POLITICIANS usually speak in riddles, but the President, Mrs McAleese, used plain talk when she called for an end to impenetrable language in the world of science. The President was attending the 1999 Merville Lay Seminars in UCD's O'Reilly Hall on Tuesday evening, where six PhD students from the college's departments of pharmacology and biochemistry were presenting their work before a panel of eminent judges. In plain English, the young scientists had to communicate their ideas in a way that was understood by the general public. Broadcaster Gay Byrne hosted the proceedings, and the judging panel comprised the seminar's chairwoman, Liz McManus TD, Irish Times Science Editor Dick Ahlstrom, UCD president Dr Art Cosgrove, and film director Jim Sheridan.
Presenting the prize to the winners, Mrs McAleese recalled her time as a solicitor, when convoluted legalese was the common tongue down at Ormond Quay, and praised this effort to demystify science and make it accessible to all. No doubt the plain people of Ireland will be delira and excira at this latest scientific development.
