This research intends to analyze representations concerning christianization of celtic Ireland by Saint Patrick. We have as sources two Latin documents wrote in the 5th century Ireland (Confesio and Epistola ad milites Corotici). Different publications that deal with this subject often describe Patrick as cristianizer of Ireland or responsible for organizing a preexisting Christianity. We present another approach considering only the two letters written by Patrick trying to observe how it represented the Irishmen, himself and the christianization of Ireland. The plot we ve constructed understands the representation concept as a polissemic form, that if thought in middle voice, whithout concentrating on the polarization between a realistic or textualistic form of to lead the narrative, may mean a different form of working with the Patrician workmanships, introducing, thus, in its narrative nucleus, an aprroach that is different from the proposals of realistic character suggested by the Irish historiography. There is Patrick, there is Ireland and there are representations.; Esta dissertação tem por objetivo analisar as representações da cristianização da Irlanda Celta elaboradas por São Patrício. Temos como fontes dois documentos escritos em Latim na Irlanda do século V (Confesio e Epistola ad milites Corotici). Diversas publicações que tratam deste tema descrevem Patrício sempre como o cristianizador da Irlanda ou organizador de um cristianismo pré-existente. Apresentamos uma outra abordagem...

Pages 29-30 have a hole through them and are shot atop a blank white sheet and there is no TOC.

non-peer-reviewed; EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThis research was commissioned by Doras Luimní  with the aim of providing a micro and strategic analysis of ethnic entrepreneurs in the Midwest region of Ireland. A number of objectives were formed in order to answer this aim. The study examined two sets of entrepreneurs: those in the planning phase and those that have been established. Both established entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs in the planning phase were studied so as to provide a skill set analysis; a needs analysis and the identification of the barriers and/or challenges they faced in planning/establishing and/or operating their business. Furthermore, the study examined what assistance is currently being offered by support agencies/bodies in the region to ethnic entrepreneurs and to highlight any gaps that might exist. Additionally, the study examined support services outside of Ireland to identify best practice . Finally, the study will provide recommendations that can be used to inform agencies/support services in the region that provide support to entrepreneurs in terms of the needs of ethnic entrepreneurs that are currently not being provided by these agencies/service providers. The methodology adopted for the study incorporated both primary and secondary research methods. The secondary research utilised key government...

peer-reviewed; The horse industry is a major contributor to the economy, rural diversity and culture of Ireland. It is a multi-faceted industry with significant regional spread. It is important to rural Ireland as it provides jobs and economic activity where other opportunities are limited. The horse industry can be divided into three broad sectors: the Thoroughbred Industry (TB), the Sport Horse Industry (SH) and other subsidiary services that support both the TB and SH industries. The objective of this study was to quantify the contribution of the horse industry to the economy of rural communities in Ireland using a case study of Co. Limerick. An expenditure approach was adopted for this analysis as this is deemed to be the most effective method to assess economic impact. The study was carried out using a personally administered questionnaire. The study took place in Co. Limerick. All horse enterprises involved contributed to the local economy through direct business activities and/or their use of subsidiary goods and services. For the purposes of this study Co. Limerick was divided into five regions: Castleconnell, Rathkeale, Newcastle, Bruff and Killmallock. The population of horses from these regions was representative of both the TB and SH industries. The questionnaire examined the following areas: number and type of horse...

peer-reviewed; This study is an investigation into the impact of entrepreneurship education in Ireland. It focuses on graduate entrepreneurship education (MBA) and endeavours to assess its impact on graduates’ entrepreneurial behaviour over the long-term. The work has evolved from significant research gaps and vulnerabilities identified within the literature and revolved around the following research question: ‘What influence does entrepreneurship education have on MBA graduates propensity to venture’. In addressing this question, a comprehensive literature review was undertaken. Firstly, various ways of studying and understanding the individual entrepreneur and the term entrepreneurship are explored. Next, a robust review of the entrepreneurship education literature was conducted. This reveals that despite the exponential international growth of the discipline over the last four decades, remarkably little empirical work has been conducted into the impact of courses and on the propensity of graduates to venture. Much of the research that has been conducted to date focuses on a single course or programme and its immediate impact. Furthermore, very few studies use ‘control groups’ which facilitate a comparison of those who have and have not taken entrepreneurship. Analysis of the literature pertaining to the impact of entrepreneurship education has resulted in the development of a conceptual model for the study. This encompasses a national study of MBA graduates in Ireland over the long-term and includes those who have taken entrepreneurship as part of their MBA programme and those who have not. The purpose of this thesis is exploratory in nature as it seeks to indicate and identify meaning within a little-understood situation (entrepreneurship education and graduate entrepreneurial behaviour). The theoretical background to the work resulted in the development of a number of hypotheses and sub-hypotheses. These were tested through a research design that accommodated a combination of both quantitative and qualitative measures (methodological triangulation). The unit of analysis is MBA graduates in Ireland. A mail survey was conducted and the quantitative data from this was supported by face-to-face interviews. The mail survey was distributed to a sample of 550 MBA graduates in Ireland and a valid response rate of 37.8% was achieved. The qualitative study comprises of six face-to-face interviews. The findings from this study indicate that there was no link established between exposure to entrepreneurship education and the consequential entrepreneurial behaviour of participating MBA graduates. This result conforms with other studies which have yielded similar findings. However...

peer-reviewed; While the term specialist in nursing can be traced to the turn of the 20th Century, it is only since 2001 that a framework was developed for a clinical career pathway in Ireland. This framework has promoted the development and expansion of the clinical nurse/midwife specialist (CNS/CMS) throughout Ireland over the past 10 years guided by the National Council for the Professional Development of Nursing and Midwifery (NCNM). To build upon the achievements of the NCNM and advance nursing practice, it is imperative that CNS/CMS’s adopt and fulfil the components of their role. Since CNS/CMS practice is relatively new to Ireland, there is the opportunity to learn from experiences of other countries. This article outlines the development and challenges of the CNS role in Ireland.

peer-reviewed; This paper was obtained through PEER (Publishing and the Ecology of European Research) http://www.peerproject.eu; Although a late starter with regard to privatising State Owned Enterprises (SOEs), Ireland was recently ranked 8th among OECD countries in terms of relative privatisation activity. This paper presents the first detailed analysis of the programme since the first divestiture in 1991. It explores how the rationale for selling SOEs has evolved and argues that privatisation has been pursued on the basis of multiple (sometimes conflicting) objectives. One goal that has been common to all divestitures has been that of improving company performance. Although we find evidence that SOEs achieve ‘static’ efficiency gains in the pre-privatisation period, the available evidence fails to support the hypothesis that privatisation brings about sustained improvements in enterprise performance. Privatisation has also been pursued in order to raise exchequer revenues and achieve certain distributional goals. Although the levels of share discounts and expenses have been low by international standards the government has foregone significant revenues by granting sizeable share ownerships to workers. Consequently workers along with institutional investors rank among the ‘winners’ from privatisation whereas small shareholders (in the case of Eircom) and the exchequer have incurred significant losses. Importantly...

peer-reviewed; This paper examines an approach to estimating the net additionality of financial assistance to indigenously-owned firms in Ireland for the period 2000 to 2002. Using a sample of Enterprise Ireland assisted-firms an innovative self-assessment case study methodology was adopted in order to test the ways in which estimates of partial deadweight can be derived. The results show that the net additionality of Enterprise Ireland assistance can be estimated as around 50 per cent for this sample of case studies which represent a pool of clients which accounted for just-over two-thirds of the financial assistance provided by Enterprise Ireland in the period of the study.

non-peer-reviewed; Background: The history of Occupational Therapy in Ireland has yet to be documented and the literature suggests there were only a handful of trained occupational therapists working in Ireland in the 1950’s. This study is part of a wider project on the History of Occupational Therapy in Ireland, which seeks to address this gap and follow in the steps of other health professions who recognise the importance of documenting their roots. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to capture the experiences of a pioneer occupational therapist who began working in Ireland in the late 1950’s. The aim is to focus on the early years of her training and career to document her contribution to the beginnings of the profession in Ireland. Methods: A qualitative oral history methodology using a case study research design was adopted. The method of data collection was semi-structured interview. Data analysis was completed using thematic analysis. Findings: This oral history captures the challenges and rewards of being a pioneer occupational therapist working in Ireland in the 1950’s/1960s. Rich descriptions of the use of crafts and the adaptation of machines are presented. The underlying skills, characteristics and attributes of this pioneer were identified through her narrative...

non-peer-reviewed; Background: There have been increasing calls from occupational therapy associations and scholars around the world to engage in historical research in order to better understand, promote and advance the profession (Trentham 2011; Molke 2009). The history of nursing, medicine and other health professions is well documented, both in Ireland and abroad; however there is no official record of the history of occupational therapy in Ireland. As AOTI prepares to celebrate its 50th birthday in 2014 and the profession moves towards registration it is hoped this research will contribute to greater awareness of the experiences and contributions of occupational therapists in Ireland. Objectives: This study aims to explore and record the professional experiences of occupational therapists in Ireland; contribute to the University of Limerick’s archive on the history of occupational therapy in Ireland; and also add to the growing body of international literature on the history of the profession. Methods: A qualitative oral history methodology was employed involving seven in-depth, semi-structured interviews with occupational therapists who began working in Ireland in the 1970s. The results were subject to thematic analysis. Results: Results highlight the experiences and contributions of occupational therapists who graduated in the 1970s...

non-peer-reviewed; Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) refers to a collection of rare inherited connective tissue diseases in which minimal contact with the skin can result in painful blisters and wounds. This survey is part of a larger research project between EB charity Debra Ireland and the University of Limerick titled: “Developing a Support Service Strategy for DEBRA Ireland through Participatory Action”. Objectives: To explore the experiences and satisfaction with hospital and support services among people living with EB in Ireland. This survey enriches the qualitative aspect of the larger research project which aims to develop a strategy for support services for people with EB in Ireland. Methods: A postal survey was used to gather the views of participants. 43 members of Debra Ireland were recruited and 20 surveys (46.5%) were returned. Data was analysed using SPSS and qualitative comments were analysed separately to enrich the numerical data. Findings: The majority of participants were satisfied with the standard of hospital care but felt the direct provision of a medical card for those diagnosed with EB would alleviate the expense associated with acquiring essential provisions such as wound care. Conclusion: Participants risk reduced health outcomes if provisions central to their survival are not provided within their financial means. Resultant poor occupational participation from unmet healthcare needs is an infringement of their human rights. Occupational Therapists are well placed to advocate that the unique needs of this population be reflected in future developments of the Irish health system

Since the outbreak of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the conflict has been mainly analytically understood in terms of ethno-nationalism and competing identities. However, as this thesis argues, economics have played a crucial role in the instances of violence in Ireland, and after partition, in Northern Ireland. With every development of the economy, from rural, to industrial and to social democratic, the complexity and intensity of violence shifted, but never disappeared. The current shift, the transformation to neo-liberalism, is the only conjuncture that has not adhered to this pattern. This thesis argues that the resolution to the long-standing conflict in Northern Ireland is primarily caused by the new material conditions, generated by the neo-liberal globalisation of that economy. The thesis re-examines the theoretical debates on the conflict through this globalisation framework to reveal how the Catholic community and its political representatives have embraced the new material discourse and its form of governance, therein making the previous debates on the intractability of the Northern Ireland conflict a product of a historic moment, where economics, civil rights and state power were discriminatory barriers to the full integration of the Catholic population. The changed conditions are not reducible to mere economic global forces but these were essential to breaking down the historic impasse.; Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide...

Examining Board: Professor Martin van Gelderen, University of Göttingen (EUI Supervisor) Professor Robert Armstrong, Trinity College Dublin (External Supervisor) Prof Jonathan Scott, University of Auckland Professor Ann Thomson, European University Institute.; Defence date: 17 December 2013; Studies of Ireland in the 1660s invariably focus on the mechanisms of the land settlement. This was the process by which property rights were settled under the Stuarts following the programme of confiscation and transplantation that had been implemented during the Protectorate. This thesis is a study of the political processes that accompanied and determined the Stuart settlement. It complements works that delineate the land settlement while providing an original contribution to the political history of the period. The Stuart Restoration ushered in a period of instability for Irish Protestants and their tenure of power in the kingdom as regime change brought challenges to the moral and legal basis of power that had been established under the preceding government. Catholic challenges to Protestant power have been examined, demonstrating the importance of understandings and ideas to the justification of power. Catholics formulated legal and moral arguments against the continued dominance of Protestants in the kingdom...

peer-reviewed; Technology policy encompasses a number of different strands but can be sub-divided between institutional support e.g. development of educational and technological infrastructure, and financial support, or more specifically support at the enterprise level for R&D e.g. financial incentives to enterprises. It has been suggested that national technology policy tends to reinforce the strengths of a country’s industrial system, particularly in relation to large firms and the promotion of R&D in core technologies and focuses less on technology transfer which is often left to regional technological policy initiatives. In lagging regional economies, which are often dominated by SME’s, this presents specific challenges for technology policy. This paper presents a comparative analysis of technology policy at both the national and regional levels in Ireland and Northern Ireland respectively, over the 1990s. In both Ireland and Northern Ireland the period from 1991-99 was marked by expansion as measured by steady output growth for manufacturing as a whole (albeit at substantially lower levels in Northern Ireland than in Ireland). In Ireland this largely reflected rapid economic growth of output in the high-tech sectors...

peer-reviewed; This chapter documents some of the legislative and policy developments relating to victims’ rights in Ireland, Internationally, there has been growing recognition of the interests and needs of victims in the criminal justice system over the past few decades, where previous emphasis had been predominantly on the rights of the offender (Christie, 1977; O’Hara, 2005). The result, in Ireland and in other jurisdictions, has been a series of developments which seek to enhance the support provided to victims, particularly in terms of their role as witnesses in court.

non-peer-reviewed; Taxation is about far more than revenue-raising: it concerns power and impacts taxpayer behaviour. It is pivotal in enhancing accountability and participation in young states through the bargaining process between a government and its citizens. Very significantly, it often has unexpected consequences, and the tax system of one country can easily have an impact on economic or social behaviour in another. Since business is now international, it is important that taxes are designed not only with a domestic agenda in mind, but with a view to their consequences internationally, particularly for vulnerable economies in the global South. The ability to collect tax is particularly important for Southern countries, for which it represents a far more sustainable solution to poverty than international aid. But Southern countries face particular challenges in this area. On a domestic level, there is the problem of how to tax a vast informal economy with little financial infrastructure. Southern taxing authorities struggle to collect revenue in the face of post-colonial attitudes resulting in poor tax compliance, relative tax complexity and poor taxpayer education, major gaps in their capacity, shifting tax structures often driven by IMF or World Bank lending...

peer-reviewed; Objectives: The main aim of this paper is to examine what can be done to plan for divorce should divorce arise for members of a family business in Ireland. A number of objectives have been formulated; firstly the research will examine the issue of di-vorce and what the law states pertaining to it. Next what support there is for family businesses when it comes to divorce and what preparations could be made should di-vorce occur will be identified. Prenuptial agreements will be examined and the views and opinions of owner/managers of family businesses will also be examined. Prior work: Little to no research has been conducted in Ireland to examine the views and opinions of family owned businesses and the implications divorce may have on the business. Since divorce is still a fairly new concept in Ireland this will be a semi-nal piece of research. Approach: Primary data from a stratified random sample of independent unquoted businesses was collected. The study relied upon a single key informant per family business for obtaining self-reported data. Results: The interim results indicate that divorce has not been planned for by family businesses in Ireland. There are mixed feelings as to prenuptial agreements. Some re-spondents have indicated that prenuptial agreements are just for 'rich' people and aren't necessary in Ireland. Others want the law to be changed so as to enable prenup-tial agreements to be legal. Implications: This research is of value to the owner/managers of family businesses as it gives an indication as to what should be included in a prenuptial agreement. Fur-thermore...

peer-reviewed; Over almost forty years, the objectives, content, operation and outcomes of the EU s regional policy have constantly evolved. The policy has served as an inspiration for new ideas in Irish policy-making and implementation but it has also circumscribed domestic policies and practices. This contribution presents a study of the way in which Ireland has responded to the obligations and opportunities created by EU regional policy. It highlights the manner in which national and European adaptation reflected the changing rationale and priorities of this influential policy. It demonstrates that a creative pragmatism enabled Ireland to use the available resources to good effect but that the country s regional disparities have not been overcome. Both top-down and bottom-up variants of Europeanisation have emerged with  the EU s resources shaping Ireland s development and Ireland s resourcefulness contributing to   the on-going development of EU regional policy. ; PUBLISHED; peer-reviewed

peer-reviewed; The introduction of a Regulatory body in Ireland with responsibility for ensuring high standards of education and professionalism for ambulance, and other pre-hospital, practitioners was a welcomed initiative in 2001 due to a need for improvement in care delivered to patients before arrival at hospital. This Regulatory body, the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC), was established under Statutory Instrument with an initial priority being to develop three levels of pre-hospital practitioner: Emergency Medical Technician (EMT); Paramedic; Advanced Paramedic (AP). The introduction of these three levels meant that only such registered practitioners could practice in the pre-hospital environment. However for practitioners to renew their registration, they had only to meet simple and minimal criteria with no requirement to demonstrate any level of competence. The Council’s 2011-2014 Strategic plan identified the need to introduce a system of continuous professional development/competence as a priority. The purpose of the studies in this thesis was to engage with the three levels of practitioner in Ireland and to seek their views and opinions so as to identify factors that would inform the implementation of a continuous professional competence (CPC) framework for all pre-hospital practitioners. The expectation in when initiating this work was that the results would assist in the introduction of a framework for one group of registrants in particular...