Baseline analysis of the existing capacities and needs for capacity building for Marine Strategy Framework Directive implementation in the Celtic Seas sub-region.

This report evaluates the existing situation in the Celtic Seas sub-region and determines the current state of preparedness for transboundary management of marine ecosystems and MSFD implementation. Recommendations for capacity building are provided through the analysis of the existing conflicts and potential synergies between relevant policies, institutions and information resources for MSFD implementation across the region. This report strives to empower stakeholders through the provision of a sound baseline with accurate and up-to-date information on the current status of MSFD implementation, potential opportunities and suggested approaches for building capacities in their region and across the Celtic Seas. It is evident that there are a number of national marine planning processes currently underway and at different stages throughout the United Kingdom and the pre-planning context for MSP in Ireland. On a similar note, this evaluation of MSFD implementation progress to-date in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France highlights that each Member State has implemented the legal and procedural requirements of preparatory steps in differing manners and using different time scales. This variance across the sub-region has the potential to impact the achievement of GES by 2020 across the Celtic Seas.

Caring for the Celtic cubs: Discursive constructions of mothers and mothering in the Irish childcare debate

Drawing on an understanding of the public sphere as a multiplicity of communicative and discursive spaces this paper examines the constructions of mothers, mothering and motherhood which emerged in recent debates about childcare in Ireland. Preliminary analysis of these discursive constructions suggest that they are often based on rhetoric, informed by stereotypical assumptions and rooted in frames of reference which mitigate against the emergence of alternative ways of understanding the issues of mothering and childcare. It will be argued that the reductionist and divisive nature of the childcare debate which ensued prior to the 2005 budget, stymied childcare policy development at a time when its unprecedented prominence on the political agenda and the strength of public finances could have underpinned a shift in policy approach. The paper concludes with an exploration of the ways in which feminist scholarship can challenge the Irish model of childcare policy, which continues to be premised on an understanding of childcare and the reconciliation of work and family life as the privatised responsibility of individual women.

Project scoping for lessons learnt to apply to the Celtic Seas marine sub-region

This report involves a formal scoping exercise to identify lessons from a wide range of previous and current project and initiative experiences at the national, regional seas, European and global levels. An inventory of 77 projects and initiatives that are relevant with regard to the key activities proposed by the Celtic Seas Partnership has been compiled, as well as a short-list of 23 of the most pertinent projects, lessons learnt and contact names. This report has identified a number of synergies and collaborative opportunities from other project and initiatives in the Celtic Seas and beyond. It provides a strong starting point to clarify to stakeholders the uniqueness of the Celtic Seas Partnership project and delivers a sound baseline for the other preparatory actions (A2 Stakeholder Mapping and A3 Baseline Analysis for Marine Strategy Framework Directive Implementation) and the implementation actions. Furthermore, this report helps to avoid duplication of effort during the life-span of the project by highlighting what information pertaining to the Celtic Seas MSFD sub-region already exists.

The Resurgence of Gaelic power in Ireland and Scotland and its wider impact, c.1350-1513

Over the course of the later Middle Ages nearly half the landmass of the British Isles fell under the control of a handful of Gaelic dynasties in Ireland and Scotland. The impact of this profound geopolitical recasting of much of the Atlantic Archipelago has however, received very little scholarly attention. Instead, historians have tended to view events within this expanding Gaelic world, or Gàidhealtachd, as peripheral to the political development of the British Isles and the course of Anglo-Scottish relations during the later Medieval period. Drawing upon a comprehensive range of sources from Ireland, Scotland, and England, as well as significant archival research, this thesis challenges the concept of the so-called 'Celtic fringe' and illustrates how developments within the Gàidhealtachd impacted upon the course of 'British' politics during the period c.1350-1513. The thesis centres on an examination of how two competing Gaelic alliance systems came to dominate much of the Gàidhealtachd from the late fourteenth century through to the early 1500s. The first of these alliance blocs was controlled chiefly by the O'Neills of Tyrone, the O'Briens of Thomond, and MacDonalds of the Hebrides; in the other network the O'Donnells of Tyrconnell, the Burkes of Mayo and the Campbells of Argyll held sway. By tracing the interconnectivity of the lordships in each respective network, the thesis investigates how these alliance systems became a durable force not only within the Gàidhealtachd but also on the broader 'British' stage. The thesis is structured in a manner that makes the intricate, lineage-based world of the Gàidhealtachd more accessible. Each chapter shifts between the various regions of the Gaelic world and examines how developments in one region impacted upon corresponding territory. Ultimately, this provides historians with a new model for exploring what has previously been a majorly neglected area of Irish and British history.

Spatial overlap of grey seals and fisheries in Irish waters, some new insights using telemetry technology and VMS

Seals and humans often target the same food resource, leading to competition. This is of mounting concern with fish stocks in global decline. Grey seals were tracked from southeast Ireland, an area of mixed demersal and pelagic fisheries, and overlap with fisheries on the Celtic Shelf and Irish Sea was assessed. Overall, there was low overlap between the tagged seals and fisheries. However, when we separate active (e.g. trawls) and passive gear (e.g. nets, lines) fisheries, a different picture emerged. Overlap with active fisheries was no different from that expected under a random distribution, but overlap with passive fisheries was significantly higher. This suggests that grey seals may be targeting the same areas as passive fisheries and/or specifically targeting passive gear. There was variation in foraging areas between individual seals suggesting habitat partitioning to reduce intra-specific competition or potential individual specialisation in foraging behaviour. Our findings support other recent assertions that seal/fisheries interactions in Irish waters are an issue in inshore passive fisheries, most likely at the operational and individual level. This suggests that seal population management measures would be unjustifiable, and mitigation is best focused on minimizing interactions at nets.