More regional news in brief.
Horse welfare findings to be published
Interim findings from the UCD review of horse welfare in Ireland 2007-2009 project will be given at a seminar in University College Dublin, today, writes Seán Mac Connell, Agriculture Correspondent.
The review is set against a background of increasing production of horses, high-profile sales and athletic performances within some sectors of the equine industries, but a growing unease among organisations active in animal welfare, rescue and re-homing.
The question to be addressed is whether the health and welfare of the horses that comprise the raw material for the industry are being adequately safeguarded, and if not, what should reasonably and responsibly be done.
The first objective of the project is to profile the equine industries, identifying links to potential welfare issues, according to Joe Collins, who is carrying out the work on the project. He said the second objective was to assess the common perceptions of equine welfare across these equine industry sectors - what behaviours toward horses are acceptable, and commonplace - and at the same time heighten awareness of the importance of the horse's welfare.
ITV drama to be filmed in Beara
The Beara peninsula, west Cork, will take a trip back to the 1960s later this week when the cast of the ITV medical drama The Royalwill fly in to film two episodes. The Royalis a spin off from Heartbeatand is also set in the swinging sixties.
Shooting of the two episodes will get under way in Eyeries. Joining The Royalcast this series will be Irish actors Sorcha Cusack and Daragh O'Malley as the parents of Sister Brigid, who is played by Linda Armstrong.
Honour for Cork polar pioneer
A doctor who made history earlier this year when she became the first Irish woman to trek to the South Pole as a member of the four-person "Beyond Endurance" team looks set to have a walkway in her native Bandon, Co Cork, named in her honour.
Dr Clare O'Leary was deputy leader of the first Irish Antarctic team to walk to the South Pole. In recognition of her achievements a proposal to rename a walkway in Bandon after her is to be put before Cork County Council.
Bandon Town Council has already unanimously agreed to the proposal to name a new walkway after Dr O'Leary.
Study of midges at NUI Galway
A scientific study of midges and their impact on the health of animals is being undertaken by NUI Galway writes Mairtín Ó Catháin.
The three-year study relates to the risk of "blue tongue" virus, which may be transmitted by midges. The research by the university's zoology department is focusing on the genetics and habitats of the insects, which are also regarded as a scourge to humans at this time of the year.
"Blue tongue", which produces swelling of the head, tongue and mouth area in livestock, has extended to Britain. It is known to be carried by a midge known scientifically as Culicoides imicola.
Dr TK McCarthy, senior lecturer in NUIG's zoology department, says there are 29 types of midges in this country. Many of them are hardly noticeable to human beings, but the species prevalent in the western mountains, known as the "Highland Midge" or Culicoiodes Impunctatus, is the one that causes most annoyance.
Dr McCarthy says the scientific midge study will not provide relief for humans. But a "midge machine" that gives out an odour that attracts the midges into it is attracting more customers.