Irish Research Council welcomes €12 million in EU funding for six Irish research projects

The Irish Research Council has welcomed today’s announcement that six Irish research projects have been granted a total of €12 million by the European Research Council.

The funding announced today is part of the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. The announcement of the 2018 European Research Council Consolidator Grant competition is worth €573 million and has been granted to a total of 291 awardees across 20 countries.

Welcoming today’s announcement, Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development, John Halligan TD, said: “Innovation 2020 – Ireland’s strategy for research and development, science and technology – recognises the importance of Ireland cultivating success on the European and indeed global stage and leveraging this for strong international collaboration. Ireland’s success today in the European Research Council Consolidator Grant supports our stated aim to become an innovation leader.

“These awards will not only fund some excellent research projects but will allow these mid-career researchers to expand their research teams, further enhancing a pipeline of talent, which is crucial for Ireland to continue to contribute and collaborate on an international level.”

Commenting on today’s announcement Peter Brown, Director of the Irish Research Council said: “This is a very good day for Irish research, which has secured €12 million in funding for cutting-edge projects in what is an extremely competitive programme. The European Research Council is the gold standard for frontier basic research, not just in Europe, but globally.

“The European Research Council Consolidator Grant is awarded to mid-career researchers who are excelling in their field. What is a remarkable outcome today is that five out of the six grants are in the social sciences and humanities, which represents a major boost for these disciplines in Ireland, particularly considering the relatively small size of our research ecosystem by European standards. Investing nationally in frontier basic research in all disciplines will ensure that we cultivate future generations of world-class researchers who can be equally successful.”

Researchers awarded funding

European Research Council Consolidator Grants are awarded to outstanding researchers of any nationality and age, with seven to twelve years of postdoctoral experience and a strong track record in their field.

The funding – €2 million per grant, on average – is provided for up to five years and covers the employment of researchers and other staff.

The six Irish-based awardees supported through the programme announced today are:

• Katherine Browne, Maynooth University, for her research on ‘Opposing Sexual and Gender Rights and Equalities: Transforming Everyday Spaces’;
• Eoin Carolan, University College Dublin, for his research on ‘The Foundations of Institutional AuThoirty: a multi-dimensional model of the separation of powers’;
• Laura Cleaver, Trinity College Dublin, for her research on ‘Cultural Values and the International Trade in Medieval European Manuscripts, c. 1900-1945’;
• Adina Preda, University of Limerick, for her research on ‘Rights and Egalitarianism’;
• J. Griffith Rollefson, University College Cork, for his research project: ‘CIPHER: Hip Hop Interpellation (The International Council for Hip Hop Studies)’; and
• Aline Vidotto, Trinity College Dublin, for her research on ‘The influence of stellar outflows on exoplanetary mass loss’.