At the announcement of a €460 million Research Ireland investment in seven new 'Rinn' research centres were: Left-right: Dr Ruth Freeman, Research Ireland; Dr Jimmy Murphy, Rinn Energy; Dr Terence O'Donnell, Rinn Energy; Prof. Sakis Mantalaris, Rinn Advanced Therapies; Prof. Noel O'Connor, Rinn Artificial Intelligence; James Lawless TD, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science; Michael Horgan, Chairperson Research Ireland; Dr Diarmuid O'Brien, CEO Research Ireland; Prof. Owen Smith, Rinn Advanced Therapies; Dr Siobhan Roche, Research Ireland; Prof. Ortwin Hess, Rinn Quantum; Prof. John Goold, Rinn Quantum; Prof. Sarah Hudson, Rinn Pharma & Biopharma; Prof. Abhay Pandit, Rinn Medical Devices; and Prof. Paul Townsend, Rinn Semiconductors. Photo: Jason Clarke.
Seven major new Research Ireland centres – comprising an overall investment of €460million – has been announced today by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless TD.
As part of this announcement, an enhanced national research network, Rinn* has been launched, under which each of the seven new Rinn centres will operate over the next eight years. This unified network reflects the step change in the scale and breadth of collaboration, governance, and funding, supporting a more coordinated and internationally engaged research system with the aim of delivering national and international impact.
Spanning advanced therapies, artificial intelligence, energy decarbonisation, medical devices, pharma and biopharma, quantum science and technology, and semiconductors, the seven new Rinn centres will support 577 research positions, develop over 800 PhDs, and involve 17 research-performing organisations in a coordinated, collaborative national effort of unprecedented scale.
The seven centres have additional funding of €500 million to be leveraged from industry and other sources, with support from over 200 industry partners comprising over 100 multinational corporations and almost 100 SMEs.
Making the announcement, Minister Lawless said: “The scale and scope of this €460 million investment is a powerful statement of Ireland’s ambition in research and innovation. Research Ireland centres have, over the last 13 years, fundamentally reshaped our innovation landscape – turning excellent and innovative research into real-world societal and economic impact. Our higher education institutions and enterprise collaborators have been critical to that success. With these seven new Rinn, we are building on this progress by supporting talent, strengthening industry partnerships, attracting foreign direct investment, advancing indigenous industry growth, promoting regional development, and enabling Ireland to remain internationally competitive.”
UCD Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact said: “The launch of these new centres is momentous for Ireland and the European ecosystem. UCD brings a host of world-class academic leaders, funded investigators and early career talent, as well as decades of groundbreaking research and innovation which has already had profound impact in these critical sectors. Through the Rinn network, our researchers will continue to advance science, technology and evidence-base for policy, drive innovation, develop a highly skilled talent pipeline, and deliver genuine benefit for all of society.”
The six Rinn centres in which UCD is involved are:
Rinn Advanced Therapies, centre for Research and Innovation in Personalised Immune Cell Therapeutics (€51,057,588 funding), focused on the development and manufacturing of personalised advanced cellular immune therapeutics (ACITs). Coordinated by Trinity College Dublin; UCD centre leads are Prof Walter Kolch, Prof Peter Doran, Prof Niall Barron, and Dr Allison Waters. Learn more about UCD research leadership in Rinn Advanced Therapies and impact in the field of personalised advanced therapies.
Rinn Artificial Intelligence, centre for Research and Innovation in Data Science and AI (€121,752,497 funding) serving as a national hub for research and innovation in data science and AI. Coordinated by DCU (lead site), UCD, Trinity College Dublin, UCC, and University of Galway; UCD centre leads are Prof Aphra Kerr, Prof Brian Mac Namee and Prof Claire Gormley. Learn more about UCD research leadership in Rinn AI and impact in the area of AI and data science.
Rinn Energy, centre for Research and Innovation in Energy System Decarbonisation (€51,785,397 funding) is focused on integrating expertise across science, engineering, economics, policy, and social sciences for a whole system approach. Coordinated by UCC and UCD; UCD centre leads are Prof Lisa Ryan (co-director), Associate Prof Terence O’Donnell, Prof Paula Carroll and Associate Prof Vikram Pakrashi. Learn more about UCD research leadership in Rinn Energy and impact in the area of energy decarbonisation.
Rinn Medical Devices, centre for Research and Innovation in Medical Devices (€64,488,000 funding) focused on supporting healthy ageing by developing medical device innovations that tackle the chronic conditions most likely to affect people as they age. Coordinated by University of Galway; the UCD centre lead is Prof David Brayden. Learn more about UCD research leadership in Rinn Medical Devices and impact in the area of medical devices.
Rinn Pharma and Biopharma, centre for Research and Innovation in Making Medicines (€60,324,450 funding) focused on two core challenges in drug development: (1) patient-centred medicines that meet the needs of diverse patient groups, and (2) sustainable drug development and manufacturing. Coordinated by University of Limerick; UCD centre leads are Prof Pat Guiry, Associate Prof Steven Ferguson and Associate Prof Jonathan Bones. Learn more about UCD research leadership in Rinn Pharma and Biopharma and impact in the area of pharma-biopharma, biosciences and biotechnology.
Rinn Quantum, centre for Research and Innovation in Quantum Information Science and Technology (€39,621,376 funding) focused on establishing Ireland as a global leader in quantum science, spanning six strategic themes: quantum foundations, networks, control and energetics, computation and simulation, HPC integration, and societal impact. Coordinated by Trinity College Dublin; the UCD centre lead is Associate Prof Steve Campbell. Learn more about UCD research leadership in Rinn Quantum and impact in the area of quantum science and technology.
The seventh Rinn centre is Rinn Semiconductors, centre for Research and Innovation in Heterogeneously Integrated Semiconductor Systems (with a Research Ireland award of €70,979,936), coordinated by the Tyndall National Institute. UCD’s Prof Anding Zhu is a funded PI within Rinn Semiconductors.
Speaking at the announcement, CEO of Research Ireland, Dr Diarmuid O’Brien, said: “The Rinn network is about excellent multidisciplinary research, radical collaboration and deep connectivity at scale across 17 research performing institutions, industry, Government, public sector bodies, and the broader higher education and research system. Each Rinn will develop world-class talent, drive enterprise engagement with research, and reinforce Ireland’s international standing by creating a unique research and innovation ecosystem of international significance and scale. A key action in our recently launched strategy is the delivery of an enhanced Research Ireland centres programme that will enable the development of national centres of international scale in areas of key strategic importance. Rinn firmly sets that action in motion.”
More about the Rinn Network
* Rinn: The Irish word for a point, tip or headland.
The announcement of the seven Rinn centres follows an open competitive process, where proposals underwent a rigorous, multi-stage evaluation process by independent international experts.
The centres will officially commence activities on 1 July 2026.
The 17 Rinn Participating Research Performing Bodies are: Atlantic Technological University, Dublin City University, Dundalk Institute of Technology, Economic and Social Research Institute, Munster Technological University, Maynooth University, National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training, South East Technological University, Trinity College Dublin, Tyndall National Institute, Technological University Dublin, Technological University of the Shannon, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, University College Cork, University College Dublin, University of Limerick and University of Galway.
The 7 Rinn centres have direct links to the Programme for Government, National Development Plan, Impact 2030, Quantum 2030, our ‘Silicon Island’ National Semiconductor Strategy, and the Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity. Rinn Artificial Intelligence and Rinn Quantum support the commitments under Ireland’s new National Digital & AI Strategy, Digital Ireland, to establish a leading AI Research Centre of scale and a Quantum Centre of Excellence. This investment will play a key role in the delivery of the research and innovation goals and objectives set down in these strategies by Government.
This article was first published on 10 June by UCD.
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