Peter Robinson announced he is to step down as Northern Ireland First Minister and leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) just days after a new deal was struck to break a months’ long political deadlock in Stormont late November. Robinson, 67, told Northern Ireland newspaper the Belfast Telegraph that he will not contest next May’s assembly elections and will step aside … [Read more...] about Peter Robinson Steps Down as N.I. First Minister
Issues
Same Sex Marriage Wins Historic N.I. Vote
Making history in November, a majority of Northern Ireland’s Assembly members voted in favor of same-sex marriage for the first time. Fifty-three ministers supported the motion, while 52 voted against. But the motion was immediately blocked by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) who submitted a “petition of concern” requiring that the proposal achieve a cross-community majority … [Read more...] about Same Sex Marriage Wins Historic N.I. Vote
Changes to J-1 Visa Requirements
The two sponsoring bodies that administer the vast majority of Irish participants in the J-1 Summer visa program have announced a plan to introduce a new requirement for applicants to secure a job prior to arriving in the U.S. beginning in the 2016 application cycle. The change affects applicants from countries in the Visa Waiver Program, which includes Ireland, as well as … [Read more...] about Changes to J-1 Visa Requirements
Trinity College and UCSF to Establish Global Brain Health Institute
The Atlantic Philanthropies, created in 1982 by Irish-American businessman Chuck Feeney, is giving €138.4 million [$177 million] to Trinity College Dublin and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) to establish the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), a ground-breaking initiative that aims to tackle the looming dementia epidemic and improve health and dementia … [Read more...] about Trinity College and UCSF to Establish Global Brain Health Institute
Irish Scientist Wins Nobel Prize
Irish scientist William C. Campbell, a researcher at Drew University in New Jersey, has been awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with Satoshi Ōmura and Tu Youyou. Campbell, from Donegal, is the second ever Irish-born scientist to win the Nobel Prize (after Ernest Walton in 1951). The 2015 prize winners all made discoveries that are being used to … [Read more...] about Irish Scientist Wins Nobel Prize