Ninth Level Ireland

“Hundreds of Northern Irish students have been suspended and hit with fines totalling over €14,000 for breaking lockdown restrictions. Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) has imposed sanctions on 109 students for coronavirus-related offences, while Ulster University (UU) said it has dealt with 146 transgressions …” (more)

[Claire McNeilly, Independent, 19 November]

“Ulster University’s Vice Chancellor has insisted that an overspend of £125m at its new Belfast campus will not impact upon plans to expand Magee under questioning from MLAs. VC Professor Bartholomew would not be drawn on specific goals for the Derry campus but said there are a ‘myriad of factors’ that will determine the level of growth and it will be ‘demand-led’ …” (more)

[Garrett Hargan, Derry Now, 11 November]

“Speaking about a shared island today the Taoiseach Micheál Martin committed to ‘coordinated investment’ at Ulster University’s Magee campus in Derry. For around 60 years the people of Derry have campaigned for a full-sized university in the city …” (more)

[Garrett Hargan, Derry Now, 22 October]

“The Executive Office will meet representatives of Northern Ireland’s universities on Tuesday to discuss their response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It comes after a number of students in Queen’s University halls of residence in Belfast have been told to self-isolate after testing positive for the virus …” (more)

[Belfast Telegraph, 28 September]

“When Brid Ruddy first moved to the Holyland area of Belfast in the mid-1970s, it was to escape the sectarian confines around the Oldpark Road in the north of the city …” (more)

[Michael Sheils McNamee, BBC News, 27 September]

“A number of students from Ulster University have received a precautionary suspension for breaching coronavirus guidelines. A spokesperson for the university said ten students have received precautionary suspensions, with a further three cases pending since a new disciplinary policy was introduced on Monday …” (more)

[Eimear McGovern, Belfast Telegraph, 23 September]

“A number of students have been suspended from Queen’s University following disorder in the Holyland area of south Belfast in recent days. It’s after the university received notifications of coronavirus regulation breaches from the PSNI, which led to the suspension of the students for two weeks …” (more)

[Eimear McGovern, Belfast Telegraph, 22 September]

“Police have issued 55 Covid notices, including 31 at one house alone, and eight prohibition notices after another night of disruption in the Holyland area of south Belfast. Two arrests were made for drug possession and assault, while a passing police patrol gave first aid to a 20-year-old man who was drunk and unconscious …” (more)

[Belfast Telegraph, 21 September]

“Police have issued 47 Covid-19 notices and nine prohibition notices over the last two nights in the Holyland area of Belfast. A 16-year-old male was also arrested for possession of Class B drugs with intent to supply during the same period …” (more)

[BreakingNews.ie, 20 September]

“Steve Bradley is a regeneration consultant, you can follow him on Twitter. Steve is a very popular writer on Slugger with some of his posts getting over 40k readers, you can view an archive of his posts here. In this podcast, we discuss the future of Derry and the Northwest. In particular, we discuss: the future of Ulster University in Derry or lack thereof; the potential for an independent University; how Covid-19 will affect Derry …” (podcast)

[Brian O’Neill, Slugger O’Toole, 20 September]

[University policy is discussed throughout the podcast, but it focuses on this from 26:40 onwards]

“Proposals to construct almost 100 new student accommodation rooms as part of an extension to an existing development in Belfast have secured the green light. Cathedral Living applied for full planning permission from Belfast City Council for the development of a 12-storey building to provide an extension to the 407-bed student building at 123 York Street. The site will round off the existing 12-storey purpose-built facility, which has been in operation since 2019 …” (more)

[Adam Beech, Insider Media Limited, 17 September]

“Thirty people from across Northern Ireland attended a house party in Belfast’s Holyland area, police said. Three people attempted to hide by locking themselves in a bathroom for more than 10 minutes as officers dealt with other people …” (more)

[Michael McHugh, Belfast Telegraph, 18 September]

“Police have issued 55 Covid notices and three prohibition notices after calling to seven house parties in the Holyland area of south Belfast. Officers discovered more than 30 people attending one party in an apartment, where three people tried to hide from police by locking themselves in a bathroom for over 10 minutes …” (more)

[Eimear McGovern, Belfast Telegraph, 18 September]

“Police have issued a series of sanctions after a another night of partying in the Belfast Holyland area. In one case a 20-year-old man who had been arrested in the area late on Tuesday evening, was arrested on suspicion of breaching bail last night and was charged to appear in court …” (more)

[Belfast Telegraph, 17 September]

“The Health Minister has said that recent scenes of house parties in Belfast’s Holyland district must not be tolerated. Speaking at a Stormont Covid briefing, Robin Swann said footage of young people drinking in student housing near Queen’s University was unacceptable …” (more)

[Gareth Cross and Allan Preston, Belfast Telegraph, 17 September]

“Dangerous and anti-social house parties in Belfast’s Holyland student district will not be tolerated, the health minister has said. Footage showing groups of young people congregating and drinking in the area of terraced housing near Queen’s University was ‘deplorable’, Robin Swann said …” (more)

[Michael McHugh and David Young, Belfast Telegraph, 16 September]

“With funding support from the Department of Health, the new three year, BSc Hons Paramedic Science course will be based within Ulster University’s multi award winning School of Nursing on the Magee campus …” (more)

[Derry Now, 14 September]

“Ulster University has launched a consultation on the potential of bringing some health science courses to Magee. Urging people to respond, Foyle MLA Karen Mullan said …” (more)

[Highland Radio, 12 September]

“Almost £4 million is being provided to create extra university places following the cancellation of A-levels in Northern Ireland. This includes medical, nursing and midwifery courses, Finance Minister Conor Murphy said …” (more)

[Michael McHugh, Belfast Telegraph, 11 September]

“Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the plans in place to progress a university of the north-west involving Letterkenny IT and Magee College, Derry; and the way in which such plans may impact on the Connacht, Ulster Alliance for a technological university application …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 9 September]