Minister English appoints Professor Jane Ohlmeyer as Chair of the Irish Research Council

The Minister for Skills, Research and Innovation, Damien English, TD has announced the appointment of Professor Jane Ohlmeyer as the new Chair of the Irish Research Council. Professor Ohlmeyer is the Erasmus Smith Professor of Modern History at Trinity College Dublin and the Director of the Trinity Long Room Hub.  She was a driving force behind the establishment of the Long Room Hub, which promotes multi-disciplinary research, and of the 1641 Depositions Project, which is now a European flagship initiative. She was also the first Vice-President for Global Relations ever appointed in TCD.

Minister English also announced five other appointments to the Council:

• Dr Felicity Kelliher, Senior Lecturer in Management and Co-Chair of the RIKON research group, Waterford Institute of Technology
• Professor Rob Kitchin, the National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis, Maynooth University
• Professor Eithne McCabe, School of Physics, Faculty of Engineering and Mathematics, Trinity College Dublin
• Professor Emma Teeling, School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin
• Dr Yvonne Traynor, Director of Regulatory Affairs at Kerry Group.

Announcing the appointment of Professor Ohlmeyer, Minister English said ‘Professor Ohlmeyer has an extensive and internationally renowned research track record. I am confident that the Council’s researchers will continue to make a vital contribution not alone to Ireland’s knowledge economy, but their excellent research across all disciplines impacts in so many different ways on our lives and society.  I would like to thank the outgoing Chair, Professor Orla Feely, for her dedication in the role and wish Professor Ohlmeyer and the other appointees every success’.

Welcoming her appointment, Professor Ohlmeyer said ‘I am honoured to be appointed Chair of the Irish Research Council.  I relish the opportunity to promote research excellence in Ireland, to advocate for innovation and creativity in research, along with its relevance to Irish society, and to serve as an ambassador for all disciplines, from archaeology to zoology’.

Professor Ohlmeyer and the new members join the five re-appointed members of the Council.

About the Irish Research Council

To address the broad skills and research needs within society, the Irish Research Council supports excellent individual driven research in all disciplines. An agency of the Department of Education and Skills, the Council primarily funds early stage career researchers: namely, postgraduate students, postdoctoral researchers and research fellows. By funding outstanding researchers, the Irish Research Council plays a key role in supporting leadership, excellence and creativity. It encourages innovation, creativity and enterpreneurship, and supports researchers that will be future leaders in their fields.

Diverse career opportunities are enabled by the Council through a range of programmes which partner with employers. The other key area of activity for the Council is the funding of research projects with a societal focus; the Council has established partnerships across government departments and civic society. The Council represents Ireland in particular dimensions of Horizon 2020 and, by providing supports for H2020 applicants, enhances opportunities for the Irish research community

The 1641 Depositions Project – this is an inter-institutional and multi-disciplinary collaboration involving over 50 researchers (historians, linguists, literary scholars, geographers, computer scientists, mathematicians and physicists), together with a number of private enterprises.