Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG update

Fianna Fáil move closer to Fine Gael  for talks on Irish Government

GREEN PARTY EXPECTED TO DROP OUT OF TALKS ON FORMATION OF NEXT GOVERNMENT

    

FIANNA FÁIL LEADER MICHEÁL MARTIN: DUE TO MEET THE GREEN PARTY, INDEPENDENT ALLIANCE AND A GROUP OF RURAL TDS.

Separate talks on government formation between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail and Independent TDs will continue on Wednesday amid signs of growing momentum towards contacts between the two big parties ahead of the Dáil’s resumption next week.

Acting Taoiseach Enda Kenny met with Independent TDs for over ten hours at Government Buildings on Tuesday , where both sides reported good progress was made towards a programme for government.

However, the Green Party leader Eamon Ryan is to seek the views of membership as to whether it should remain a part of talks on the formation of a government. The party looks set to drop out of any negotiations, which will be a blow to Fine Gael attempts to assemble support for Enda Kenny in the next vote for Taoiseach.

With the reality of Dáil arithmetic obvious to all participants, senior sources at Leinster House expect imminent contacts between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.

Mr Kenny offered an array of commitments to rural Independent TDs on Tuesday with a package which proposed increased investment in broadband and on the rural transport network. Fine Gael also insisted it would not move to close any small schools, post offices or Garda stations if in government and would protect the credit union sector. The talks also dealt with housing and mental health.

In addition, Fine Gael presented the Independents with a paper on how a minority Government would work in practice. The paper, promising “a new form of government”, outlined how legislation would be passed with a minority government, allowing different levels of responsibility from ministers and backbenchers. Fine Gael promised ‘good faith and no surprises’, pledging to keep all deputies informed of government policy development and announcements of interest to them.

Fianna Fáil bent on scraping water charges despite treat of legal advice

PUBLICATION OF IRISH WATER LEGAL ADVICE CRITICISED BY SINN FÉIN.

  

SINN FEIN MEP LYNN BOYLAN SAID THIS LEGAL OPINION IS LEAKED AT A TIME WHEN FINE GAEL AND FIANNA FAIL ARE BEING FORCED TO SPEAK TO ONE ANOTHER.

Fianna Fáil has insisted it will abolish water charges despite legal advice given to Irish Water warning there is no possibility under European law for the State to suspend or scrap the charges.

The party came under renewed pressure yesterday (Tues) to outline its position on the levies after details of the legal advice provided to Irish Water became public .

The party’s public expenditure spokesman Sean Fleming said Fianna Fail’s position had not changed.

He said: “We absolutely contest the legal advice being put forward by Irish Water.

“It is important to recognise that this legal advice was commissioned by Irish Water, and it should be examined with caution in light of this.

“It’s extraordinary to see Irish Water quoting EU rules as sacrosanct considering they failed to meet the key Eurostat market test last year.”

The legal advice commissioned by Ervia, the parent company of Irish Water, argues that there is no option under EU law to return to the practice of not charging for water. The advice was delivered after the recent general election.

It says the default position in the EU directive is that member states must recover the costs of water services. Water-pricing policies are intended to contribute to environmental objectives, it adds.

No reason for conclusion?

The position places a great deal of pressure on Fianna Fail, who has insisted it will abolish charges if in government. Mr Fleming said there is no reason to conclude this cannot be done by a future government.

He said: “In fact, we believe it is entirely possible for the next government to suspend water charges and invest in our water infrastructure.

“The Fianna Fáil position on water charges has not changed. We do not support the continued imposition of water charges on households.”

Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan called on the company to publish the advice given to it by senior counsel Garrett Simons and Michael M Collins.

She insisted the advice did not tally with that of the European Commissionand claimed the information was being published to suit the political agenda of certain parties.

“It is very suspicious the timing of this leaked legal opinion because it falls nicely into the hands in terms of forming a government for Fianna Fail to get them off the hook and say ’it is nothing to do with us, it is the legal opinion’,” she said.

“I would be very suspicious of the timing of this leak. If Irish Water have nothing to hide then let us see the legal opinion.”

Ms Boylan claimed the legal opinion, details of which were published in yesterday’s Irish Times, was being leaked at a time when Fine Gael and Fianna Fail were being forced to speak to one another.

Anti-Austerity Alliance TD Paul Murphy said 70 per cent of the electorate had voted for parties in favour of abolishing water charges.

He said in response Irish Water had “engaged in a desperate rear-guard action to try to maintain itself”.

Mr Murphy said: “I don’t trust Fianna Fáil as far as I can thrown them. The only way to ensure abolition is to do two things. One is to step up the boycott and the second thing is we need a massive, united demonstration on the streets.”

Farmers carry crucifixes and makeshift coffin in protest outside Ulster Bank on farm & home eviction’s

     

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC DURING A NEW LAND LEAGUE PROTEST TO HIGHLIGHT FINANCIAL PRESSURES ON IRISH PEOPLE

Dozens of farmers and members of the New Land League carried crucifixes and a makeshift coffin as they demonstrated outside the offices of a major bank and sub-prime lender this afternoon.

Carrying placards shaped like a coffin and black and white photographs of Irish nationalist and Land League founder Charles Stewart Parnell, they held a peaceful demonstration outside the Dublin headquarters of the Ulster Bank and the office of Carlisle Mortgages on Parnell Square.

Members of the public during a new Land League protest to highlight financial pressures Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins

Protest organiser and New Land League spokesman Jerry Beades said the protests were staged to highlight the ongoing plight of thousands of ordinary homeowners and farmers who now face repossession of their homes, eviction from their property  and/or insurmountable debts due to crippling interest rates charged by unregulated money lenders and sub prime lenders.

The stress and anxiety over losing their homes or being mired in debt with no recourse has already lead some farmers and others to take their own lives, Mr Beades said.

“There’s a man whose family are here today who is facing jail in a couple of weeks. He was in jail last year over the same bank. This was subprime lending at its worst. It was a scam the way people were lent money,” he said.

“They were lent at low interest rates to get them out of a particular debt problem and then the interest rate doubled and trebled. They borrowed €300,000 or €400,000 and now they owe €1.5m,” he said.

He said many borrowers were denied loans by the banks and turned to subprime lenders out of desperation, not aware that the interest rates could change, in some cases as high as 26pc.

“They were told that (a company) would do everything to get their credit rating back and they would get them back (dealing) to a mainstream bank in 12 months. But once you got involved with them, none of mainstream banks would touch you and people were caught in. But nobody knew what they were getting into,” he told Independent.ie.

Mr Beades said Ulster Bank was targeted yesterday because  it is selling allegedly selling off outstanding agricultural and other debts to hedge or “vulture” funds whose strict terms for repayment often results in property owners losing their homes and farms.

A spokeswoman for Ulster Bank declined comment on the protest, which ended without incident an hour after gardai were called.

Officials from Carlisle could not be reached for comment.

Oil prices fall, as demand fails to keep up with swelling global supply

   

Oil prices fell about 3% on Tuesday, reflecting growing concern that a two-month rally was fading as demand fails to keep up with swelling global supply, including new output from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Remarks by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, which were seen as generally dovish for the interest rate outlook, sparked a brief rebound before prices slumped again.

Brent futures settled down $1.13 at $39.14 (U.S.) a barrel while U.S. crude settled $1.11 lower at $38.28 per barrel.

The decision by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to resume oil production at the jointly operated 300,000-barrel-per-day Khafji field, at a time when production is supposed to be frozen, triggered the heavy selloff in oil markets, traders said.

“The capacity of that field in the Neutral Zone is more than what Ecuador produces. If they do freeze, it will not be at the January levels but at a lot higher figure,” one trader said, referring to the Kuwait-Saudi border area where Khafji is located.

Earlier, Yellen told the Economic Club of New York that the Fed should proceed “cautiously” as it looks to raise rates again because inflation has not yet proven durable against the backdrop of looming global risks to the U.S economy.

Hawkish comments from several Fed officials last week put investors on guard for the likelihood of two rate hikes this year, triggering a widespread correction in commodities and bolstering the dollar.

“The comments today suggest that it (next rate hike) may be more delayed and the dollar getting whacked is providing support to oil, although oil is still trending to the downside in the short term,” Energy Management Institute analyst Dominick Chirichella said.

The dollar index slipped to an eight-day low following Yellen’s comments, making greenback-denominated commodities cheaper for holders of other currencies.

Oil prices have risen more than 30 per cent since mid-February, ahead of an April 17 meeting in Doha where the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other major suppliers including Russia will discuss an output freeze aimed at bolstering prices.

But with global inventories swelling and signs some OPEC members are losing market share, the meeting is unlikely to do much to prop up prices, analysts and traders said. Rising gasoline demand in the United States is not seen keeping pace with the increased worldwide supplies.

Oil prices sank further after a source familiar with Iranian thinking said Tehran would attend the meeting in Doha, but not necessarily take part in negotiations over production freezes.

Market watchers now believe the rebound in U.S. crude prices from 12-year lows touched in February was more the consequence of a major short covering rally and less to do with improving fundamentals.

The oil market is also bracing for American Petroleum Institute inventory data due at 1630 EDT (2030 GMT), which is expected to show that U.S. commercial crude stock piles have reached record highs for a seventh straight week, while refined product inventories likely fell.

A gene linked to blood pressure ‘helps regulate salt consumption’

   

A GENE LINKED TO BLOOD PRESSURE HELPS TO REGULATE THE CONSUMPTION OF SALT, RESEARCH HAS SHOWN.

Removing the gene from the brains of mice caused the animals to develop a strong appetite for salt. Offered the choice of water laced with salt, they drank three times more of it than unmodified mice.

Drinking salty water pushed up the blood pressure of mice missing the gene, scientists found. When the saltwater was removed, their blood pressure returned to normal.

Dr Matthew Bailey, from the University of Edinburgh, who led the research published in the journal Circulation, said: “In the UK we routinely eat much more salt than our bodies need. For most people this is bad for our heart, blood vessels and kidneys.

“Our study shows that we have a genetic drive to consume salty food. Understanding how this process works may help us reduce the amount of salt we eat and make it easier for people to follow low-salt diets.”

In humans, the salt-regulating gene is known to be linked to high blood pressure – but the way this mechanism is controlled is unclear.

The Edinburgh team now plans to investigate whether an affordable drug can help bring salt intake under control in heart failure patients.

Eating less salt is important for people with heart failure. The condition causes the body to hold on to extra salt and water, leading to fluid build-up in body tissues which imposes a greater load on the heart.

• Rather than spreading jam, marmalade, syrup, treacle or honey on your toast, try a lower-fat spread, sliced banana or lower-fat cream cheese instead.
• Check nutrition labels to help you pick the foods with less added sugar, or go for the lower-sugar version.
• Try halving the sugar you use in your recipes – it works for most things except jam, meringues and ice cream.
• Choose tins of fruit in juice rather than syrup.
• Choose wholegrain breakfast cereals, but not those coated with sugar or honey.
• Limit fruit juice to a small (150ml) glass a day from juice, smoothies or both. Remember to keep it to mealtimes, as it can cause tooth decay.

Mystery surrounds the whereabouts of Shakespeare’s “stolen” skull

BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN STOLEN 200 YEARS AGO, RADAR HAS REVEALED AN “AN ODD DISTURBANCE AT THE HEAD END”

   

David Tennant plays the title role in Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ in a 2009 production [Pixabay]

In what is being called “an odd disturbance at the head end,” it appears that the skull of William Shakespeare, arguably the most famous playwright in history, may well be missing from his place of rest – the strongest indication yet that someone might have made off with his head more than 200 years ago.

Rumours that the bard’s burial place was burglarised has long persisted, but the actual grave itself in the Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, has never been opened for investigation – for two reasons: firstly, out of respect to England’s most well-known writer, and secondly, the grave is marked with a rhyming curse on his tombstone: “Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare, to dig the dust enclosed here. Blessed be the man that spares these stones, and cursed be he that moves my bones.”

The grave of William Shakespeare, along with the so-called curse, believed to have been penned by him, carved into the tombstone

Finally, in 2014, after centuries of speculation, a research team from Staffordshire University scanned Shakespeare’s grave using ground-penetrating radar, with the project leader Kevin Colls left scratching his head.

“We’re reasonably confident that there’s a good chance that William’s skull is no longer there,” Colls told the New York Times.

The only suspect in the case as it stands comes from a story written in 1879 called How Shakespeare’s skull was stolen, published in the pulp periodicalArgosy and pointing the finger at a certain “Warwickshire man” circa 1794.

The article alleges that Frank Chambers, a local doctor described as “a wild, rather dashing young fellow; not bad looking,” dug into Shakespeare’s grave, taking the skull from within. The Argosy piece implies Chambers never returned it, but offers very little on the mystery that now presents itself – if Shakespeare’s skull was indeed stolen, where is it now?

What has been confirmed is that a skull in a nearby village – long rumoured to be the bard’s – is most certainly not; research into its origins revealed that it belonged to a woman. But with the local Stratford church expressing no interest into exhuming Shakespeare’s remains, we may never know for sure the fate of his head.  

Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG update

Irish industrial production surges some 33% year-on-year

    

Ireland’s manufacturing sector is set for its fastest pace of growth since 1998.

Industrial production surged by a third in November compared to the same month last year, paving the way for the fastest pace of growth in the sector for 17 years.

Output was up 4% in November, but jumped a massive 33% year-on-year.

Analysts said the data pointed to a surge in output in the second half of last year.

“All in all, Ireland’s manufacturing sector is set for its fastest pace of growth since 1998,” said David McNamara, analyst with Davy Stockbrokers.

“A flat December would leave output up 20% in 2014. Much of this is related to the multinational sector, with little feed-through to the real economy.

“However, the ‘traditional’ sector is also set for the fastest pace of growth since 2000 at about 9pc for 2014, with surveys pointing to continued growth in 2015.”

The data from the Central Statistics Office shows that the so-called modern sector, made up of a number of high-technology and chemical sectors, showed a monthly increase in production for November 2014 of 9.3%. There was a monthly decrease of 4.4% in the more employment-intensive traditional sector.

In the year-to-date, industrial production has now expanded by 22% on 2013, driven by a bounce-back in the pharma-dominated modern sector, which was up 33.9%, and an 8.1% rise in the traditional sector.

“Looking ahead, the manufacturing PMI points to continued growth in early 2015, with employers taking on new recruits at the fastest pace in 15 years, signalling positive output expectations for the year ahead,” Mr McNamara added.

Alan McQuaid of Merrion stockbrokers said the data underlined how well the Irish economy is doing compared with the rest of the Eurozone.

“Based on the figures up to November and on the strong PMI data, we are now looking for manufacturing output for 2014 as a whole to be around 23pc higher than 2013, following a decline of 2.1pc in the previous year,” he said.

“Another strong double-digit rise is envisaged for 2015.”

Mr McQuaid said that it was crucial that the economy remains competitive as the recovery takes hold.

Separate data from the CSO shows the monthly services sector had a more modest annual rise in November, increasing 5.5%. But it was down on October by 1.1%.

Irish road deaths are on the rise but it is time we looked to Sweden for a safety inspiration?

 

The CEO of the RSA said, ‘We saved more lives than ever before in 2012 we can do it again in 2015’.

After a rise in the amount of road deaths reported for 2014- the first week of 2015 has proved no different.

Six people were killed on our roads in the first 7 days of this year – while figures released for 2014 showed an increase in road deaths from the year previous.

A total of 196 people died last year – compared to 190 in 2013. However, that number was down to 162 in 2012.

The Road Safety Authority has expressed serious concern following the rise in road deaths last year and an equally tragic and poor start for road safety in 2015. CEO of the RSA, Moyagh Murdock, said:

It’s been an appalling start to the year and mirrors exactly the situation at the same time last year.

Ireland’s road record?

It’s important to note that the latest European Transport Safety Council’s (ETSC) Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) report showed that Ireland, Sweden, Norway and the UK had the lowest death rates across Europe based on journeys taken.

Based on 2013 figures, it found Ireland to be well below the EU average of 51 deaths per million population- with 41. The lowest rate was in Sweden at 27, and the highest was in Romania at 93.

Sweden’s roads have become the world’s safest with other places such as New York trying to copy it’s success.

‘Vision Zero’ Three Swedes in every 100,000 die on the roads each year – compared with 11.4 per 100,000 in America and 40 in the Dominican Republic, (which has the world’s deadliest traffic).

In 1997, the Swedish parliament wrote into law a “Vision Zero” plan, promising to eliminate road fatalities and injuries altogether. Deaths have now reduced by half since 2000.

It’s “2+1″ roads – where each lane of traffic takes turns using a middle lane to overtake – is said to have saved over 145 lives over the first decade of the plan.

Sweden also has low speed limits in urban areas, pedestrian zones and barriers that separate bikes from cars.

It’s believed that strict policing has also helped – with less than 0.25% of drivers tested now over the alcohol limit.

Road deaths of children have plummeted—in 2012 only one child was killed, compared with 58 in 1970.

That’s a stark difference to Ireland where there was a doubling in the number of fatalities among children last year.

Sixteen children aged up to 15 years lost their lives in 2014, eight were pedestrians and eight were passengers.

What needs to be done?

A report by the White Roads EU project, showed that good road design, the presence of adequate maintenance programmes, the installation of reliable homogenous traffic signage, road markings and appropriate lighting are among the key aspects that lead to low accident rates on sections of roads.

However, an EU report on road surfaces shows that Ireland drastically reduced its road maintenance budget between 2008 and 2011 due to the economic crisis.

Ireland South MEP and member of the European Parliament Transport Committee Deirdre Clune, said:

The decision to drastically slash our road maintenance budget between 2008 and 2011 has had enormous economic and safety repercussions and was extremely short sighted.

“I understand that budgets were and continue to be limited but there are economic costs associated with poor road maintenance, not to mention an increased risk of accidents on our roads.”

Clune said she met with the European Road Safety Council, ETSC, during the week and that they’re trying to secure a number of new initiatives at European level “including seat belt reminders for the back seats, alcohol interlocks on the ignition and enhanced safety design for cars”.

The CEO of the RSA, Moyagh Murdock, appealed for road users to be extra vigilant, “I would appeal to all road users, as a New Year’s resolution, to please make safer choices when using the road.

Each one of us has the power to make a difference on the road. We did it before, in 2012 when we saved more lives on the road than ever before. We need to do it again in 2015.

Eating Blueberries can help to keep high blood pressure away

  

Eating whole fresh fruit, especially blueberries, grapes, apples and pears, is linked to a lower risk of Type 2 diabetes, but drinking fruit juice has the opposite effect, says a new study.

Eating blueberries on a daily basis could lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressure in just eight weeks, according to researchers at Florida State University.

“To our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate the effects of blueberries on arterial function as was done in this study, as well as in this study population,” says corresponding author Dr. Bahram H. Arjmandi of FSU. “These findings suggest that blueberries may prevent the progression to full-blown hypertension.”

Postmenopausal women were selected for the study because their incidence of high blood pressure exceeds that of men, and participants were considered to be in the early stages of hypertension.

Working with 48 participants, the research team randomly assigned them to receive either 22g of freeze-dried blueberry powder, the equivalent to approximately one cup of fresh blueberries, or 22g of control powder.

Upon conclusion of the eight-week study, the blueberry group’s collective systolic blood pressure (SBP) was lower by 5.1% and their mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was lower by 6.3%.

Arterial stiffness was measured using non-invasive pulse wave velocity technology, and the blueberry group showed improvement, for which researchers believe nitric oxide is to credit since levels increased from 9.11 to 15.35 micrometers (μM).

The placebo group saw no corresponding lowering of their blood pressure, and their nitric oxide levels did not increase.

Aortic stiffness was measured using carotid femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) technology and showed no change in either group, indicating that dietary changes could have more effect on small, peripheral arteries than they do on central ones.

“The recommended intervention for controlling blood pressure in pre- and stage 1-hypertensive individuals is not pharmaceutical interventions, but rather lifestyle modifications including dietary approaches and there is evidence that many cases of HTN can be prevented and treated through diet and lifestyle changes,” says lead author Dr. Sarah A. Johnson of FSU. “Considering the prevalence of HTN in the U.S., preventive strategies such as dietary modifications (e.g. functional foods and dietary supplements) that aim to improve HTN and its related complications are warranted.”

Recently, a Finnish study concluded that wild blueberries could neutralize a high fat diet, which is thought to occur due to the high concentration of polyphenols they contain.

Good bacteria found in beer may help to fight diseases

  

A recent study led by Harry Gilbert, professor of biochemistry at Newcastle University, Eric Martens of the University of Michigan’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and Wade Abbott, research scientist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, has identified the complex machinery that targets yeast carbohydrates.

The study was published in the journal Nature and explains how our stomach has a certain bacteria that help us digest yeast and other complex carbohydrates. The bacteria is also found in beer and breads and is responsible for the bubbles in beer. This study shows that certain microbes in our digestive tract have evolved over the years to become capable of breaking down complex carbohydrates. It is these complex carbs that make up the yeast cell wall.

The research has unraveled the mechanism by which B thetaiotaomicron has learned to feast upon difficult to break down complex carbohydrates called yeast mannans. Mannans, derived from the yeast cell wall, are a component in our diet from fermented foods including bread, beer, wine and soy sauce.

“One of the big surprises in this study was that B thetaiotaomicron is so specifically tuned to recognise the complex carbohydrates present in yeasts, such as those present in beer, wine and bread,” said Martens.

“However, these bacteria turned out to be smarter than we thought: they recognise and degrade both groups of carbohydrates, but have entirely separate strategies to do so despite the substantial chemical similarity between the host and yeast carbohydrates,” added Martens.

The new findings provide a better understanding of how our unique intestinal soup of bacteria – known as the microbiome – has the capacity to obtain nutrients from our highly varied diet. The results suggest that yeast has health benefits possibly by increasing the Bacteroides growth in the microbiome.

Experts believe that the discovery of this process could accelerate the development of prebiotic medicines to help people suffering from bowel problems and autoimmune diseases.

BT Young Scientist's top award won by teen alcohol project

  

Ian O’Sullivan and Eimear Murphy from Colaiste Treasa, Cork win the overall prize at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition 2015 with their project Alcohol Comsumption: Does the apple fall far from the tree?

A group project by Cork students looking at teenage alcohol consumption has claimed top prize at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition at the RDS.

The best individual prize went to a Co Louth student for her development of a wrist support for boxers.

The top four awards in the exhibition were announced Friday evening, with Ian O’Sullivan and Eimear Murphy being declared the 2015 Young Scientists.

Alcohol consumption: Their project looked at whether parental alcohol consumption has an impact on the drinking habits of their teenage children, explained the 16-year-old transition year students at Coláiste Treasa in Cork. “We wanted to see if there was a parental effect on their kids’ consumption of alcohol,” says Eimear.

The two put together a survey and distributed it to fifth and sixth year students from schools around the Mallow area, she explains. “We wanted to assess hazardous drinking habits.”

This involves consuming too much alcohol or drinking too frequently, habits that have an impact on health, Ian says.

The two found parental drinking habits, particularly that of the father, had a major impact on their children’s drinking.

They also discovered that parents who believe it is acceptable for their children to drink alcohol on special occasions were up to four times more likely to engage in hazardous drinking than other adolescents.

Perpetual trophy

They receive the BT young Scientist perpetual trophy, a cheque for €5,000 and a chance to represent Ireland at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists taking place later this year in Milan.

The award for best individual project went to Rachel Ní Dhonnachadha (16), a fifth-year student at St Vincent’s Secondary School in Louth.

Wrist injuries: Wrist injuries are a common problem in boxing, and as a former boxer, Rachel decided to do something about it. She discarded the current approach of binding up the wrist with a cloth bandage, a method introduced in the 1920s.

Instead she designed a glove-like wrist support that could reduce wrist deflection, and so cut injuries. “It is comfortable to wear and supports the wrist without restricting normal movement,” she says.

She asked Irish boxer Katie Taylor to try out the wrist support and the champion found it very good, says Rachel.

She also collected a considerable amount of data to show that her device really made a difference.

“It gives you a competitive advantage,” she says. It slightly increases punching force and reduces down time as a result of injuries, she adds.

Rachel has applied for a patent for her design and has plans to bring it to the International Boxing Association.

She receives a perpetual trophy and a cheque for €2,400.

The runner-up group prize went to transition year students Patrick Sweeney, Chloe Daniels and Annette Moran.

Traditional music: Their novel study looked at whether birdsong may have been the inspiration that caused similarities between African and Irish traditional music.

Migrating swallows and other species spend time in Ireland and Africa, and musicians looking for inspiration could have picked up melodies from the birds, according to the theory proposed by the three students from Carrick-On-Shannon Community School, Leitrim.

All three are traditional musicians and so would have an ear for a tune.

Patrick came up with the idea and presented it at last year’s BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition. He came back again this year with his two collaborators.

They began studying birdsong, comparing it with melodies in Irish and African music. They made this easier for themselves by investigating the frequency waves of the music, which allowed them to look at any similarities in great detail.

They also believe they can open up a source of new inspiration by using recordings of birdsong from the isolated Galapagos Islands.

They receive a perpetual trophy and a cheque for €1,200. The runner-up individual prize went to Jack O’Sullivan (16), of Kilkenny College, Kilkenny who developed a way to turn an ordinary smartphone into a fully functional desktop computer.

“The power of smartphones is increasing all the time and is now approaching that found in PCs,” he said.

A considerable challenge: It took a considerable amount of work to achieve this – a blend of hardware development and software development. The fact the phone only has a charging point as a way to connect to the outside world represented a considerable challenge, Jack said.

It would be for the phone manufacturers to decide whether they wanted to include a second connection point that would make it easier to use the smartphone in this way.

“The ultimate goal would be a phone with built-in applications like this,” he said. It would convert the phone into a single device for all of a person’s information technology requirements, he said.

He receives a perpetual trophy and a cheque for €1,200.