obesity among adults, and the usual explanations including diet, inactivity, and socioeconomic conditions do not fully account for the burden of metabolic disease. Here we argue that part of the answer may originate in The Great Hunger (An Gorta Mór) which took place in Ireland from 1845 to 1852. The blighting of the potato crop by Phytophthora infestans and seven years of malnutrition left most of the rural Irish population without their only meaningful source of tryptophan and vitamin B6, the two nutrients the body needs to synthesize serotonin. Fetuses developing during those years may therefore have formed hypothalamic appetite circuits under reduced serotonin availability, potentially resulting in reduced expression of the receptor that signals satiety in the brain. Evidence from the Dutch Hunger Winter, the Great Chinese Famine, Finland, Ghana, and the Holodomor indicates that this type of prenatal nutritional disruption is consistently associated with elevated obesity and metabolic disease risk in adulthood, and that some of the associated epigenetic differences are detectable in subsequent generations, although germline transmission has not been established in humans. Here we explore potential neural epigenetic mechanisms that may have originated in the Great Hunger and in subsequent generations. Full article

Background/Objectives: With advances in treatment, nutritional priorities in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) have shifted towards long-term metabolic health. However, uncertainty remains regarding whether commonly used dietary assessment methods provide comparable estimates of dietary intake during this transition. This study aims to compare and evaluate agreement between dietary intakes derived from food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) and three-day food diaries in adults with CF. Methods: Cross-sectional study of Irish adults with CF. Semi-quantitative FFQs and three-day food diaries gathered dietary data. Results: Forty-four participants were included (variant-specific therapies: 81.8%). No significant differences were observed between methods for energy, carbohydrate, protein, or total fat intake (p > 0.05). However, significant differences were identified for several nutrients and food groups. Compared with the three-day food diary, the FFQ reported higher intakes of total sugar, percentage energy from saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, sodium, zinc, and vitamin E, but lower intakes of fibre and vitamin D (p < 0.05). Associations between methods ranged from weak to strong, with the strongest observed for fibre (r = 0.701). There were wide limits of agreement for many dietary variables (e.g., energy: −1335.3 to 1242.3 kcal/day), despite comparable group-level estimates. Both methods identified poor adherence to dietary recommendations. Conclusions: The FFQ and three-day food diary yielded broadly similar estimates in adults with CF. However, substantial individual-level variability and poor agreement for several nutrients and food groups suggest these methods are not interchangeable for individual dietary assessment. While three-day food diaries may be preferable when detailed assessment of current intake is required, FFQs remain useful for characterising habitual dietary intake in epidemiological and population-based research. Full article

Mussels are a nutritionally valuable and environmentally sustainable seafood, yet how geographical origin and farming environment shape their sensory and nutritional quality remains insufficiently characterized across European production contexts. This study compared mussels from three contrasting European farming areas, Ireland (Mytilus edulis), Norway (Mytilus edulis) and Italy (Mytilus galloprovincialis), integrating Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA^®) with proximate composition, fatty acid, amino acid and mineral analyses. Italian mussels showed higher protein, lipid, carbohydrate and amino acid content together with the most intense and persistent umami taste, correlated with glutamic and aspartic acid content. Irish mussels were characterized by the highest moisture and iron content, associated with greater exudate release and salty/briny notes, while Norwegian mussels showed the lowest ash and amino acid content alongside greater bitterness, linked to omega-3 fatty acid content. These findings indicate that local environmental conditions shape origin-associated tendencies in the nutritional and sensory profile of farmed mussels, supporting the concept of a bivalve ‘marine terroir’ with potential applications for origin-based quality valorization. Full article

Background: Nutritional safety has traditionally focused on preventing excessive nutrient exposure, yet chronic micronutrient inadequacy may also impair physiological function and health resilience. As the European Commission prepares to harmonise maximum permitted levels for food supplements and fortified foods, understanding long-term population intake trends is increasingly important. We assessed changes in micronutrient intakes and adequacy among adults in four European countries. Methods: Repeated, cross-sectional, secondary analyses of published adult (≥18 years) micronutrient intakes over approximately two decades were conducted using publicly available, non-harmonised national dietary surveys at non-contemporaneous time points in the Netherlands, Ireland, France and the United Kingdom (n = 17,261). Mean, lower-tail (5th centile; UK 2.5th) and upper-tail (95th centile; UK 97.5th) intakes were evaluated against dietary reference values, and changes in population intake estimates over the past two decades were examined. Results: Intakes of several micronutrients declined substantially, with mean and lower-tail intakes of vitamins D and A, riboflavin, folate and of calcium, iron and iodine decreasing by up to 50% in some population groups, indicating widening intake disparities and increasing risk of chronic insufficiency. Although improvements in some micronutrients were consistent with fortification policies and dietary changes, inadequacies remained widespread, including for vitamin D across all countries, iron in women, potassium in UK women, selenium in most populations and copper in Irish women. Folate intake in UK women and vitamin A intake in France were marginal. Conclusions: Declining intakes of several micronutrients and persistent inadequacies indicate emerging nutritional safety concerns in Europe. Population intake trends and chronic insufficiency should be explicitly considered in nutritional safety assessments, maximum permitted level discussions and modelling and future public health policy. Full article

Drawing on a design-based intervention in active European citizenship education, this article explores the extent to which participatory citizenship education equips primary pupils with the necessary democratic resilience in the digital age. It argues that teachers’ constant search for consensus in the primary classroom has become a democratic liability in a digital public era of polarisation. My Big Friendly Guide to the EU which was implemented across five Irish primary schools in 2018–2019 with 458 pupils aged five to twelve, examines what participatory European citizenship education looks like in practice. Data shows that knowledge gains were substantial, ranging from 16 to 66 percentage points across identity, institutional, and national indicator domains. Yet qualitative observation reveals a consistent finding that teachers, who largely felt they had insufficient substantive knowledge of the EU, pushed towards consensus when discussions generated unresolved disagreement. The article discusses how the piloting of this educational programme in participatory citizenship education highlights gaps in pupils’ democratic resilience. It argues that a solution could be integrating Mouffe’s theory of agonistic democracy and Ruitenberg’s application to pedagogy. This would ensure that pupils are equipped to resist platform polarisation and algorithmic selection. It further contends that this dual approach cannot be achieved without structured teacher training in powerful knowledge on the European Union and agonism, which a digitally aware civic education requires. Full article

This research is situated within the Irish tertiary educational space between Higher Education and Further Education and Training. This research is set in the Literacy Development Centre (LDC), South-East Technological University (SETU), the Higher Education organisation, and the Longford Westmeath Education Training Board (LWETB), the Further Education organisation. This study builds on the research conducted by the authors and focuses on the continued provision of a 120 ECTS NFQ Level 6 qualification, the Higher Certificate in Literacy Development and the importance of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in this educational progression. This article explores the impact of RPL as a means of educational access for adult learners. Two focus groups captured the differing accounts of experience, specifically the programme management team from both the higher and further education perspectives and the graduate perspective. The results demonstrated the individualised nature of RPL. While the onus was on each graduate to provide evidence of prior learning, the graduates expressed an experience of a ‘seamless’ RPL process while, conversely, the organisational team recalled experiencing a substantial, emotionally taxing workload. The data additionally demonstrates that the success of the project resulted from relationships and a culture of collaboration. Full article

Background/Objectives: To describe the genetic resolution rate, molecular findings, and genotype–phenotype correlations of non-ABCA4 and non-BEST1 inherited macular dystrophies (IMDs) within an Irish inherited retinal disease (IRD) registry. Methods: Retrospective review of individuals with a clinical diagnosis of macular or cone dystrophy. Comprehensive phenotyping (dilated ocular biomicroscopy, multimodal retinal imaging, visual electrophysiology) and genetic testing (panel-based next-generation sequencing, single-gene testing, whole exome/genome sequencing, WES/WGS). Variants were interpreted using ACMG AMP criteria, and genotype-phenotype match was confirmed through multidisciplinary review. Results: 232 patients with macular/cone dystrophies were identified. ABCA4 and BEST1 accounted for most molecular diagnoses (47.4%). Removing ABCA4 and BEST1, 59.0% of IMDs were genetically unresolved, higher than the rate in general IRD cohorts. Deep phenotyping enabled diagnostic reclassification in 13/72 (18.1%), namely achromatopsia, congenital stationary night blindness, and oculocutaneous albinism. Further genetic testing resolved 35/72 (48.6%) of those unresolved on first-line testing, with PRPH2 being most prevalent (n = 12), followed by GUCY2D, CRB1, PROM1, and CRX. Characteristic phenotypic signatures—such as CRB1-associated retinal thickening and retinoschisis or PROM1-associated Stargardt-like changes—supported known genotype–phenotype correlations. Conclusions: Genetic resolution rates for rare IMDs remain lower than pan-retinal IRD phenotypes. Beyond ABCA4 and BEST1, IMDs exhibit substantial genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity (24 genotypes in this cohort), with low molecular diagnostic rates despite comprehensive sequencing approaches. Detailed multimodal phenotyping (i.e., structural, functional and extra-ocular) is essential to refine diagnosis, guide genetic testing and interpret candidate variants. Genetic testing is challenging when the retinal phenotype is advanced (i.e., atrophy) or lacks pathognomonic features. Meticulous phenotyping (functional, structural and systemic) and broader genomic strategies (e.g., WES/WGS) may further increase diagnostic yield, though gene panel content is constantly improving. Consistently improving molecular diagnostic rates will ensure equitable access to emerging gene-specific therapies. Full article

Imperial and colonial history has mostly been founded on the tradition of writing biographies of great men, and more rarely, great women. These lean inherently towards the aggrandizement or hagiography of individuals who, particularly in the early decades of life, may deserve no such attention. Yet for postcolonial and decolonial progression, the unattractive necessity of revising the lives of such influential individuals remains. We cannot now change or eliminate the archive’s overwhelming propensity to amplify (and thereby value and embolden) elite voices and experiences, but we can turn down the volume by placing key episodes firmly within an individual’s relevant or entire life experience, by reading the other less explicit motives for travel or collecting and by focusing on silent absences rather than noisy presences. Sara E. Johnson’s 2023 book ‘Encyclopédie Noire: The making of Moreau de Saint-Méry’s intellectual world’, is presented as a ‘communal biography’ of one such great imperialist, by intentionally, and sometimes creatively, adding in the actors, voices and narratives missing from the sources and archives of European colonial history. In trying to methodologically undermine how imperial biography has traditionally sidestepped complicity or guilt, Johnson attempted to paint a more complete picture of the societies, enslaved or not, in which such elite men operated. Landscape history and architectural history play important roles in such essential revisionism because they can add provocatively spatial dimensions to colonial lives and experiences. As people are profoundly affected by the environment(s) in which they operate, particularly at key tipping points in their lives, spatial and environmental analysis can undermine traditional biography by focusing on where key life decisions were made, leading to a broader cognizance of why they were made. An individual’s spatial position, whether resident or absentee, at home or abroad, with family or without, reveals nuances in mentality that traditional analysis can miss. Taking the life and letters of Pierce Butler, Irishman, US Senator, signatory of the US constitution and the owner of a substantial estate of land and enslaved people in Georgia, as a case study, this article argues for the creative reimagining of biography as a fundamental postcolonial corrective to colonial and imperial history. Butler’s transnational identity, sometimes Irish, sometimes not, collapses any neat mapping of a grand national narrative onto one man’s life. The extraordinary level of detail provided by the correspondence also demands a more conventional or traditional history, one focused on individual identity, motive and relationships, that cannot be effectively discounted because of a landscape or architectural focus. Full article

Farming families are central to the agricultural industry in Ireland. The poor mental health of farmers is well documented. However, the mental health of farm family members remains overlooked. This study aims to understand the mental health literacy and help-seeking of farm family members and how mental health literacy and help-seeking are associated with demographics. A cross-sectional study examined 447 farming family members’ mental health literacy and help-seeking using the Attitudes Towards Seeking Professional Psychological Help Short Form (ATSPPH-SF), Mental Help-Seeking Intention Scale (MHSIS), and the Multicomponent Mental Health Literacy Measure (MMHL). Participants reported an average ATSPPH-SF score of 20.4 ± 5.8. The average MHSIS score was 4.8 ± 1.6, and the average MMHL score was 19.4 ± 4.5. Farm family members’ mental health literacy and help-seeking attitudes and intentions were positively associated. Those who worked on the farm regularly, men, and those who were less educated had significantly lower literacy and help-seeking. The mental health literacy and help-seeking attitudes and intentions of farm family members were marginally higher than those of Irish farmers and other populations. Interventions targeting the enhancement of family members’ mental health literacy and help-seeking could support improved mental health literacy and help-seeking amongst farmers and farm family members. Full article

School culture is widely recognised as a key element of educational organisations, shaping relationships, behaviours, and shared norms within schools. Emotional intelligence (EI) has been identified as a leadership capability that may contribute to the development of positive school cultures; however, the nature of this relationship remains fragmented across the literature. This scoping review synthesised evidence from 31 studies examining the relationship between school leaders’ EI and school culture and considers implications for Irish post-primary education. The review included empirical, theoretical, conceptual, and review-based literature from a range of international contexts. Findings revealed considerable variation in the conceptualisation and measurement of both EI and school culture. Across the literature, emotionally intelligent leadership is commonly associated with positive school culture outcomes. These findings highlight the potential importance of EI in shaping school culture while underscoring the need for greater conceptual clarity and methodological rigour in future research. The review provides an evidence-informed foundation for future research on emotionally intelligent leadership and school culture, including context-specific work within Irish post-primary education. Full article

This paper examines the results of in-situ U-value measurements across 36 traditional uninsulated solid walls and early mass concrete construction in Ireland. As the retrofit of poorly performing buildings becomes increasingly important, establishing an accurate thermal performance baseline for common solid wall types is essential. Existing assumptions in Ireland are based on default U-values used for Energy Performance Certificates or on calculated values derived using BR443 or ISO 6946 with reference thermal conductivities, while no large-scale dataset of in-situ U-values for Irish solid wall construction currently exists. This paper introduces a new dataset for such walls and compares it to the associated default and calculated U-values. Brick walls < 325 mm performed on average 36.8% better than default assumptions, while brick walls ≥ 325 mm aligned on average reasonably well with the defaults. However, the results ranged from −18.7 to +33.1% of the defaults. Stone walls performed on average 7.2% better than the defaults but with substantial variability at −54.8 to +40.8%. In contrast, mass concrete walls performed significantly worse than assumed (+37.2%), while an earthen wall exceeded expectations by 21.5%. The findings demonstrate that in-situ U-value measurements provide a valuable, non-invasive means of improving the accuracy of thermal performance assessments for traditional solid walls. Full article

The transition to a circular bioeconomy is increasingly recognised as a critical pathway for achieving climate neutrality and resource use efficiency in Ireland. However, this transition is highly dependent on the availability of a skilled workforce capable of operating across interconnected bio-based sectors. Ireland’s National Bioeconomy Action Plan recognises the critical role that skills and knowledge will play in this transition. This study develops a comprehensive taxonomy of skills required to support the transition to a circular bioeconomy, with a specific focus on key Irish primary bioeconomy sectors (agriculture, forestry, fishery and aquaculture) and traditional industries (food processing, wood, textiles, and construction). A qualitative systematic literature review was conducted following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Peer-reviewed articles were retrieved from the Web of Science and Scopus databases and complemented with relevant Irish and European grey literature. A total of 96 publications were analysed using thematic analysis to identify and synthesise sector-specific and cross-sectoral competencies. The taxonomy organises circular bioeconomy skills into five overarching competence domains (systems-thinking, sustainability, circularity and bioeconomy/biotechnology, and digital skills). Findings reveal that while each sector has unique skills, a set of shared skills is consistently critical across all sectors. The identified competencies were subsequently organised into a structured taxonomy and mapped to Ireland’s National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ), establishing progressive proficiency levels from awareness (NFQ 5–6) through practitioner (NFQ 7–8) to expert (NFQ 9–10). This competency progression framework represents the principal contribution of the study, translating the taxonomy into a practical tool for curriculum development, workforce planning, professional development, and policy implementation. Full article

This study explores the potential role of higher education (HE) achievement on the development of Recovery Capital (RC) in individuals recovering from addiction. The purpose of the study is to examine an ongoing collaborative project which embeds provision of HE programmes into the residential addiction recovery setting, providing opportunities for HE achievement to marginalised individuals. The collaborative project between South East Technological University (SETU), a higher education institution (HEI) in Ireland and an addiction recovery provider is examined through the theoretical lens of RC. This study compares Irish and international research and the existing literature on RC as it pertains to addiction recovery, including HE achievement. The theoretical lens through which the collaboration is analysed identifies consistencies, gaps or deviations between the case study which includes Pierre Bourdieu’s capital theory and Cloud and Granfield’s RC hypotheses to explore potential alignment with the principles of both concepts. This paper has identified opportunities for further research on several elements of RC, such as the contribution of peer support in HE achievement, particularly within a residential recovery setting, the stage of recovery in conjunction with the timing of the educational intervention, and the weighting or value of certain RC ingredients. These elements could form the basis of future national and international research into the impact of HE achievement on RC and long-term addiction recovery outcomes. Full article