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innovation

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Communication Strategy for IdeasLab University of Galway

March 27, 2023

Building our community within and outside the University of Galway has been priority for IdeasLab over the past 12months. Lisa has supported us in understanding how important our mission, vison and communications are in this process. Understanding these elements from the unit perspective but also how our personal profiles impact on our community has been insightful. Lisa has successfully helped us grow and connect with a broad community in Galway city and beyond and we are now equipped to nurture and grow this community even further in the next 12 months.

Jenny Mullery University of Galway IdeasLab

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MC and Moderator for IdeasLab IWD CreateHER event 2023

March 27, 2023

Lisa Regan recently MC’d our CreateHER finale in the Druid Theatre in Galway city. Her commitment to the event from the outset was evident and she supported us in the venue selection to ensure the right atmosphere, worked with us on running order, theme and stage set up. Lisa captured the essence and feel of the event we were trying hold. Through her research, thoughtful questions and inclusive style she brought our vision to life, for what was a night us and the audience will remember for a long time. Although Lisa had one role on the night she gave so much more to the entire event than we could have asked for.

Jenny Mullery University of Galway IdeasLab

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CreateHer with University of Galway IdeasLab International Women’s Day event

March 10, 2023

CreateHer with University of Galway IdeasLab International Women’s Day event at Druid Theatre Company

This year through my ongoing work with IdeasLab I was asked to moderate, MC and hold a panel discussion for International Women’s Day. As always my recommendation for this was The Mick Lally Theatre which is ran by the wonderful Siomha and is one of my favourite spaces in Galway.

We have talked alot about equality over the years and now we are looking at how we can move towards a more equitable society.

Simply put: Equality means everyone gets a shoe.
Equity means everyone gets a shoe that fits.

The passionate, captivating, and creative tour de force, Noeline Kavanagh who has brought so much joy and our imaginations to life through her work with the internationally acclaimed Galway-based theatre spectacle company Macnas – Spectacle Theatre Company agreed to be our keynote speaker.

She was the first female and the youngest person at 23 to ever direct the Macnas parade which happened in 2008. It was one of the largest parades ever – with over 500 community participants in it.

Driven by love, imagination, friendship, possibility, chance, choice, challenge, Noeline Kavanagh is a person that offers and delivers so much. Her words on the night lifted the roof and everyone in the room, it was in her vulnerability and honesty we saw her true character and what an incredible person she is. A true leader.

On the panel was Vanessa Creaven
Co-Founder + CEO Spotlight Oral Care
Dr. Natalie Walsh
Director of Entrepreneurial Development University of Galway
Mary Ryan
Deputy CEO WestBIC

These conversations began with defining personal success and how that is ever changing, how we can practically support each other throughout our careers, why being amped up and super charged on busy mode is so 2018 and what we have changed our minds about and why that is a very good thing. Nothing is as enjoyable as good conversation and connection with other people in real life.

This night was all of that.

Thank you Tribe Hospitality Group for the refreshments and WestBIC for sponsoring.

Martina Regan was on hand to capture the ,magic.

Lisa Regan Public Relations (Me) handled all pre and post communications and the MC’ing duties on the evening to which I take very seriously as I love nothing more than researching and being invested in those I am talking and listening to.

Thank you Lisa. 

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ITWD CreateHer at The Druid

March 6, 2023

IdeasLab at University of Galway are amplifying the female voice and action this International Women’s Day and you are invited to be part of the conversation.

The awe inspiring Noeline Kavanagh former Artistic Director at Macnas will deliver a Keynote speech that will lift you from your seat! Then a panel discussion with Dr Natalie Walsh, Dr Vanessa Creaven and Mary Ryan will give a real insight into career progression and how success looks and feels very differently to us all.

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Care, craft and innovation in the west

February 2, 2023

How it is all made? Beer in your glass, in a can, at home or enjoyed in OConnellsGalway

We never really think beyond what we are having of just how it all came together.

O’Connells Galway have been enjoying and working with The White Hag Irish Brewing Co. for years and were back with them in Sligo yesterday to sample some very exciting new flavours and some of the old favourites too.

The west of Ireland. What a place. See you soon.

Photos Declan Colohan Photography

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Galway Street Art Walking Tour

February 2, 2023

How community development can contribute to and influence social change?

Today I began my working day talking with Anna Daly a 4th year Social Sciences at University of Galway who for her final year dissertation, wants to look at how community development can contribute to and influence social change. In particular she’s interested in how communities can promote positive climate action?

We have been working on being a dynamic, inclusive and progressive community in Galway’s Westend through the businesses, through creativity, with the wonderful residents who are the heart and soul and with ensuring we are respecting our environment.

Anna nailed all of this in her words below and its so wonderful to get validation for all the work and in terms of driving our message through PR and Marketing this was such great feedback to get.

“I think that Galway’s Westend has huge potential to be one of these dynamic communities. It’s already one of the most proactive and eclectic neighbourhoods in the city. When you walk around the Westend it’s easy to pick up a vibe which is pro local businesses, pro creativity and pro sustainability and the collective marketing of the Westend through its website and social media has explicitly identified itself as a community that really values these principles.”

Today I joined the Galway Street Art Walking Tour with Finbar247 Shane O Malley Galway City Council to explore the city and how bringing artists and local government to work together to ensure Street Art is part of our street scape. The value to society through colour, creativity and the economy is only positive.

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Galway Food Tours get crafty in 2023

November 17, 2022

Gifting experiences is THE gift of 2022

The award-winning Galway Food Tours who guide people through the food scene of Galway have launched their craft and food tours gift vouchers. The gift vouchers can be for one of their food and experiential tours or can be out towards joining their craft tours which they launched in November 2022.

Long after the festive season, you can enjoy a craft tour in Galway. This February 12th join Galway Food tours as they take you on a journey through Galway like no other. Beginning in Galways westend, In Plamas where a coffee and sweet treat from Kai is the order of the day before heading up the town to the hear and learn from the icon that is Anne O’Maille who runs O’Máille – The Original House of Style, founded in 1938 in the heart of Galway City. Famous for their unique Hand Knitted Aran Sweaters. Proudly showcasing Top 100% Irish Weavers | Contemporary designs for Men, Women & Home in natural fiber.

Then it’s onto one the city’s most iconic restaurant spaces, Ard Bia where lunch is served. The creative juices can then be awoken with a Weave workshop where you will make a St Bridget’s cross with Sarah Jenkins in the surroundings of the Galway City Gin Distillery and talk (and drink!) about Imbolc – Early Childhood with Claire Davey.

“People want experiences now, so we wanted to bring the best of fashion, craft, and food together. We are so lucky in the west to have all these incredible people, places, and resources. So, get your friends together or come on a date with us yourself, a brilliant day eating, chatting, a tipple or two and of course having conversations, getting creative and learning from the people that are around us. Perfection,” said Sheena Dignam Owner of Galway Food Tours.

Tickets for this tour are €85 pp. Reserve your spot with Sheena on 086-7332885 or galwayfoodtours@gmail.com.  Check out www.galwayfoodtours.com

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Galway to become a gateway to connectivity to Europe

November 17, 2022

Work completed on telecoms cable between Galway and Iceland

Farice, (a company fully owned by the Icelandic Government, currently owns, and operates two submarine cables linking Iceland to Northern Europe) announced this week that the IRIS Sub-Sea Telecoms Cable System connecting Galway to Iceland and onwards to Denmark and the Nordics, on existing Farice networks is now in its final phase of implementation.

In 2019 The West coast of Ireland and Galway was designated as a landing location for international telecommunications cables with Increased availability of terrestrial networks across the country enabling this. This modern high-capacity telecom cable will connect Galway to Iceland, the presence of the Farice system landing in Galway will provide direct high-capacity links to Iceland but also to Northern Europe via Denmark and will greatly increase capacity and connectivity in the Galway region.

Farice signed a contract with SubCom, LLC, a global undersea fiber optic cable system supply company, to install the IRIS Cable System and SubCom has now received provisional acceptance for the IRIS Cable System, the final phase before officially handing the system over to its owner, Farice.

The IRIS system will be ready for service in the first quarter of 2023 and will be the third submarine fibre optic cable system connecting Iceland with Europe. The system provides further redundancy in telecommunication connection between Iceland and Europe, with low latency connections around 10.5 ms, between Reykjavík and Dublin. The IRIS system is integrated into Farice’s network in Iceland and Europe to enhance the network and provide comprehensive, diverse, and secure connectivity between Farice’s network POPs in Iceland and Europe.

Eamon Ryan, Minister for the Environment, Transport, Climate and Communications

‘The development of new digital infrastructure is essential for job creation and new business opportunities. Ireland is at the forefront of this digital development and is pursuing a strategy to be a gateway to Europe for all internet traffic. The IRIS subsea cable is a remarkable project which ensures we now have direct links from Ireland to Iceland and further diversifies the connectivity links across Ireland. This has extensive positive implications for Galway and the West, potentially opening up the entire region for new investment. And it highlights the West as a key destination for Europe’s internet connectivity infrastructure which is likely to attract future investments’

Áslaug Arna Sigurbjörnsdóttir, Minister of Universities, Industry and Innovation

IRIS, a new submarine cable connecting Iceland and Ireland, is a major milestone in strengthening and securing Iceland‘s electronic communications with Ireland and other countries. Together with Iceland‘s green and renewable energy sources this new submarine cable makes Iceland a highly competitive option for data centers, cloud service providers and high performance computing. Connecting Iceland and Ireland brings on new opportunities for both countries for co-operation in the highly connected digital world,“ said the minister in her message to Galway.

Sturla Sigurjónsson, Ambassador of Iceland

In his address, the Icelandic ambassador said that from the point of view of internet telecommunications, IRIS brings Iceland closer to Ireland. “We are two neighboring islands that share values and interests that are reflected in the history and culture of the nations. Recently, both countries have achieved very high levels of digitization and internet connectivity, including hosting data centers. IRIS shows that we can do things even faster and more efficiently and safely. The fourth industrial revolution has already begun, and the connectivity offered by IRIS improves our ability to embrace and leverage these fundamental changes even better.”

Ossian Smyth, Minister of state

Minister of State Ossian Smyth remarked that “Today is a landmark in the history of Irish communications. Ireland has been an intercontinental communications hub since 1858 when the first transatlantic cable linking London and New York was routed through Ireland. Today is the first day that a subsea cable has connected to Ireland that is not linked to the UK or North America. This is the start of a strategic move by Ireland to connect directly to Northern and Southern Europe. Ireland is now open for business to further subsea cables. These new connections will increase resilience and reduce latency. They provide the infrastructure needed for the 100s of thousands of people employed in Ireland in the ICT and pharmaceutical sectors.”

Þorvarður Sveinsson, Farice CEO

“IRIS will enable us to accommodate the capacity needs of customers, and bring diversity and resilience to our existing network by providing an important additional route for traffic flowing between Iceland and Europe,” explained CEO of Farice Thorvardur Sveinsson.

Debbie Brask, SubCom

“Our congratulations to Farice as they officially take the reins of the IRIS cable system,” said Debbie Brask, vice president of project management, SubCom. “IRIS presented SubCom with unique design, technology, and implementation challenges that were overcome in order to meet our customer’s needs. We worked closely with Farice to ensure that the system was manufactured and deployed according to its specifications. Reaching these final stages is a testament to the hard work, creativity, and resourcefulness shown by both the Farice and SubCom teams.”

Galway is identified as a landing site in Europe

Galway was identified as a landing site in Europe with suitable seabed approaches; the location had the ability to land a cable in the heart of the city therefore greatly enhanced the attractiveness of Galway as a landing site and as a potential hub of global connectivity. Explaining why Galway, Thorvardur commented, “After careful consideration of many factors, Galway was selected by Farice as the European cable landing location. . The suitable seabed conditions and strong local infrastructure was a key decision factor for us when selecting Galway as the landing site of our IRIS system. This coupled with Galway’s reputation for business, education and hospitality will lead to a win win situation. The enhanced global activity provided by the system will be a catalyst for attracting high tech business to the city and the regions.”

For more information on Farice log onto http://www.farice.is/.

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Galway Food Tours launch winter tour program

October 4, 2022

Fashion, food and getting crafty this winter in the west

The award-winning Galway Food Tours who guide people through the food scene of Galway have added to their offering this winter with a new program of tours that will combine food, fashion and craft through a vibrant tour of Galway city. 

Happening on Saturday 26th November, on this tour guests will get to discover some of Galway’s eco-conscious businesses and get the opportunity to meet some local entrepreneurs whilst taking in some of Galway’s best known and secret food haunts.

Beginning in Galways westend, In Plamas where a coffee and sweet treat from Kai is the order of the day before heading up Henry Street to The Tweed Project studio to meet one of its founders Aoibheann McNamara. The Tweed Project creates handmade, one-off pieces that combine beautiful Irish fabrics with modern tailoring for a truly authentic expression of Irish design. Their collections are made entirely of Irish fabrics, in Ireland for the world. Operating from a small Atelier in Galway, the collection is hand made from specially selected cuts of premium Donegal Tweed and Irish Linen.

Then it’s time to cross the river to one the city’s most iconic restaurant spaces, Ard Bia where a two course Lunch (with wine!) will be served. From here it’s onto Merchants Road to Galway City Distillery where Grace O’Connell owner and designer at Carve will lead guests through a fun and creative silver ring making workshop. Here you can design and sculpt your own unique ring out of jeweller’s wax, that will then be Cast in Silver for you to have forever. This activity will of course be paired with a Gin Cocktail.

“People want experiences now, so we wanted to bring the best of fashion, craft and food together. We are so lucky in the west to have all these incredible people, places and resources. So, get your friends together or come on a date with us yourself, a brilliant day eating, chatting, a tipple or two and of course having conversations, getting creative and learning from the people that are around us. Perfection,” said Sheena Dignam Owner of Galway Food Tours.

Tickets for this tour are 125€pp. Reserve your spot with Sheena on 086-7332885 or galwayfoodtours@gmail.com. Galway food Tours will be bringing more exciting creative tours in 2023 so stay tuned to their social channels or at www.galwayfoodtours.com

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Galway’s first Oyster Bar opens in Woodquay

October 4, 2022

McSwiggans cracks open Oyster Bar ahead of International Oyster Festival

One of Galway’s best loved bars is celebrating the Oyster in true style by officially launching Galway’s first Oyster bar. The launch is to mark their involvement on the Seafood Trail as part of the Galway International Oyster Festival 2022.

The festival kicks off this Friday 23rd September, with The McSwiggans Oyster bar being shucked open at 4pm. The Oyster bar will be fully stocked with Dooncastle Oysters over ice and customers will be able to enjoy Oysters as is or with a mignonette dressing.

Dooncastle Oysters are the main Oyster supplier for McSwiggans and will be on hand all weekend as part of the Seafood trail. Pair the oysters with a creamy pint of Guinness or choose from the McSwiggans extensive wine cellar. The launching of the Oyster Bar downstairs in McSwiggans is to celebrate seafood and to offer people in Galway the opportunity to enjoy Oysters in a very casual setting. Pop in for one or six, enjoy on a high stool or seated throughout the bar where suits you.

Irish Seafood will be king this weekend with a crock of Mussels served with the twice cooked skin on fries or a plank of prawns served with the very traditional Marie rose sauce. The menu will also include fish and chips as well as Seafood Chowder and their home made brown bread.

The landmark bar and restaurant has been a part of Galway life for over 30 years, evolving from a lively country store trading potatoes in the iconic Woodquay Market to now being a welcoming place to eat the best of what Ireland has to offer on a plate. Working with local suppliers and producers like Dooncastle Oysters is why McSwiggans has held its place on the very reputable Galway food scene map.

“I began as an assistant to oyster farmers, learning how to maintain and care for stock. In each farm I worked in I was taught something new and from this I developed my own technique. I decided rather than mass producing I would bring quality to the market, through this my oysters acquired their unique flavour, “explained John McHugh Owner of Dooncastle Oysters.

McSwiggans Oyster Bar will be open from 4pm this Friday 23 September and will be a feature within the bar post festival. For more information pop in or check out McSwiggans across social media channels, www.mcswiggans.ie or phone 091-568917

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Who are we?Business direction mentorship with Galway Volunteer Centre

October 4, 2022

‘Lisa helped our team to get a much better grasp of how to promote our work to the public but also the non-profit organisations that we support.  She has a straight up, no messing approach that made it easy for us to quickly get to the heart of the matter and figure solutions and ideas’

Donncha Foley Volunteer Galway

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Business Mentorship program with IdeasLab Scrunch UP

October 4, 2022

Lisa mentored me as part of a business start-up programme in NUIG. She brings an electric energy to every room she walks in. She is such a great person to bounce ideas off. Equally to hype you up and put you straight!! I was very lucky to work with her!! Cian Coyne Student at University of Galway, IdeasLab member and Scrunch Up Founder.