Republic Of Ireland Research Articles

Review of An Introduction to the Geopolitics of Conflict, Nationalism, and Reconciliation in Ireland, by Kara E. Dempsey

Review of An Introduction to the Geopolitics of Conflict, Nationalism, and Reconciliation in Ireland, by Kara E. Dempsey (London and New York: Routledge, 2022), 204 pp., ISBN: 978-0-367-69266-7, £38.99 (paperback)

Mapping the Jural Border between Ireland and Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland challenges a Westphalian account of the world in which sovereign states inhabit discrete geographic spaces. Its constitutional future is not determined by the central UK Government, its external border is porous for people and open for goods, some parts of EU law continue to apply. The paper shifts the focus from unitary and coherent sovereign spaces to multiple, varied and overlapping jural spaces, shedding light on some of the challenges that would be faced in the context of Irish unification. Even in a politically unified Irish state, managing the jural border between Ireland and Northern Ireland would remain a key task. The paper outlines a new account of law’s relationship to geographical space, before analysing the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. The paper concludes by addressing some structural issues that would need to be addressed if Irish unification were to occur.

Bordering in the archives: An investigation into a digital archive of the Irish asylum and refugee determination

Creating borders and borderlands is a key role of the contemporary state. Drawing on an investigation of the Irish state bordering complex determining asylum and refugee claims in Ireland, this article illustrates the importance of the actions of individual state agents and the cultures of practice in state agencies in bordering and statecraft. Building on scholarship studying the state, I conceive of statecraft as cultures of practices, understood within a feminist geopolitical framework. Studying these cultures of practice reveals the ways state agencies and state agents produce knowledge and how they work within complex power-geometries of social and political geographies. I investigate the Irish asylum determination process using an archival ethnography methodology to encounter an online archive of refugee appeals decisions in Ireland. This article shows one result of this encounter: a published database of asylum decision patterns and practices of the refugee appeals tribunals and of individual Tribunal members issuing decisions to people seeking asylum in Ireland. I argue this approach: (1) addresses real needs for systematic evidence of practice of Tribunal members, as requested by asylum seekers and legal representatives; (2) investigates cultures of practice in decision-making bodies in the asylum complex of the Irish state; (3) and shows the importance of archives of asylum decision-making in the state practice of bordering and statecraft. Analysis shows an asylum determination culture heavily dependent on who is doing the deciding, the decision-maker assigned is a major element in outcomes of asylum claims. I also propose a framework for identifying statecraft and bordering as the collective project of groups and individuals embedded within the state; this framework provides productive and systematic evidence of bordering and the ways individuals and groups go about doing statecraft in the asylum determination process.

Evaluation of the type and frequency of extemporaneous formulations dispensed in hospital and community pharmacies

BackgroundExtemporaneous compounding is practiced globally by pharmacists to allow for dispensing of personalised doses of medicinal products not commercially available. Extemporaneous compounding must result in a product which is safe and effective. However, data on formulation and expiry of extemporaneous products may not be readily available. Pharmacists access various resources including compounding databases to obtain information on composition, preparation, and expiry of extemporaneous preparations. ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to evaluate the type and frequency of extemporaneous compounding in hospital and community pharmacies in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) and to obtain contemporary information on compounding practices and resources used. MethodsAll community and hospital pharmacists registered with the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland, were invited to participate in an on-line survey. The study was approved by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) research ethics committee. ResultsA total of 202 pharmacists responded to the survey, of which 145 were community-based, 52 hospital-based, and 5 practicing in both. On average, hospital and community pharmacists (n = 138) dispensed <2–10 prescriptions for extemporaneous products per month. Pharmacists reported compounding 13 different types of extemporaneous preparations. Of these, dermatological preparations and oral liquid formulations (OLFs) were most commonly compounded. Extemp.ie, an Irish compounding database, was the most frequently used resource for compounding guidance and product expiry. ConclusionsThe results of this study show that extemporaneous compounding is still practiced in hospital and community pharmacies in the ROI. The limited response of 4.6% obtained may reflect that extemporaneous compounding is concentrated in a relatively small number of pharmacies. There remains a clinical need for extemporaneous products in the ROI and extemporaneous compounding continues to be an invaluable skillset for pharmacists.

Midwifery students’ experiences of their clinical internship placement during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland: A qualitative descriptive study

ObjectiveTo explore the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on midwifery students’ experiences of clinical internship placement in the final year of their midwifery programme. DesignA qualitative descriptive study was conducted following ethical approval. Four online focus groups were facilitated. Setting and participantsTo prepare for autonomous practice, BSc Midwifery students in the Republic of Ireland (RoI) undertake a 36-week internship in the final year of their programme. Midwifery students (n = 15), from one Higher Education Institute (HEI), who were undertaking internship across two clinical practice sites volunteered to participate in the study. FindingsFour overarching themes were identified: Fear and uncertainty of internship in the context of a pandemic, Consequences of COVID-19 within the clinical environment, Student supports, Opportunities and challenges during internship. Working within a health care environment dominated by the presence of COVID-19 had significant consequences for the students and their provision of care for women and families. Students were challenged with managing increased responsibility within the context of COVID-19 practice requirements and restrictions. Students balanced their need to progress to autonomous practice, whilst acknowledging their needs as learners. COVID-19 also brought unexpected benefits, which included enhancing students’ ability to develop relationships with women in their care, and students described a sense of belonging within the midwifery team. Key conclusions and implications for practiceMidwifery students identified internship, during the COVID-19 pandemic as challenging and stressful. However, students also portrayed a sense of pride in their achievements. Support structures assisted students to cope during this period which included peer support, protective reflective time (PRT) in the HEI and support from clinical placement coordinators in midwifery (CPC-Midwifery) within clinical placements sites. It is essential that these support structures continue within midwifery educational programmes. Promoting peer support in a more formal support structure may need consideration. These support structures need to be protected and enhanced during unprecedented times, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

A survey of physical activity (PA) across the stroke pathway of care: physiotherapists’ routine practice and knowledge

Background Stroke research mainly focuses on ambulant participants attending supervised exercise interventions, delivered by physiotherapists, that are not informed by behaviour change theory or measured accurately. It is not clear whether the findings are reflected in clinical practice across the stroke pathway. Objective This survey investigated physiotherapists’ practice, knowledge, training and understanding of PA interventions across the stroke pathway of care. Design An online self -administered 26-item survey was completed by physiotherapists working in the stroke population across the United Kingdom (UK) and Republic of Ireland (ROI). Results 77 valid responses were analysed. Tailored individual exercise (28% n = 21) was the most common PA intervention description and Treadmill training, the least common. Walking ability (68%) and Berg balance scale (62%) were the most common outcome measures reported to measure PA. Lack of time (n = 50) and services to signpost to (n = 48) were the most reported barriers to providing PA interventions. Conclusions We showed that physiotherapists have good awareness of, but mixed knowledge on, the PA guidelines, and valid measures of daily PA. In terms of implementation, there continues to be a focus on tailored exercise, particularly in non-ambulant people with stroke. Common barriers to the implementation of PA interventions across the stroke pathway were lack of time, limited community services to signpost to, and low patient responsiveness. Future studies should explore knowledge gaps in more detail, and address the barriers to implementation of PA in people with stroke.

A review of 3D printing utilisation in radiotherapy in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland

The use of three-dimensional (3D) printing in medical applications is quickly becoming mainstream. There have been an increasing number of publications discussing its implementation in radiotherapy, and the technology has become more affordable.The objective of this study was to establish how widely 3D printing is currently being utilised and what has been done to validate the processes and outcomes. A survey was sent to the UK and Ireland medical physics mailing lists. The questions were designed to establish how many centres were using 3D printers, how 3D printers were being utilized, the type of printing technologies being used, and how risk was being addressed.A total of 60 radiotherapy centres responded to the survey, with 38 % of the respondents currently using 3D printing. The majority (85 %) of the remaining respondents said they may or would have a 3D printer in the next 3 years. The majority of users were using FDM-type printers. The main variability among 3D printer users was how risk management and QA were addressed.This survey has demonstrated that there is an increased appetite for 3D printers in radiotherapy even beyond phantoms and bolus. Yet, despite this, guidance on implementation, compliance with the medical device directive and risk management remains sparse. As a consequence, centres have adopted a variety of approaches to risk management and QA.

Rationalising externally-driven change: Charities and the exploitation of new-practice requirements

Although legitimacy is critical when attempting to introduce new practices in the nonprofit charity sector, little is known about individual processes of legitimation within such organizations, and how legitimacy emerges and interacts with perceived external pressures. This article investigates how charity organizational actors (using rhetorical arguments) linguistically legitimate/delegitimate new practices as a means of facilitating internal and external legitimacy. The study explores, as an example of organizational change in its early stages, newly-introduced accountability and reporting practices emanating from the current Charity Statement of Recommended Practice in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The findings show that external regulative and cognitive pressures can be assessed and legitimated as something rational and reasonable in cases where organizational actors perceive the change as “exploitable.” Moreover, they provide evidence of how different interpretations can foster implementation and action (or trigger inaction) and affect the introduction of business-like practices in the nonprofit sector.

Quantifying Metabolic Food Waste in Ireland from Excess Food Intake

Abstract Background The Republic of Ireland (ROI) currently reports the second highest prevalence of adult obesity in Europe, with &amp;gt;25% of the adult population classified as obese. Concurrently, a concomitant increase has been reported for the risk of cardiovascular diseases and several cancers. While there has been extensive research on the health impacts of excess food intake, of the resulting food waste, also known as metabolic food waste (MFW) and its associated environmental impact has received little attention. Accordingly, the current study sought to estimate quantities of MFW from excess food intake among the Irish adult population and resulting global warming potential. Body weight and diet information were collected in a survey of 920 people across ROI. The excess fat of overweight (OW) and obese (OB) individuals was calculated and converted to excess calories using the Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset (CoFID 2021). The energy content (calories) of the food items was used to estimate the quantities (kg) of food consumed to gain the excess fat. Having derived the kg of food/MFW, the associated Global Warming Potential (GWP) was calculated. Results Calculated MFW were 50.84 kg/cap/yr and 122.2 kg/cap/yr for the OW and OB populations, respectively. Dairy produce accounted for the highest annual MFW in both groups (12.0 kg/cap (OW), 28.6 kg/cap (OB)), followed by cereals/grains (9.0 kg/cap, 21.5 kg/cap) and potatoes (7.1 kg/cap, 17.0 kg/cap). Calculated annual GWP of food items highlight dairy produce as having the highest GWP v (66.8 CO2 eq/kg for OW and 160.5 CO2 eq/kg for OB), followed by red meat (36.2 CO2 eq/kg for OW and 87.1 CO2 eq/kg for OB) and white meat (24.1 CO2 eq/kg for OW and 57.8 CO2 eq/kg for OB). Conclusions The Irish adult diet is characterized by high consumption of cereals/grains and dairy produce, with the annual volume of MFW generated by obese individuals more than twice the annual volume of food (52kg/cap) disposed of by individuals at home Key messages • Managing the consumption of dairy and meat products could accomplish two important goals: the promotion of environmental sustainability and the enhancement of public health. • In addition, managing obesity from the dietary stand point will encourage sustainable consumption and food security.

Who has the Last Word? The Dead and their Lively Humour in

All the characters in Máirtín Ó Cadhain’s novel are dead people, but they continue to speak as if they were still alive, and have not realized they are actually dead. Another paradox may be that although all of them are dead, none is really interested in death or its metaphysics. They go on with their earthly interests and spites, abusing and offending one another, spilling out secrets and shouting out loud. Speaking is the only thing they can still do while dead, and they take advantage of it: it is often quite difficult for the reader to understand whose voice it is in the general uproar. Gradually, voices become identifiable and attributable to characters: the reader learns to recognize them by the bad language they use, by certain quirks or by the expression of individual snobbery, pretence and hatred. By taking dead people as his characters, and faithfully recording their imagined speeches, Ó Cadhain re-imagines and refashions satire as a specific Irish genre. The speaking dead stand for the Gaelic rural communities whose language the political activist Ó Cadhain’s taught and promoted as the real repository of the idea of an Irish independent nation. The particular dialogic form of the novel, though seemingly experimental and difficult to comprehend, represents Ó Cadhain’s effort to establish democracy (lacking in the real post-independence Irish state), through the multiplicity of voice polyphony implies, at least at literary level.

Sixty years of the Colworth Medal

The Colworth Medal is an esteemed annual award for outstanding research by a young biochemist of any nationality who has carried out the majority of their work in the UK or Republic of Ireland. Donated in 1963 by Unilever Research Colworth Laboratory, the award is made to an early career scientist who is within 10 years of receiving their highest qualification. Interviews with past winners from 1963 to 2013 were previously published throughout 2013. To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Colworth Medal, interviews with our latest winners have been included in The Biochemist throughout 2023. In this final issue, we will hear from Dr Melina Schuh (2019), Dr Tanmay Bharat (2022) and Professor Stephen Wallace (2023).

Child and adolescent patterns of commuting to school

The World Health Organization stipulate children and adolescents should accumulate 60 min of physical activity (PA) daily; globally only 25% achieve this. Active travel to school (ATS) is a method of integrating PA into daily life with a documented health benefit accruing. Understanding factors associated with ATS is essential to inform a systems approach to increase ATS participation. This study described patterns of commuting to school and examined factors associated with ATS.Children’s Sport Participation & Physical Activity Study 2018 data was used, an all-Ireland cross-sectional study of 6,650 students. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine factors independently associated with ATS.Most common commute to school methods were private car for primary (57%) and public transport for secondary (39%) students. The recommended 60 min of daily PA a week prior to the survey was achieved by 19.5% for primary and 12.6% for secondary students. Republic of Ireland (ROI) nationality (OR 1.09 95 %CI 1.02–1.16), meeting PA guidelines (OR 1.26 95 %CI 1.08–1.46), attending a ROI school (OR 2.27 95 %CI 2.02–2.57), attending a non-Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) school (OR 2.47 95 %CI 1.87–3.24), attending an urban school (OR 3.96 95 %CI 3.41–4.59) were each independently statistically significantly associated with ATS. Living in a family with a car (OR 0.27 95 %CI 0.19–0.39), attending secondary school (OR 0.69 95 %CI 0.62–0.78), attending a small sized (<33rd percentile) school (OR 0.68 95 %CI 0.60–0.77), living >5 km from school (OR 0.22 95 %CI 0.2–0.24) were each significantly negatively associated with ATS.ATS is a means of increasing youth PA and health. Factors associated with ATS can inform further research and intervention to increase ATS participation.

O.6.3-4 Children’s Sport Participation and Physical Activity in the Island of Ireland: a cross-sectional study comparing differences in participation between 2018 and 2022

Abstract Purpose Given the many policies and interventions aimed at increasing physical activity (PA), it is important to understand how levels of PA, sport participation and active travel change over time. The purpose of this study is to assess the participation levels of children and adolescents in sport, PA and active travel in Northern Ireland (NI) and the Republic of Ireland (RoI) and compare differences in participation between 2018 and 2022. Methods A cross-sectional survey was completed by a sample of schoolchildren in 2018 and in 2022 through the Children’s Sport Participation and Physical Activity (CSPPA) study. A representative sample of primary (n = 1549 in 2018, n = 1758 in 2022) and post-primary (n = 5102 in 2018, n = 7123 in 2022) pupils were surveyed in school using standardised self-report PA and sport participation measures. Descriptive statistics, chi-square analyses, linear regression and logistic regression were run for outcome variables. Results Reported participation in daily PA increased at both school levels in NI and RoI between 2018 and 2022 with an increased proportion of pupils meeting the recommended levels of PA (NI: 13% in 2018 and 17% in 2022, RoI: 13% in 2018 and 15% in 2022). The proportion of children taking part in sport at least once a week increased over the last four years at both school levels in NI and RoI. Active travel to or from primary school increased from 36% in 2018 to 40% in 2022 in NI and from 42% in 2018 to 43% in 2022 in RoI. There was no change in the level of self-reported active travel for post-primary pupils in NI. However, reported engagement in active travel decreased from 40% to 35% in RoI. Conclusions The findings from this study suggest small increases in participation in self-reported daily PA, school sport, and community sport between 2018 and 2022. Despite this, participation rates and engagement with active travel remain low. These findings are important for policymakers seeking to address inactivity in children and adolescents in Ireland. Support/Funding Source This study is funded by Sport Ireland, Healthy Ireland and Sport NI, with support from the Departments of Health and Education in ROI.

The effect of population density on outcomes of major trauma patients in Ireland

BackgroundTime-sensitive emergencies in areas of low population density have statistically poorer outcomes. This includes incidents of major trauma. This study assesses the effect that population density at a receiving hospital of a major trauma patient has on survival. MethodsPatients meeting Trauma Audit Research Network criteria for major trauma from 2016 to 2020 in Ireland were included in this retrospective observational study. Incident data were retrieved from the Major Trauma Audit, while data on population density were calculated from Irish state sources. The primary outcome measure of survival to discharge was compared to population density using logistic regression, adjusted for demographic and incident variables. Records were divided into population density tertiles to assess for between-group differences in potential predictor variables. ResultsPopulation density at a receiving hospital had no impact on mortality in Irish major trauma patients from our logistic regression model (OR = 1.01, 95% CI 0.98–1.05, p = 0.53). Factors that did have an impact were age, Charlson Comorbidity Index, Injury Severity Score, and the presence of an Orthopaedic Surgery service at the receiving hospital (all p < 0.001). Age and Charlson Comorbidity Index differed slightly by population density tertile; both were higher in areas of high population density (all p < 0.001). ConclusionsSurvival to discharge in Irish major trauma patients does not differ substantially based on population density. This is an important finding as Ireland moves to a new trauma system, with features based on population distribution. An Orthopaedic Surgery service is an important feature of a major trauma receiving hospital and its presence improves outcomes.

Thirteen years of experience with eslicarbazepine acetate in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland: A safety perspective.

Eslicarbazepine acetate (ESL) is a once-daily oral antiseizure medication. Its safety and tolerability from clinical trials have been mostly confirmed by real-world data. The main purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the safety profile of ESL in the United Kingdom (UK) and Republic of Ireland (ROI). Safety data were obtained from the UK and ROI post-marketing sources (October 2009-April 2022) by the marketing authorization holder. All individual reports were included in the Argus Safety™ database. All adverse events (AEs) were coded using MedDRA® version 24.1. Only valid cases (meeting the minimum pharmacovigilance reporting requirements) were included. During 13 years of ESL marketing, with cumulative estimated exposure of 2 210 395 patients-years, 183 reports were received. A total of 402 AEs were reported for the 155 valid reports. The most common reported AEs (≥6% of total reported), per system organ class (SOC), were: nervous system disorders (23.4%), injury, poisoning, and procedural complications (18.9%), general disorders and administration site conditions (12.9%), psychiatric disorders (12.7%) and gastrointestinal disorders (6.7%). The most frequently reported (≥2% of total reported) AEs were: seizure (4.5%), hyponatremia (4.2%), dizziness (2.7%), rash, fatigue (2.5% each), and somnolence (2.0%). Twenty-six percent of events were classified as serious (including six fatal cases). The current analysis supports the known safety profile of ESL, as generally well-tolerated with most AEs being non-serious. The most common AEs were considered either expected according to the disease itself or to the reference safety information. ESL continues to be a relevant medication in the treatment of partial (focal-onset) epilepsy, as also confirmed by the 2022 NICE guidelines.

Association between socioeconomic status with pregnancy and neonatal outcomes: An international multicenter cohort.

Previous evidence examining the association between socioeconomic status and pregnancy complications are conflicted and often limited to using area-based measures of socioeconomic status. In this study, we aimed to examine the association between individual-level socioeconomic factors and a wide range of adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes using data from the IMPROvED birth cohort conducted in Sweden, the Netherlands and Republic of Ireland. The study cohort consisted of women who participated in the IMPROvED birth cohort between 2013 and 2017. Data on socioeconomic factors were self-reported and obtained at 15 weeks' gestation, and included level of education, employment status, relationship status, and income. Data on pregnancy and neonatal outcomes included gestational hypertension, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus, emergency cesarean section, preterm birth, post term delivery, small for gestational age and Apgar score at 1 min. These data were obtained within 72 h following delivery and confirmed using medical records. Multivariable logistic regression examined the association between each socioeconomic variable and each outcome separately adjusting for maternal age, maternal body mass index, maternal smoking, maternal alcohol consumption and cohort center. We also examined the effect of exposure to any ≥2 risk factors compared to none. A total of 2879 participants were included. Adjusted results suggested that those with less than third level of education had an increased odds of gestational hypertension (OR: 1.74, 95% CI: 1.23-2.46), while those on a middle level of income had a reduced odds of emergency cesarean section (OR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.42-0.84). No significant associations were observed between socioeconomic variables and neonatal outcomes. Exposure to any ≥2 socioeconomic risk factors was associated with an increased risk of preterm birth (OR: 1.75, 95% CI: 1.06-2.89). We did not find strong evidence of associations between individual-level socioeconomic factors and pregnancy and neonatal outcomes in high-income settings overall, with only few significant associations observed among pregnancy outcomes.

Exploring the genetic diversity of Eimeria acervulina: A polymerase chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) approach

Eimeria, protozoan parasites that can cause the disease coccidiosis, pose a persistent challenge to poultry production and welfare. Control is commonly achieved using good husbandry supplemented with routine chemoprophylaxis and/or live parasite vaccination, although widespread drug resistance and challenges to vaccine supply or cost can prove limiting. Extensive effort has been applied to develop subunit anticoccidial vaccines as scalable, cost-effective alternatives, but translation to the field will require a robust understanding of parasite diversity. Using a new Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) panel we begin to describe the genetic diversity of Eimeria acervulina populations in Africa and Europe. PCR-RFLP genotyping E. acervulina populations sampled from commercial broiler and layer chickens reared in Nigeria or the United Kingdom (UK) and Republic of Ireland (RoI) revealed comparable levels of haplotype diversity, in direct contrast to previous descriptions from the close relative E. tenella. Here, 25 distinct PCR-RFLP haplotypes were detected from a panel of 42 E. acervulina samples, including 0.7 and 0.5 haplotypes per sample in Nigeria (n = 20) and the UK/RoI (n = 14), respectively. All but six haplotypes were found to be country-specific. The PCR-RFLP markers immune mapped protein 1 (IMP1) and heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) were most informative for Nigerian E. acervulina, while microneme protein 3 (MIC3) and HSP90 were most informative in UK/RoI populations. High haplotype diversity within E. acervulina populations may indicate frequent genetic exchange and potential for rapid dissemination of genetic material associated with escape from selective barriers such as anticoccidial drugs and future subunit vaccines.

The Church of Ireland: power and distance in the early-seventeenth-century Atlantic

ABSTRACT The complex identities of the Church of Ireland – independent of the Church of England but often treated as if it were subservient, like the ambiguities of the Irish state – part English colony, part-independent kingdom, have confused both contemporaries and historians. This chapter examines the position of the Church of Ireland from the wider perspective of Atlantic Protestantism. Using the example of John Winthrop who, before he decided to emigrate to America, had considered settling in Ireland, it shows how the early-seventeenth century the Church of Ireland exploited its distance from England to develop a distinctive ecclesiastical polity. Later, however, that freedom was reined in, as closer ties with England led to greater conformity.

Leading transformative professional learning for inclusion across the teacher education continuum: lessons from online and on-site learning communities

ABSTRACTProfessional learning (PL) for inclusion is a key policy focus internationally, arising from a growing commitment to the goal of a rights-based approach to education for all. Transformative teacher PL for inclusion is paramount to this goal but it is a complex endeavour, as evidenced in the persistent knowledge-practice gap relating to inclusive practice. Models of collaborative inquiry hold promise for affecting teacher change, yet there is limited research on how such models can support quality teacher PL for inclusion. This qualitative cross-case analysis focuses on two models of collaborative inquiry in different contexts in the Republic of Ireland (RoI): a professional learning community (PLC) for inclusive practice in a primary school and an online learning community (OLC) that supported preservice teacher learning during school placement. Parallel findings across the two case studies demonstrated changes in participants’ beliefs, efficacy and practice, arising from collaborative inquiry that was characterised by critical dialogue and public sharing of work. External facilitation of the learning communities supported the creation of a ‘safe space’ which was paramount to transforming PL contexts. We proffer design principles for sustainable collaborative PL approaches across teacher education contexts that support teachers to navigate the complexity of enacting inclusive practice.

It’s more the invisible benefits – multilingual parents’ experiences of immersion education and their reasons for choosing immersion

The participation of multilingual children in minority language immersion programmes is under-researched internationally. The Republic of Ireland (RoI) has become a linguistically and culturally diverse society. In the RoI, parents have the opportunity to educate their child in English-medium or Irish-medium (IM) schools. However, the cohort of multilingual children attending IM schools is very small. This study investigated the reasons why parents who spoke a home language other than Irish or English chose to enrol their children in IM primary education. It also investigated parents’ perceptions of the benefits of this form of education. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 15 parents from a variety of language backgrounds. It was found that parents were motivated to enrol their child in IM primary schools to provide them with the opportunity to learn a variety of languages at an early age. Benefits associated with learning multiple languages and immersion in Irish culture and heritage were seen as the main advantages of IM education. A minority of parents chose an IM school when there was no space for their child in an English-medium school. Parents reported that they did not experience significant challenges in IM immersion. Recommendations arise to support the participation of multilingual families in immersion education.