Shaw to present Engineer’s Ireland Excellence Awards

Niamh Shaw, right, pictured at the launch of the Engineer’s Ireland Excellence Awards with ESB chief executive Pat O’Doherty and John Power, director general of Engineer’s Ireland

Dundalk woman Niamh Shaw will be hosting this year’s Engineer’s Ireland Excellence Awards, which will take place in the Four Seasons Hotel in Ballsbridge in Dublin on Friday November 7^th.

The awards, in conjunction with the ESB, have been running since 2010 with aspiring astronaut and engineer Niamh set to act as MC at the event.

Entries are now open with further details available here.

Aspiring astronaut Niamh to speak at Cork festival this week

Niamh Shaw

An aspiring astronaut from Dundalk who is hoping to become the first Irish person in space will share her adventures at a ‘Curiosity’ festival in Cork this week.

Niamh Shaw declared her ambition to exit the earth’s atmosphere earlier this year.

At Blackrock Castle Observatory, the artist, scientist, and actor will document her progress in a performance presentation.

“I’ve no doubt that by the time I am 65 I will get to space,” Dr Shaw told The Irish Examiner.

“This year I set myself the task to see what would happen if I decided to realise my childhood dream of getting there.”

To Space features as part of the Curiosity Festival at Blackrock Castle Observatory on Friday July 25 at 6pm.

Dundalk woman aiming to become first Irish female astronaut

Niamh Shaw

A Dundalk woman is aiming to become the first Irish female astronaut.

Niamh Shaw has unveiled her lofty plans in a column in today’s Irish Times.

In it she vows that she will “spend 2014 finding out exactly what it would take for me to get to space, and, as an actor and scientist, I hope to present a theatrical show with the results.”

She adds: “I will be meeting former astronauts, fellow space enthusiasts, space agencies, Irish space-related businesses as well as teaching myself basic astrophysics, astronomy, and other space science subjects.”

Niamh says it has always been an ambition of hers to go to space but is now determined to follow through on her dream.

“I don’t feel too bad for not having made much headway in my childhood ambition. In the 1980s it was hardly like there were astronauts hanging around Dundalk shopping centre on a Saturday who you could casually approach and ask “well, hae, Mr Astronaut. Could you please tell me how you did it?”

“And neither was there a third-level course you could tick in your CAO form to hoist you on to the first rung of your space career ladder.

“I grew up in a house of engineers. My family had a shared passion for technology and exploration. But while my dad and my brother John were satisfied with admiring the achievements of the space race, I developed an urgent need to participate.

“I have a dream: I would like to be the first Irish female astronaut. Astronauts describe an experience called the “overview effect”, the sensation of seeing the reality of our Earth in space as a tiny, fragile ball of life, “hanging in the void”, shielded and nourished by a crucial paper-thin atmosphere and slowly spinning about in the deep velvet darkness of the universe. The chance to see this 360-degree vista of the universe is the biggest draw for me.”

She added: “This year I plan to discover whether an average woman with a stratospheric ambition can make it happen.”

You can read Niamh’s full story here on IrishTimes.com