Latest news with #ConorMurphy
Agriland
a day ago
- Climate
- Agriland
‘Farming sector forefront to impact of climate change'
The impact of climate change needs to 'appear higher' on the policy agenda, according to Maynooth University's Prof. Conor Murphy. The professor was speaking at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine's (DAFM) Agriculture and Climate Change conference in Dublin Castle this morning (June 5). According to Prof. Murphy, Ireland's agriculture sector is 'vulnerable' and needs to adapt to climate change. He said: 'The farming sector is at the forefront of the impact of climate change. No other livelihood is more influenced by the weather conditions on a day-to-day, season-to-season, and year-to-year basis. 'Many people talk about Ireland experiencing a reduced impact of climate change. Our observation shows that many parts of the country are experiencing a rate of warming higher than the global minimum,' he explained. Climate change Prof. Murphy believes that in the coming years, droughts will become more intense, and more extreme. The professor claims that the future impacts of climate change will depend on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Murphy said: 'If we look back a couple of years to 2018, and the drought impacts that we saw, droughts have occurred right throughout history, but we expect them to become more intense, more extreme, with changes in rainfall at the increased temperature. 'At the time, many people were saying, 'we've always had drought'. Yes, we did in the 1970s, but take a step back, in the 2018 context it's happening in a much warmer world.' 'The future impacts of climate change will be more severe. We're seeing the impacts emerge,' Murphy explained. The professor also noted, that if GHG emissions were stopped today, the impacts of climate change would still be experienced 'for decades to come'. 'The earlier we reduce emissions the less severe future impacts will be,' Prof. Murphy said. 'One way for individuals to think about future climate change, is to think about memorable extremes. What did it mean for your farm? What did it mean for your sector?' he added.
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Health
- Irish Times
Leaving Cert: last-minute subject-by-subject exam tips
The pressure is on – but it's not too late to make a real impact. These final days are all about smart, focused revision rather than cramming. Whether brushing up on key concepts or calming exam nerves, a few strategic moves now can boost your confidence. Here are some last-minute study tips from the experts to help you stay sharp and steady for exam day: English Tips from Conor Murphy, an English teacher at Skibbereen Community College Paper one: READ MORE Familiarise yourself with the exam paper and be conscious of the fact it was designed to lead you into the essay question. The comprehension question, A, reminds you of the various genres as well as genre techniques. B reminds you of the need for structure and purpose. Remember these elements when you attempt the final essay. Revise techniques rather than specific genres. There are so many different genres that can be assessed in B, and in the essay, trying to study each one will become overwhelming. Think about the techniques as moving from aesthetic to persuasive, stopping off at narrative and informative on the way. So, you are looking at things like using an appropriate hook, the power of the adjective, the use of aesthetic language, the various rhetorical techniques available. Then look at the question and, with the audience and medium in mind, plan with reference to these techniques. [ Classroom to College: essential Leaving Cert newsletter for parents, guardians and students ] Paper two: Ignore poet predictions. The poetry question is worth 50 marks, the main text (usually Shakespeare) is 60 marks and the comparative 70. Keep this in mind when you study. Narrow down the quotes you are learning off. Instead of having hundreds for the main text, look for a quote that will work for numerous elements. Look at a quote like the famous 'give me an egg, and I'll give thee two crowns'. How many elements can this be used for? The Fool, Lear, Goneril, Regan, Kingship, fertility, the concept of nothingness and a few other topics. This is why the quote is so often (over) used. Use this exercise as a way of revising Lear. Similarly for the comparative , narrow down the scenes you are studying to scenes that can be used when talking about at least two of the comparative modes. Obviously these will include the opening and closing of the text. When you have these narrowed down, zoom in on specific elements (dialogue, images, stage directions). These are your specific pieces of evidence needed to illustrate your essays. In general, test yourself on the various aspects of the course. Pick a topic and write down what you know, under headings, on a blank sheet of paper with all your notes out of sight. For instance: pick a poet, write down the name of all their poems, then the themes, then the recurring language techniques, then quotes. This will tell you what you know and what you need to go over. Students from St Michael's College, Listowel, Co Kerry with their Leaving Cert exam results last year. Photograph: Domnick Walsh Maths Tips from Eoghan O'Leary, maths teacher at Hamilton High School, Co Cork and head of maths at The Tuition Centre General guidance At this stage, I recommend focusing your revision on individual topics rather than attempting full papers. Concentrate on the topics you're most likely to choose in the exam. Avoid learning new topics you haven't already covered in class – it's time now to revise and refine, not to start from scratch. Revisit the formulae and tables book , and practice using your calculator, especially for operations that involve multiple steps. Also, write out a list of the formulae not included in the tables book and display them somewhere visible so they stay fresh in your mind. When the exam starts, my advice is to find a section A question you like and do it. It will settle your nerves. It could be counterproductive to read the entire paper at the start of the exam, because there is some much information. – Paper one: Functions, differentiation, and integration are unavoidable. They appear across both Section A and Section B, so they should be a big focus during your final days of preparation. Algebra often appears as a full Section A question and is also embedded in many other questions. Ensure you're confident with all the key elements. Sequences & series hasn't appeared in a majobig in recent years—it – ould be due this time. Also, be prepared for a long question involving logarithms and indices , which is quite common. Complex numbers reliably show up in Section A, but not in Section B. Students often ask if they should revise topics like induction, formal proofs, algebraic inequalities, and financial maths that don't appear every year. The answer depends on your target grade: If you're aiming for a H1 , it's worth covering everything to maximise choice. If your goal is a H6 , your time is better spent mastering the more likely and manageable topics, rather than struggling with abstract material. One commonly overlooked topic is area and volume , which can appear with algebra, differentiation, or integration. Even if it doesn't feature prominently in paper one , it's highly likely to come up in paper two. -Paper two Paper two is typically more predictable than paper one. Section A usually includes one question each on: statistics, probability, the line, the circle, trigonometry, and geometry . Section B often features: Two questions combining statistics and probability Two questions involving trigonometry, geometry, and area & volume Students often struggle to revise for Paper 2 because they find several topics difficult – especially probability and geometry . My advice: focus on the core skills in each topic, as these often appear in combination with others. Should you learn the geometry theorems, constructions, and trigonometric identity proofs ? If you're aiming for a H1, yes. But if you haven't already learned them in school, it could be counterproductive to do so now. Focus instead on the questions you're more likely to attempt in the exam. In the exam: Make sure your calculator is in the correct mode (degrees or radians as appropriate). Double-check your answers for correct units and appropriate rounding (decimal places or significant figures). Remember: A score of 539/600 = 89.83%, which equates to a H2. You need to score 540/600 to earn a H1. You don't want to lose a grade over a rounding error. Fle photograph: Eric Luke / The Irish Times Irish Tips from Séadhan de Poire, Irish teacher with Dublin Academy of Education Top tips for the run-in to exams? 'For higher level Irish, start to simplify material to make sure it actually makes sense. I've corrected the State exams, and I've seen a lot of students try to learn material that's too difficult for them. They then try to reproduce this material in exam settings and because they don't understand what they're writing, there's loads of mistakes in it and it ends up making no sense. 'What I tell a lot of my students is to focus on having simpler Irish that they understand and that they can use instead of trying to learn things off by heart. Especially for Irish paper one, for the essay.' Hot predictions? 'For Irish paper one, it's all based off current affairs so there's no magical list of topics. You kind of have to be following what's in the news in and around November, December and January time. That's typically when the paper's set. 'Based off that, the topics that I'm looking at with my own classes this year would be politics, because of the elections that took place here and abroad, the education system, the Irish language, the housing crisis and a little bit on technology. A tip I'd give students is you can overlap a lot of material between those different topics. 'For example, if you're talking about politics and problems – well, housing is a political issue. You don't have to learn five brand new essays. You learn a couple of paragraphs that suit different titles and then you try to fill in the gaps afterwards.' File photograph: Eric Luke French Tips from Elizabeth Lyne, director of The French Leaving Cert paper is 2.5 hours, encompassing the reading and writing tasks. There is then a short 10 minute break, after which students complete the aural or listening section of the exam. For the reading comprehension , students have to read two texts and answer questions based on those texts. The first text is usually journalistic in style and tends to address current issues. The second text is usually an extract from literature, and is more challenging. My top tip is to start with question six as this is asked in English and may give an indication as to the subject matter. Read each section carefully, underlining key parts of the questions, so that you know exactly what you are being asked. For the written section, my top tip is to keep your French clear and simple . Make sure that your opinion questions have an opening, main point/counter or supporting point/personal point and conclusion. Finally, while it is impossible to predict what will appear on the paper, I suggest focusing on climate, refugees, artificial lintelligence, school uniform, study of foreign languages, science as a 'male' subject, circular economy, screen dependency, disposable vapes, over-tourism and emigration Students at Rathdown checking their Leaving Cert results. Photograph: Jason Clarke Photography. Spanish Advice from Katie Lenehan, French and Spanish teacher with Dublin Academy of Education Top tips for the run-in to the exams? 'The biggest piece of advice I would give is to recognise the importance of your reading comprehensions . They're worth 30 per cent of the final grade. They're worth even more than the oral exam is and potentially it's something that students forget about because they have so many other things on. 'For the listening papers, I'd also try to sit a full listening paper each week ... They're quite practical elements that you can do. For the written paper, I'd recommend making sure you have a solid introduction and conclusion learned off for your opinion piece. And have 15 to 20 pieces of vocab for each topic that you're planning on covering for the exam, so it nearly becomes a game of jigsaw.' Hot predictions? Though she prefers to steer clear of the term predictions, Lenehan encourages her Spanish students to focus on papers from 2008-2014, which may crop up again this June. She lists a range of topics to cover – emigration, social media, AI, money, changes in Ireland and the environment. Common mistakes to avoid? She says she had 'crippling' OCD during sixth year and learned the hard way how important it is to look after yourself. 'Absolutely, study has to be a priority, but it doesn't have to be the only priority. [Students] need things like friendship , fresh air, good food. They need to sleep. Try to surround yourself with people that have a similar work ethic, or that have the same target grade as you, and try to encourage each other.' Students discussing their exams at Trinity Comprehensive School, Ballymun, Dublin. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill Biology and chemistry Advice by Caoimhe Ní Mhuirceartaigh, biology and chemistry teacher Top tips for the run-in to the exams? 'The marking scheme for both biology and chemistry papers can be quite word-specific. You need to ensure when you're answering a question that it's not waffle and you're hitting the short, concise points. 'For biology especially, you need to know unit one and unit two really well. You can maximise your marks by focusing on the areas that are very repetitive. Knowing the non-negotiable topics that come up every year and are worth a large portion. In biology, the two most important topics would be genetics and ecology.' Hot predictions? Both subjects, Ní Mhuirceartaigh says, have quite obvious trends. Topics she thinks may appear in the short questions section of the biology paper include food, ecology, genetics and enzymes. For questions on systems, it is worth preparing human reproduction – particularly the menstrual cycle – and the human defence system. For experiments, the food test has a high chance of appearing along with the ecology experiment. On long questions, ecology, genetics, enzymes, microorganisms, photosynthesis and respiration could all be worth some focus. Ní Mhuirceartaigh describes organic chemistry as the most important area to conquer in advance of sitting the chemistry exam. Given you can feature it in three of your eight answers on the paper, it can account for 38 per cent of a student's final grade. Common mistakes to avoid? 'Make sure the study that you do is effective. You're not just reading over notes at this stage – you're assessing yourself. That can mean exam questions. It can mean doing quizzes online, mind maps, flashcards. There are loads of different ways to assess yourself but don't just be sitting reading through notes.'
RTÉ News
27-05-2025
- General
- RTÉ News
Get set for Leaving Cert English with Study Hub
As the Leaving Cert Class of 2025 get set for the exams, we have great tips and advice from Study Hub with Maura Fay for Higher Level English. Conor Murphy from Skibbereen Community College brings us through Paper 1, and then we continue with Clodagh Havel from Dublin's Institute of Education on Paper 2. Conor says that you should try not to panic and that English Paper 1 is your friend. He also tells students how not to drop points. Press play up top! Clodagh says: "What is the examiner looking for? They want you to show your understanding. You should show 9 key moments."
Irish Times
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Unionists' British identity will have to be respected in a united Ireland, says Conor Murphy
Unionists' British identity will have to be respected rather than just tolerated in a united Ireland, a leading Sinn Féin figure has said in comments that will challenge many pro-unity advocates. 'I think we have to find a way to make sure that there isn't just tolerance, and we're not about tolerating, because if you start tolerating people then it's very easy to come to intolerance' Senator Conor Murphy said during a speech in Dublin on Tuesday. Saying he would be 'rubbished' for naming just a few issues of concern to unionists, he highlighted the relationship they have with the royal family, the honours system and British universities. 'You have to embrace people, respect what they wish for, respect how they express themselves in a way obviously that isn't intolerant of other identities and to ensure that there is space for that,' he told the Institute for International and European Affairs. READ MORE However, he warned that the need for reconciliation cannot become a veto for unionists opposed to a united Ireland, saying that there would never have been a Belfast Agreement if that rule had been set then. 'What you need is a majority, but what we need to do is to make it as seamless and as painless as possible for people who have doubts and concerns about it, and to move in a very wholesome way to address those concerns,' he added. The campaign for Irish unification will not be successful if it is dominated by any one party, but must instead, be 'a project for the whole of the people on the island', the former Stormont economy minister said. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil had both committed before last year's general election to 'active preparation' for Irish unity, but speaking to the Dublin-based institute on Tuesday, Mr Murphy accused of both of having 'retreated from that position since'. The Irish Government 'is not just best placed but it is duty-bound' to lead planning for unity, said Senator Murphy, who was elected earlier this year to the Seanad. Calling for an all-island forum to lay down the preparations, he said Sinn Féin 'will bring our ideas to the table, and we will argue for them, as we're entitled to do as a democratic political party, and others will do likewise.' He continued: 'The fears of the unionist community need to be addressed in a meaningful way. We need to look at what they mean when they say they are British and be willing to explore that and be open to new ideas. 'Respect and cooperation must be the cornerstone on which a new Ireland is built. And for unionists this means a new Ireland must be shared and integrated and that they play a key role in building it,' he said. A united Ireland must be 'a place where unionists have equal ownership, where there will be respect for their cultural identity and where it has been demonstrated to them that they are welcome, needed and belong'. Two of the most significant dates in Irish history in the last 30 years saw the Belfast Agreement in 1998 and 2016 when the United Kingdom voted by a majority to exit the European Union. However, that exit happened though 'the people of the north of Ireland voted to remain inside the EU and reject Brexit, and yet the British government ignored that democratic will and forcibly removed us from the EU in January 2020', Mr Murphy said. 'In both those referenda, large numbers of the unionist and Protestant population voted in favour of the Good Friday Agreement and against Brexit,' said Senator Murphy. Criticising the effects of the partition of the island in 1921, he said it 'disrupted the natural circuits of commerce in Ireland, discouraging investment, creating inefficiencies and hindering trade. 'An irony given that the British government gerrymandered the new Northern States to protect the privilege of a unionist ruling class, the North East of Ireland is now at the island's weakest region economically,' he said. Northern Ireland has today 'slipped from being the most dynamic and industrial part of Ireland just before partition, to trailing the South on every measure of economic success and quality of life'.
BBC News
28-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Zero hours contracts to be restricted in NI under new plans
Zero hours contracts could be tightly restricted in Northern Ireland under fresh proposals announced by Stormont's economy changes are planned as part of a major update to employment laws that Caoimhe Archibald intends to bring to the said new legislation would put an end to "exploitative" zero hours contracts and enhance protections for will be exemptions for firms that carry out seasonal and casual work that will still be able to employ people using zero hours contracts, the minister said. 'Balanced approach' The measures were first outlined by her predecessor Conor Murphy last year, but had to go out for public consultation before they could be took over as economy minister in February when Murphy quit Stormont after being elected to the Seanad (Irish Senate). It is understood that over 190 responses to the consultation were received and it is now expected that the bill could be introduced in the assembly next minister has written to other executive parties seeking agreement for the described the plan as a "balanced approach which will ensure our employment law framework works effectively for both workers and employers in the modern era"."This is an ambitious package of reforms to employment law which will see the biggest upgrade of our employment legislation since the Good Friday Agreement," she hours contracts allow employers to hire staff with no guarantee of the hours they will planned changes mean employees will have the right to request a "banded hours" contract, similar to a system in the Republic of Ireland. 'Increased costs for businesses' The plans would allow employees the right to compensation if shifts are cancelled without adequate measures the department plans to introduce include ensuring tips left to hospitality workers are passed on in full - something that is already in place in Great Britain and the Republic of proposals also include the right to a week's unpaid carers leave in any 12-month period, which would bring Northern Ireland into line with the rest of the paid carers leave could cost the Stormont budget up to £60m unless a similar scheme is introduced in Great NI chief executive Glyn Roberts was among business leaders and trade unions representatives who met the minister on Monday ahead of the announcement in the assembly."We are concerned because we're dealing with increased costs for businesses, we're concerned that if they're overly burdened with employment law which restricts their ability to grow and develop we'll have problems, but we're hoping we don't get to that point," he added."We want to ensure this legislation works for workers as well as businesses."Jacquie White, from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, said she welcomed some of the measures that would bring Northern Ireland into line with other parts of the UK but added that there was a lot of detail to consider.
