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21 Jan 2026
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21 Jan 2026
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Professor Claire Connolly
Clonmel native, Professor Claire Connolly, has been appointed by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD, to the Irish Research Council. The appointment is for a three-year period.
Professor Claire Connolly is a Professor of Modern English and Head of the School of English and Digital Humanities at University College Cork. She is a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales, a Member of the Royal Irish Academy and the Royal Irish Academy Council. Her publications to date have focused on the cultural history of eighteenth and nineteenth-century Ireland.
She was appointed to the Council alongside Professor Colin Scott – a Professor of EU Regulation and Governance at University College Dublin.
Welcoming the announcement, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD, said: “I am delighted to appoint Professor Claire Connolly and Professor Colm Scott to the Irish Research Council. Both Professor Connolly and Professor Scott are distinguished academics who will make a valuable contribution to the Council. Their experience and insight into the research sector will be of great benefit in helping to promote research excellence in Ireland. I look forward to appointing a new Chairperson of the Irish Research Council shortly, and I would like to thank the outgoing chairperson Professor Jane Ohlmeyer, for her passionate and committed service throughout her term.”
Also commenting today, Director of the Irish Research Council Peter Brown, said: “We are very pleased to welcome Professor Claire Connolly and Professor Colin Scott as members of the Irish Research Council. This is an interesting time for the Irish Research Council as the Government prepares a new national strategy for research and innovation. The Irish Research Council looks forward to helping shape and deliver this new strategy to maintain a vibrant research eco-system and to ensure research can respond to the big challenges of our time. We are delighted to have Professor Connolly and Professor Scott working with us on these important challenges.”
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