Leaving Again

It is an important day for many young people in Ireland because the Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate examinations both start today, so the first thing I need to do is wish everyone starting their examinations the very best of luck!

Among other things, the results of the leaving certificate examinations are important for September’s university admissions. In the system operating in England and Wales the standard qualification for entry is the GCE A-level. Most students take A-levels in three subjects, which gives them a relatively narrow focus although the range of subjects to choose from is rather large. In Ireland the standard qualification is the Leaving Certificate, which comprises a minimum of six subjects, with many students taking more than this. This gives students a broader range of knowledge at the sacrifice (perhaps) of a certain amount of depth; it has been decreed for entry into this system that an Irish Leaving Certificate subject counts as about 2/3 of an A-level subject for admissions purposes, so Irish students do the equivalent of at least four A-levels, and many do more than this. It’s also worth noting that all students have to take Mathematics at Leaving Certificate level. One can choose to do Leaving Certificate subjects at Ordinary or Higher level and there’s quite a big difference between the two, especially in Mathematics.

Overall I prefer the Leaving Certificate over the UK system of A-levels, partly the former gives the students a broader range of subjects than the latter. I would have liked to have been allowed to take at least one arts subject past O-level, for example. Another reason is that all students across the country take the same examination, so the difficulty or otherwise of the papers is a topic of national conversation. There will no doubt be many reactions in the media over the forthcoming days!

Anyway, tomorrow is a significant date for me (in more ways than one) so I’m up early this morning before heading off on a short journey to mark the occasion in style.

#Examinations #LeavingCertificate #LeavingCertificate2026 #MaynoothUniversity

Eclipse Event – a Date for your Diaries!

Here’s an invitation to people interested in astronomy to join staff from the Department of Physics at Maynooth University on Wednesday, August 12th 2026 from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm for a special public celebration of one of the deepest solar eclipses visible from Ireland in decades. The next eclipse with > 90% obscuration of the Sun by the Moon won’t be seen again in Ireland until 2090, by which time I will have retired.

Experience the eclipse safely through:

• eclipse viewing glasses
• solar telescopes
• live astronomy demonstrations

List of Solar Talks during the evening:

• Dr. Emma Whelan – The Story of the Sun
• Dr. Joshuah Heath – The Quantum Sun
• Dr. Marcin Gradziel – (Electric) Power from the Sun. The good, the bad, and the glinty!
• Dr. Michelle McCrystall – The star of the show: How the Sun drives our climate
• Prof. Peter Coles – Einstein and the Eclipse (Who He? Ed.)
• Dr. Patrick Kavanagh – Will our Sun go Supernova?

The evening will also include:

• an immersive* astronomy show in our inflatable planetarium
• hands-on arts and crafts activities for children

*especially if it rains

Maynooth University Staff can reserve a place here until June 14th, after which booking will be opened to the general public – I’ll repost this invitation with a link at that time.

#August12th2026 #DepartmentOfPhysicsMaynoothUniversity #Eclipse #MaynoothUniversity #SolarEclipse #SolarEclipse2026

A Room with a View

The spell of warm sunny weather has made a huge difference to the view from my office window:

Not SunnySunny

Well, what did you expect to see from a Maynooth University office window? Sydney Opera House perhaps? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of Wildebeest sweeping majestically across …

#MaynoothUniversity #Window

After Lectures but before Examinations

This morning I did my last teaching session of the Academic Year 2025-6, an informal revision lecture/tutorial on Computational Physics. It was optional, for the students, as this is officially a study break, and was at 9am, and only a handful of students showed up, but I hope those that did found it useful. As is often the case with optional sessions, I think the students who came were the keenest and probably therefore those who least needed last-minute tips for the examination, but that’s always the way.

In the past such revision classes have been routine, at least for me, but for some reason the University has taken to locking most of the teaching rooms during the study break. This causes huge problems finding a space to do revision sessions. I really don’t understand this. There are constant complaints from students about the lack of study space, and the response from the University is that right before the examinations they lock dozens of empty rooms.

Anyway, the Examination Period starts tomorrow morning, Friday15th, but most of the students who turned up this morning have their first examination on Tuesday 19th May (which happens to be Computational Physics).

take the opportunity to wish all students the best for their examinations:

You shouldn’t really be relying on luck of course, so here are some tips (especially for physics students, but applicable elsewhere).

Try to get a good night’s sleep before the examination and arrive in plenty of time before the start. Spending all night cramming is unlikely to help you do well.

Prepare well in advance so you’re relaxed when the time comes.

Read the entire paper before starting to answer any questions. In particular, make sure you are aware of any supplementary information, formulae, etc, given in the rubric or at the end. You can always ask for log tables if there’s something you can’t remember.

Start off by tackling the question you are most confident about answering, even if it’s not Question 1. This will help settle any nerves. You’re under no obligation to answer the questions in the order they are asked.

Don’t rush! Students often lose marks by making careless errors. In particular, check all your working out, including numerical results obtained your calculator, at least twice

Please remember the UNITS!

Don’t panic! You’re not expected to answer everything perfectly. A first-class mark is anything over 70%, so don’t worry if there are bits you can’t do. If you get stuck on a part of a question, don’t waste too much time on it (especially if it’s just a few marks). Just leave it and move on. You can always come back to it later.

#Examinations #MaynoothUniversity #theoreticalPhysics

Maynooth University Library Cat Update

I thought young Séamus (aka Maynooth University Library Cat) was fast asleep when I saw him under a tree, but I think he was just pretending as he had his beady eye on something…

#MaynoothUniversity #MaynoothUniversityLibraryCat

https://www.fogolf.com/1249045/thomas-abom-aces-his-way-to-the-top-of-irish-am/ Thomas Abom aces his way to the top of Irish AM #FlogasIrishMen’sAmateurOpenChampionship #Golf #GolfNews #MaynoothUniversity #SeapointGolfLinks #ThomasAbom

Lectures’ End

At last we’ve made it to the end of term. This morning I delivered my last particle physics lecture. Given that it is the last day of the semester I was half-expecting no students would turn up, but in the end I had about 60% attendance. At the end of my lecture there was even a smattering of applause, which I interpreted as meaning that the students were happy that I’d finished.

I thought I would end this module with some topics that I didn’t have time to cover in any detail, but thought the students should know at least something about. These loose ends included:

• Renormalization
• Grand Unified Theories (GUTS)
• Supersymmetry (SUSY)
• Particle candidates for Dark Matter
• Baryogenesis

I only had time for a superficial treatment of these topics, but felt the class should at least hear the words. There are some very good unanswered research questions under those headings, which I think is an appropriate way to end a final-year module, given that at least some of the class are intending to carry on to further study in physics.

Today was also the deadline for Computational Physics projects. I’ll be grading them next week. Even then the term won’t quite be over – there is the small matter of exam marking to be done – but at least I’ve got no more formal teaching to do until September.

Last night on the way home I decided to buy a nice bottle of white wine and put it in the fridge so I could drink it in celebration of the end of term when I get home, with a nice fish supper.

#MaynoothUniversity #ParticlePhysics #Physics

A fine example of the grandeur of a Horse Chestnut tree in bloom at the Moyglare entrance to the #MaynoothUniversity campus. #Bloomscrolling

Last Chance Lab

Today is the penultimate day of teaching in the Spring Semester at Maynooth University and I’m here in the Computer Lab for the last time. This afternoon’s session is just a drop-in consultation session for Computational Physics students doing their projects and although it has been busier than previous weeks it has not exactly been a hive of activity. The deadline for project submissions is tomorrow afternoon, so I was expecting a bit of a rush at this session, which is the last of its type, and also at my office hour this morning. I did have one student attend this morning, and a couple of others this afternoon, but other than for them it has been quiet.

On the other hand, over a day before the deadline, three students have already submitted their project reports and code. I’m impressed with that, but also a little surprised. I’ve come to expect just-in-time delivery for such things.

Yesterday I did my last particle physics tutorial of the year and followed that immediately afterwards I attended a long session of final-year project talks, from 3pm to just after 6pm. It is obvious that some students find these presentations a bit of an ordeal but it is important to learn how to present your work so such things are part of the rite of passage. It is good for staff to get an overview of the all projects being done in the Department too.

In previous years the final project presentations for students in the Departments of Theoretical Physics and Experimental Physics were done separately, the former having a somewhat smaller audience than the latter. The two previous Departments having merged into a single Department of Physics, this time round we had all the talks together (though spread over two days, yesterday and the Wednesday before). I think the combined sessions worked quite well and we will probably do it this way next year.

After the session of talks there was a small drinks party in the foyer of the Science Building. That was a nice occasion, and it struck me that it would have been the last time this group of students would all meet together until their graduation. Tomorrow I do my last particle physics lecture and it will be the last time I see quite a few of the students in that class until graduation too. They’ve been a nice group to work with, very engaged and easy to interact with. It is a great pleasure to be teaching students who are eager to learn . That’s the aspect of academic life I’ll miss the most when I retire.

#ComputationalPhysics #Maynooth #MaynoothUniversity

Thoughts on 1st May

Today, 1st May, Beltane (Bealtaine in Irish), is an old Celtic festival that marks the mid-point between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice. It’s one of the so-called Cross-Quarter Days that lie exactly halfway between the equinoxes and solstices. These ancient festivals have been moved so that they take place earlier in the modern calendar than the astronomical events that represent their origin: the halfway point between the Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice is actually next week. Anyway, “May Day”, Lá Bealtaine in Irish, is today – the name Bealtaine applies to the whole month of May.

In Ireland the Bank Holiday assocliated with Bealtaine is on Monday 4th May, so another long weekend beckons.

Workwise, after today we will have completed the penultimate teaching week of Semester 2 so after Monday’s Bank Holiday we will have just four official days of teaching left, before a Study Week and the start of examinations. Yesterday I correctedthe last of my Computational Physics class tests so I am up to date with the continuous assessment and feedback of both my modules. I now have a week before the Computational Physics projects are submitted, and another week before the exam period starts.On Wednesday last we had project presentations for about half of the final year class; the other half do their things next Wednesday.

Now, I have a particle physics lecture to give – the antepenultimate one of the semester – after which I’ll be launching myself into the long weekend.

Lá Bealtaine shona daoibh go leir!

#Bealtaine #ireland #MayDay #MaynoothUniversity