Cave archaeology, the Environment, IT Sligo’s enduring Anglo-Irish links, and a celebration of the 21st century student generation were key themes during the visit by His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, to IT Sligo on Wednesday.
Hundreds of students and staff gathered to welcome Prince Charles during an hour-long visit which included a visit to IT Sligo’s new €17 million MacMunn Science Building, named after the Sligo-born scientist, George Alexander MacMunn.
Lorraine Archer, who’s a PhD candidate in Environmental Science at the Institute, is also a direct descendant of Charles MacMunn. She was one of the guests to meet the Prince of Wales. “It was a wonderful experience said Lorraine. He showed a real interest in the story of the other Charles,.
The Prince also received overview of the Yeats2015 Architectural Competition, which invited for conceptual interpretations of WB Yeats’ poem The Lake Isle of Innisfree. The Architectural Competition was open to national and international practitioners of architecture and art,
The visit was a recognition of the reputation IT Sligo has in the North West of Ireland and beyond,” said Professor Vincent Cunnane, President of IT Sligo.
“His Royal Highness shares many of the academic passions such as Archaeology and the Environment, which the Institute has a strong national reputation in.”
Dr. Marion Dowd, Lecturer in Prehistoric Archaeology), provided an overview of IT Sligo’s leading research role in cave archaeology, while staff and students from the Department of Environmental Science presented their work on invasive species. IT Sligo is one of the leading exponents in this area, and was the first third level institution in Ireland to introduce a degree course in Environmental Science.
Prince Charles also met with representatives of The CREST (Centre for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technologies) research group, which has one of its centres at IT Sligo. It helps small businesses in Northern Ireland, the border counties and Western Scotland to develop and adopt renewable energy and sustainable technologies.
Two books on Archaeology were presented to the Prince of Wales, both written by staff members of IT Sligo. The were ‘The Archaeology of Caves in Ireland” by Dr Marion Dowd, and “Anglo-Norman Parks in Medieval Ireland”, written by Dr Fiona Beglane.