Update on Wednesday 11 March: Due to concerns over COVID-19/coronavirus, the decision has been made to postpone the two lecture evenings until a later date during the Newport 300 celebrations.

To celebrate the 300th anniversary of Newport in Co Mayo, the Marine Institute will be presenting a lecture series this Thursday and next at Nevin’s Newfield Inn in the town.

A range of speakers will share their experiences and discuss the research undertaken at the Marine Institute’s Newport Research Facility, which has been in operation since 1955 and became part of the institute in 1999.

Research focuses on a wide range of topics including fish ecology, genetics, population dynamics and advice for a broad range of species, as well as oceanography and impacts of climate change on aquatic ecosystems.

The first lecture, this Thursday 12 March, begins at 7pm and will focus on the ‘how and why of Burrishoole research and how it has evolved’ as outlined by Russell Poole of the Marine Institute.

The fish traps managed by the Marine Institute, and located between Lough Furnace and Lough Feeagh, monitor all movements of fish to and from the freshwater catchment. Burishoole is one of the few places in the world where every single migratory fish moving in or out of the catchment can be counted.

Elvira de Eyto of the Marine Institute and past Cullen Fellow Sean Kelly of the Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) will also talk about 65 years of environmental observations of the Burrishoole catchment, which includes data collection on weather, water quality, floods and plankton.

And author Sean Lysaght will conclude the first lecture evening by speaking about ‘Eagles in Mayo - Their Heritage and History’.

The second lecture evening, titled ‘Marine and Wildlife in Clew Bay’, will be held next Thursday 19 March at 7pm.

Aisling Doogan, PhD student at Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) and a Cullen Fellow at the Marine Institute, will talk about her research on tracking Atlantic salmon smolts through Clew Bay.

Phil McGinnity, Marine Institute and University College Cork (UCC), has been involved in fisheries research and management for more than a quarter of a century and will discuss his research in fish population genetics.

Eoin McGreal, conservation ranger with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, will also speak about the variety of wildlife in Clew Bay.

Marine Institute chief executive Dr Paul Connolly said: “We are delighted to host this lecture series to support Newport 300.

“The Marine Institute’s Newport Research Facility is a hub for national and international research with Marine Institute staff, collaborating researchers and students based at the facility. This lecture series is a great opportunity to share our diverse range of research projects with the Newport community."

The Marine Institute will also host a Family Open Day at the Research Facility on Sunday 29 March from 11am to 4pm to celebrate Newport 300. Details to come.