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Over the past two decades, the Group Water Schemes sector, led by the National Federation of Group Water Schemes, has transformed into a model for improved drinking water practices in Ireland. Policies addressing leakages, demand, quality and conservation have significantly reduced water demand, though the full impact remains to be assessed. This study uses a structured survey to draw on firsthand insights from scheme representatives on water conservation efforts. Analysis of annual usage data highlights gaps and high unaccounted-for water rates which impact conservation efforts. Findings from this study underscore improved stakeholder engagement and the need for long-term conservation measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent economic downturn and surge in unemployment has focused attention on education and training as a strategic response to Ireland's socio-economic crisis. However, that attention has been concentrated on training through statutory institutions, particularly FAS and the VECs. Longford Women's Link, a Women's Community Education centre in Co Longford, presents a case study of delivery of the FAS-funded Community Employment Scheme using the Women's Community Education approach. Evidence is presented that demonstrates effectiveness in personal, career and community capacity-building in addition to achieving labour-market activation with long-term unemployed and other disadvantaged groups of women. These outcomes argue that the Women's Community Education approach has a significant role to play in any education and training strategy. (Contains 4 figures.)

Purpose: Profiling activity behaviors in young children is important to understand changes in weight status over time. The purpose of this study is to identify activity profiles from self- and parental-reported Physical Activity (PA) and Sedentary Behavior (SB) variables by gender, and determine if the identified profiles are predictive of weight change from age 9-13 years. Methods: Cluster analysis was used to generate activity profiles for the National Longitudinal Study of 8570 9-year-old children (Growing Up in Ireland). Results: 5.4% of boys were found to be obese. Four cohesive activity profiles were identified for boys, with 7.3% of boys in the least active group identified as obese compared with 4.1% in the most active group. The odds of a normal weight 9-year-old boy in the least active profile becoming overweight or obese at age 13 were over twice those in most active profile (OR = 2.5, 95% CI: 1.9, 3.5). No coherent activity profiles were identified for girls. Conclusions: This study suggests that self- and parental-reported data can identify meaningful activity profiles for boys, which are predictive of weight changes over time. Future research should consider potential gender differences in self- and parental-reported PA and SB variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nature of the mechanisms that have shaped the animal communities of the island of Ireland remains a pervasive question in the study of the Quaternary of north-western Europe. Archived Quaternary faunal bone assemblages from antiquarian excavations of cave sites are a direct line of evidence with demonstrable potential to shed light on this issue, but are currently constrained by limited publication, understanding of early excavation protocols, and a lack of chronological reference. Alice and Gwendoline Cave in the west of Ireland was the subject of extensive excavations in 1902, which yielded a substantial faunal assemblage and the first evidence of an Upper Palaeolithic human presence on the island during the terminal Pleistocene. Here, we report further results from this important site. Archaeological excavations and a radiocarbon dating programme in 2019-2020 have shed light on the environmental context of the faunal assemblage, the cave taphonomy and site chronology. Nineteen radiocarbon dates are now available, including new direct dates for brown bear (Ursus arctos), giant deer (Megaloceros giganteus) and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus). The archaeological excavations and the analysis of sedimentary lipids – the first of its kind for an Irish cave site, both suggest that the sediments are primarily of exogenous origin, likely carried into the cave through fissures and openings by runoff or colluvial movements. Our analyses indicate that there were at least three main 'pulses' of bone-bearing sediment accumulation: at the beginning of the Younger Dryas (c. 12,700 cal. BP), in the aftermath of the Younger Dryas (11,300 cal. BP) and in the Early Holocene (c. 10,000 cal. BP), with a hiatus in sediment deposition after 9700 cal. BP. • New direct dates for brown bear, giant deer and reindeer • Persistence of brown bear, giant deer and reindeer during first centuries of Younger Dryas • First instance of sedimentary lipid analysis of Irish cave deposits • Re-evaluation of the site with first evidence of Pleistocene human occupation of Ireland [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aims to (1) use the objective activPAL activity monitor to assess physical activity behaviors, including sitting/lying, standing, and both light (LIPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA); (2) to develop distinct activity profiles based on lime spent in each behavior in a sample of adolescent females; and (3) examine whether levels of adiposity differ across these activity profiles. Methods: Female adolescents (n = 195: 14-18 y) had body mass index (median = 21.7 [IQR = 5.2] kg/m2) and 4-site skinfold thickness (median 62.0 mm; IQR = 37.1) measured. Physical activity behaviors were measured using the activPAL. Hierarchical cluster analysis grouped participants into activity profiles based on similar physical activity characteristics. Linear mixed models explored differences in body composition across activity profiles. Results: Three activity profiles were identified, a low (n = 35), moderate (n = 110), and a high activity profile (n = 50). Significant differences across activity profiles were observed for skinfold thickness (p = .046), with higher values observed in the low activity profile compared with the high activity profile. Conclusions: Profiling free-living activity using behaviors from across the activity intensity continuum may account for more of the variability in energy expenditure then examining specific activity intensities, such as MVPA alone. The use of activity profiles may enable the identification of individuals with unhealthy activity behaviors, leading to the development and implementation of more targeted interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cillíní are distinct burial places for the unbaptised, primarily stillbirths, infants and young children. These burial grounds appear to have emerged in the late sixteenth century AD and continued to be used into the late twentieth century in Roman Catholic Ireland. Almost 1,500 are recorded across the country, the overwhelming majority located along the western seaboard in counties Galway, Kerry, Mayo and Clare. This is the first regional study of cillíní in County Donegal, where 56 have been identified. The sites are explored in terms of their cartographic representation, distribution, association with older archaeological monuments, topographical boundaries and folklore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: A 24-hour day is made up of time spent in a range of physical activity (PA) behaviours, including sleep, sedentary time, standing, light-intensity PA (LIPA) and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), all of which may have the potential to alter an individual's health through various different pathways and mechanisms. This study aimed to explore the relationship between PA behaviours and the gut microbiome in older adults. Design: Cross-sectional study. Settings and Participants: Participants (n=100; age 69.0 [3.0] years; 44% female) from the Mitchelstown Cohort Rescreen (MCR) Study (2015–2017). Methods: Participants provided measures of gut microbiome composition (profiled by sequencing 16S rRNA gene amplicons), and objective measures of PA behaviours (by a 7-day wear protocol using an activPAL3 Micro). Results: Standing time was positively correlated with the abundance of butyrate-producing and anti-inflammatory bacteria, including Ruminococcaceae, Lachnospiraceae and Bifidobacterium, MVPA was positively associated with the abundance of Lachnospiraceae bacteria, while sedentary time was associated with lower abundance of Ruminococcaceae and higher abundance of Streptococcus spp. Conclusion: Physical activity behaviours appear to influence gut microbiota composition in older adults, with different PA behaviours having diverging effects on gut microbiota composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Physical activity (PA) levels are a key performance indicator for policy documents in Ireland. The first Ireland Report Card on Physical Activity in Children and Youth aims to set a robust baseline for future surveillance of indicators related to PA in children and youth. Methods: Data collected between 2003-2010 on more than 35,000 7- to 18-year-old children and youth were used and graded using a standardized grading system for 10 indicators. Results: Grades assigned for the indicators were as follows: overall physical activity levels, D-; sedentary behavior (TV viewing), C-; organized sport participation, C-: physical education, D-; active play, inconclusive (INC); active transportation, D; school, C-, community and the built environment, B; family, INC; and government, INC. Conclusions: PA recommendations exist in Ireland but this Report Card has shown that participation is still low. A number of promising policies, programs and services are in place but these require thorough evaluation and adequate resourcing. Agreement and implementation of a common framework for the systematic surveillance of indictors related to PA of children and youth is necessary to monitor change over time and ensure the impact of promising work is captured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Archaeological excavation of a natural boulder chamber on the upper slopes of Bengorm Mountain, County Mayo, in the north‐west of Ireland revealed evidence for complex Neolithic funerary rituals spanning several centuries. With virtually no subsequent evidence of animal or human disturbance, the site presents an exceptional insight into well‐preserved engagements with the dead at a remote mountain location where themes of secrecy, continuity and ritual grammar are highlighted. The chamber was used for processing individuals of all ages but there is a tentative suggestion that the space was reserved predominantly for males. Ancient genomic analysis reveals kinship between at least two adult males, both of whom were almost certainly intermediate to dark skinned, with brown eyes and dark brown or black hair. Both individuals were also lactose intolerant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2013, a small assemblage of commingled human bones representing at least two individuals of Neolithic date was recovered from a cave on Knocknarea Mountain, Co. Sligo. The find prompts a discussion of the value of examining small collections of human remains in relation to Neolithic multi-phase mortuary practices, particularly as non-megalithic funerary locations continue to remain underinvestigated and unidentified in Ireland. We explore the potential role of caves on Knocknarea Mountain as places for processing the dead prior to the secondary deposition of bones at other places in the landscape, including megalithic tombs. Such an approach encourages us to look at the wider funerary landscapes, both monumental and natural, that were recognised and used by Neolithic communities. We also outline the potential of archaeological predictive modelling in the identification of Neolithic cave sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Ireland the supernatural sí (loosely translated as 'fairies') were strongly associated with thousands of archaeological monuments and natural places in the landscape, and many prehistoric artefacts were regarded as material culture of the sí. Such artefacts assumed an important role in popular religious practices, folk medicine and magic, most frequently to invoke cures for farm animals, but also to protect the homestead. Though little discussed in archaeological literature, the interpretation of prehistoric artefacts as potent objects fromthe supernatural world, and their ability actively to influence the well-being of livestock and the household, illustrates the rich and complex lives many archaeological artefacts assumed several thousand years after their initial manufacture, use and discard. The folk use of such artefacts as active agencies contrasts with the contemporaneous antiquarian collection and display of archaeological material as relics of ancient cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many people with dementia live in the community; thus, supporting informal caregivers is critical. The Connected Health intervention facilitates collection and sharing of patient data among informal caregivers and providers to identify emerging patient needs and support rapid decision-making. This study estimates the costs of care of dementia using time-driven activity based costing of an exemplar patient. Intervention costs and health utility values were derived from a feasibility study of the intervention. A Markov model produced estimates of the cost-effectiveness of the intervention under four scenarios: (1) a minimal effect of the intervention on disease progression; (2) moderate effects on disease progression, and minimal effects on quality of life (QOL) and cost; (3) minimal effects on disease progression and QOL, and a moderate effect on cost; (4) moderate effects on disease progression and cost, with minimal effects on QOL. Cost estimates of formal and informal care ranged from €3713 to €7614 per month. Intervention costs were €484 per month. Under scenarios 2, 3 and 4, the cost per quality-adjusted life year of the intervention falls below €45,000, the threshold below which the Health Information and Quality Authority in Ireland generally accepts interventions as cost-effective. The results suggest that the intervention would be cost-effective with limited reductions in rates of disease progression and cost of care, and with minimal improvements in quality of life. Future research should consider the specific experiences of intervention patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeological excavations at Killuragh Cave, Co. Limerick, in 1993 and 1996 followed from the discovery of prehistoric material in the 1990s by the landowner, Mr Benny O'Neill. Though a small and relatively inconspicuous site, Killuragh Cave has a long history of animal and human usage, potentially stretching back 11,000 years and continuing intermittently until the nineteenth century. The assemblage of 10,615 animal bones, 229 human bones and 209 artefacts of Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, post-medieval and modern date indicate that this was a persistent place in the landscape. The prehistoric material largely suggests that the cave was associated with ritual and funerary activities, hinting that it may have been remembered and its significance transmitted from generation to generation over several millennia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there is an acceptance across all stakeholders that nursing practice should be informed by evidence, there is a substantial literature on the challenges this creates for nurses in the delivery of services. These challenges are accentuated for nurses in community settings, where accessible, up-to-date research evidence is more problematic because of the decentralised organisation and delivery of these services. Recognising this gap, and the consequent needs of its members, the Institute of Community Health Nursing (ICHN) in Ireland has commenced a national strategic development in this area. The purpose of the strategy is to actively support and facilitate public health and community nurses to provide services to individuals, families and communities that are based on the best available research evidence. This article provides a brief overview of the development and key components of the ICHN strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sets out a methodology for constructing fan charts for the government deficit and debt ratios over the medium term. It relies on information contained in Stability/Convergence Programme Updates, a model of the relevant stochastic process (for example, that of real GDP) or processes, and a parameter estimate of the sensitivity of the primary budget balance to the output gap for the member state under consideration. A model of the dynamic deficit-debt relationship allows the impact of random output growth to work its way through the fiscal arithmetic in a consistent and traceable way to produce fan charts over a five-year forecast horizon. The initial set of fiscal fan charts included here for Ireland use the indicative public finance projections set out in its 2011 Update. The methodology makes the standard assumption of no fiscal policy response to any change in the budgetary position over the period such as could arise from changes in growth rates. Governments will, however, generally be in a position to adjust fiscal policy towards meeting a specific target, such as the 3 per cent Maastricht Treaty deficit target. A second set of fan charts is included that indicates how the probabilistic range of fiscal outcomes could be affected by a tightening of fiscal policy in 2013-15. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent economic downturn and surge in unemployment has focused attention on education and training as a strategic response to Ireland's socio-economic crisis. However, that attention has been concentrated on training through statutory institutions, particularly FÁS and the VECs. Longford Women's Link, a Women's Community Education centre in Co Longford, presents a case study of delivery of the FÁS-funded Community Employment Scheme using the Women's Community Education approach. Evidence is presented that demonstrates effectiveness in personal, career and community capacity-building in addition to achieving labourmarket activation with long- term unemployed and other disadvantaged groups of women. These outcomes argue that the Women's Community Education approach has a significant role to play in any education and training strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted mental health, health-related behaviours such as drinking and illicit drug use and the accessibility of health and social care services. How these pandemic shocks affected 'despair'-related mortality in different countries is less clear. This study uses public data to compare deaths from alcohol, drugs and suicide in the United States and the United Kingdom to identify similarities or differences in the impact of the pandemic on important non-COVID causes of death across countries and to consider the public health implications of these trends. Data were taken from publicly available mortality figures for England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland and the United States of America, 2001–2021, and analysed descriptively through age-standardised and age-specific mortality rates from suicide, alcohol and drug use. Alcohol-specific deaths increased in all countries between 2019 and 2021, most notably in the United States and, to a lesser extent, England and Wales. Suicide rates did not increase markedly during the pandemic in any of the included nations. Drug-related mortality rates rose dramatically over the same period in the United States but not in other nations. Mortality from 'deaths of despair' during the pandemic has displayed divergent trends between causes and countries. Concerns about increases in deaths by suicide appear to have been unfounded, whereas deaths due to alcohol have risen across the United Kingdom and in the United States and across almost all age groups. Scotland and the United States had similarly high levels of drug-related deaths pre-pandemic, but the differing trends during the pandemic highlight the different underlying causes of these drug death epidemics and the importance of tailoring policy responses to these specific contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significant variation in deepwater shark assemblages between those found in the 500 m depth band, and those of deeper waters is identified in the analysis of data from the northeast Atlantic continental slope and the northern slope of the Porcupine Bank. Deepwater shark data from four research surveys carried out between 2006 and 2009 yielded twenty-one deepwater shark species from five depth strata across three areas. It is suggested that a new grouping of sharks, "slope", be considered to reflect those species that are not easily categorised as either Shelf or Deepwater. This may have implications for assessment and management. Depth was identified as having a major influence on the variability of shark catch per unit effort (CPUE), whilst less variability was detected across the area or between years, indicating that depth based management rather than local or regional management measures may be more appropriate. • Multivariate analysis identified depth variation in deepwater shark assemblages. • Depth has an important influence on the variability of deepwater shark CPUE. • Legislation aimed at protecting deepwater sharks may not be detailed enough. • A new "mid-depth" classification is needed to better describe slope shark species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]