The role of alcohol in Celtic culture and the effect of immigrants on Gaelic culture are the main themes of this year's International Youth Parliament which opens in Connemara on Wednesday.
The village of An Cheathr· Rua is to host the gathering of third-level students from Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic. Proceedings will take place entirely through Irish and Scots Gaelic.
It is the first time that Parlaimint na n╙g (the Youth Parliament) has been held in this State; the initial gathering in 1999 was on the Scottish Isle of Skye, and last year it was held in Derry.
Politicians from the three jurisdictions are expected to attend, and the event will wind up with a rousing concert by Altan in ╙stan an D≤il∅n on Friday night.
"Fear in Irish Culture" is the theme of a lecture by Michael Mullally, clinical psychologist, at a follow-up workshop planned by Galway-based former Yale professor, counsellor and psychologist Dr Harvey Wassermann.
"Spectacular" is how Dr Wassermann describes his two-day event earlier this month in Galway, which was entitled "The End of Fear". Uncannily, he had planned to hold it before the events of September 11th.
His next workshop will be held in the Emmaus Retreat Centre in Swords, Co Dublin, on November 17th-18th, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information on the workshop, which costs £150 including lunch, contact Dr Wassermann at (091)566712 or (065)7089189. The e-mail address is: healing@iol.ie
Ugool, Doohoma and Bellacorick are titles of some of the work by artist Hughie O'Donoghue now on display at Mayo General Hospital, Castlebar. The exhibition was organised by the Western Health Board, and follows a successful show at the Rubicon Gallery , Dublin, in late October.