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National University of Ireland, Galway
Ollscoil na hÉireann, Gaillimh
Motto:	Deo Favente (With the favour of God)
Established	1845
President:	Dr Iognáid Ó Muircheartaigh
Registrar:	Prof James Browne
Faculty:	526
Students:	15,000
Location	Galway, Ireland
Affiliations:	AUA, Coimbra Group, EUA, NUI, IUA, UI
Website:	http://www.nuigalway.ie

The National University of Ireland, Galway (NUI, Galway) (Irish Ollscoil na hÉireann, Gaillimh or OÉ, Gaillimh) can trace its existence to 1845 as Queen's College, Galway and was known until recently as University College, Galway (UCG) (Irish: Coláiste na hOllscoile, Gaillimh or COG). The university is located in Galway, Ireland.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Presidents of the university 2 Recent developments 3 Student activities 4 References 5 See also 6 External links

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. In 1906 Alice Perry graduated from the college, believed to be the first female engineering graduate in the world^[1] having received a first class honours degree in civil engineering. The Irish Universities Act, 1908 made this college a constituent college of the new National University of Ireland, 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 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. The oldest part of the university, the Quadrangle, designed by John Benjamin Keane, is a replica of Christ Church, one of the colleges at the University of Oxford. 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. The 1990s also saw considerable development including the conversion of an old factory into a student centre and sports hall.

• Rev. Dr Joseph W. Kirwan 1845-1849
• Edward Berwick 1849-1877
• Sir Thomas William Moffett 1877-1897
• William Joseph Myles Starkie 1897-1899
• Dr Alexander Anderson 1899-1934
• Monsignor John Hynes 1934-1945
• Monsignor Pádraig de Brún 1945-1959
• Dr Martin J. Newell 1960-1975
• Dr Colm Ó hEocha 1975-1996
• Dr Patrick F. Fottrell 1996-2000
• Dr Iognáid G. Ó Muircheartaigh 2000-2007

The Sunday Times University Guide named the university as Irish University of the Year 2002 - 2003 [1].

Like the other constituent universities of the National University of Ireland, the university follows the common faculty structure. The seven faculties of the university are Arts, Celtic Studies, Commerce, Engineering, Law, Medicine & Health Sciences and Science. Staff are represented by the SIPTU trade union (for academic, research, administrative and technical workers) and the Irish Federation of University Teachers (for academic workers only).

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[2].

The actor Martin Sheen, who has never previously attended college, enrolled at the National University of Ireland, Galway, in Autumn 2006.[3]

Recently, NUIG has announced it's plan to make the university a 'campus of the future', at a cost of around €400 million. A PDF of the plans can be found here.

The college boasts an active and vibrant student life, with over 60 clubs and over 80 societies. The oldest society on the campus is the Literary & Debating Society, founded in 1846. 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 college's Drama Society (Dramsoc) 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, Druid Theatre Company and The Galway Arts Festival.

In February the college hosts annually an on-campus arts festival entitled 'Múscailt' (meaning to awake/inspire/celebrate. 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.

1. ^ The Engineers Journal, Engineers Ireland, Volume 59, December 2005.

• Education in the Republic of Ireland
• List of universities in the Republic of Ireland
• List of alumni of the National University of Ireland, Galway

• Virtual Tour of the Aula Maxima
• Official university site
• NUI, Galway Students' Union
• Martin Ryan Marine Science Institute
• Seaweed Site
• Algaebase

v • d • e Universities of Ireland
Republic of Ireland	Dublin City University · National University of Ireland · University of Dublin · University of Limerick
NUI Constituent Universities	Cork · Dublin · Galway · Maynooth
DU Constituent College	Trinity College, Dublin
Northern Ireland	Queen's University Belfast · University of Ulster · Open University in Ireland
QUB University Colleges	St. Mary's · Stranmillis
Other degree awarding authorities in Ireland: Dublin Institute of Technology · HETAC · King's Inns · Pontifical University · Presbyterian Theological Faculty · Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland

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