University College Cork is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Professor Chris Williams, a most respected and distinguished Professor of History and Head the College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences, UCC.

At a recent event on campus, members of the Cavanagh family officially opened University College Cork’s new riverside walkway, the Cavanagh Way. The walkway is named in memory of the late Tom and Marie Cavanagh in recognition of their extraordinary, sustained and enabling philanthropy, which over many years has had a transformative effect on UCC.

On 20 March Quercus Sports Scholar, UCC Rower and Olympic gold-medal winner Paul O'Donovan was recognised as UCC's Graduate of the Year 2023. In May 2023 Paul achieved a first class honours degree in medicine. 

UCC’s support of the Next Generation Leaders Initiative was recently recognised at a presentation hosted on campus on Tuesday, 20 February.

UCC was delighted to welcome Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, Paschal Donohoe, to campus on Tuesday, 20 February.

Today, UCC and the Crann Centre in Ballincollig signed a community partnership agreement that will see them work together to advance care for families living with neuro-physical disabilities. This collaboration will not just impact locally, but will benefit families all around the world.

As UCC continues to work towards its vision for 2028, we are very pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Sean O’Driscoll as Chair of our Governing Authority (formerly Governing Body) until 2027. A Commerce graduate of UCC and 2004 UCC Alumni Achievement Award recipient, Mr O’Driscoll is the former Chair and Chief Executive of the Glen Dimplex Group and a former Partner in KPMG.

On 28 November the Duke of Devonshire and his son Lord William Burlington visited UCC to mark the donation of The Book of Lismore. We were delighted to have this opportunity to thank the Duke formally for very generously donating The Book of Lismore to UCC in 2020. This had not been possible at the time of the donation because of public health restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Former President of Ireland Ms Mary Robinson called for greater action on climate justice among the world's leaders and governments at UCC's Sustainable Futures Forum. This event at UCC’s Glucksman Gallery, was MCed by RTÉ presenter Miriam O’Callaghan and was hosted on the eve of UCC's partipation in the annual United National Climate Change Conference COP-28 which is taking place this year in Dubai. 

UCC and The Glucksman were among a number of Cork groups and organisations who were recently recognised in the city’s first in-person Traveller Ally Awards. The awards are aimed at acknowledging local allies of the Traveller community and honouring the work of organisations and individuals who have reached out the hand of friendship and solidarity to Travellers in the city, supporting Traveller rights and creating accessible services in the process.

University College Cork has become the first higher education institution in Ireland to launch a Proud Ally Student Network. Launched on 18 October, the network aims to educate and empower everyone to become effective and proud allies to the LGBTQ+ community.

UCC and My Canine Companion today launched a new pet therapy programme to support the wellbeing of students and staff at UCC. 

UCC has confirmed that the European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide €50m for the development of the new Cork University Business School (CUBS).

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD welcomed the third in a series of dialogue meetings between senior Department officials and institutional leaders aimed at driving stronger regional collaboration on some of the major challenges facing the country at UCC on 26 June.

President John O’Halloran recently visited the Alumni and Development offices in the Western Gateway Building, where the Fónathon engagement campaign is currently taking place, and met with students who are working as Fundraising Ambassadors for the campaign. Fónathon 2023 commenced 27 May and lasts until 18 June.

UCC recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate to Dr Katalin Karikó for her pioneering mRNA research, which led to the BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna vaccines against COVID-19.

President John O’Halloran welcomed the Ambassador of France, H.E. Mr Vincent Guérend, and a delegation from the Embassy of France, to UCC on Monday, 8 May 2023.

UCC President Professor John O’Halloran welcomed a delegation from UMass Lowell to UCC on Monday 27 March.

The ecology and conservation of birds were the focus of a national conference hosted by President John O'Halloran at UCC this weekend. Academic researchers, conservation scientists, policymakers and members of the public came together to share knowledge and expertise at the 8th Irish Ornithological Research Conference, which took place over the weekend.

On Wednesday 8 March, President John O’Halloran engaged in a Fireside Conversation with Dr Claire O’Connell, Science Communicator and contributor to The Irish Times, as part of Accenture’s annual celebration of International Women’s Day.

UCC recently played host to the winners of the 59th BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition (BTYSE). The BTYSE is one of the world’s longest running science exhibitions for young people and UCC President Professor John O’Halloran has been a judge for the event since 2000.

University College Cork and Queen’s University Belfast have established Ireland’s first all-island network dedicated to delivering on the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

On 7 February, UCC published its five-year strategic plan, Securing Our Future. The plan will see a step change in research impact at the university, its evolution as the university of choice for postgraduate education with the development of exciting new postgraduate programmes, widening student access to higher education and creating the first dedicated sustainability and climate action office in Ireland’s higher education sector.

On Tuesday 17 January, Professor John O’Halloran, UCC President, delivered the Welcome Address at the Cork University Dental School and Hospital’s Clinical Pledge Ceremony in the historic Aula Maxima.

A Healthy Campus adopts a holistic understanding of health, takes a whole campus approach and aspires to create a learning environment and organisational culture that enhances the health and wellbeing of its community and enables people to achieve their full potential.

The inaugural UCC Arts & Culture Plan: Igniting UCC's Creative Potential was launched as part of Culture Night on Friday 23 September 2022.

On September 21st, UCC announced that the Environment Research Institute building on the Lee Road will be named in honour of botanist and Cork woman Ellen Hutchins. This is the second building at UCC to bear the name of a female pioneer. The naming of the Ellen Hutchins building recognises her extraordinary contributions and immortalises her indefatigable spirit as we work towards reflecting the breadth of people who have shaped our university where an ever-increasing proportion of total enrolment is female.

The Your UCC Graduate Attributes and Values Compass sellf-evaluation tool for students will be available from September 2022

On Tuesday, Cork Opera House hosted a preview screening of an episode of RTÉ’s forthcoming three part documentary series ‘The Irish Civil War’, with the soundtrack, composed by Natasha Paulberg, performed live by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. The screening was followed by a panel discussion, MC'd by RTÉ presenter David McCullagh, and all proceeds went to Cork Penny Dinners.

Based on the hugely successful and critically acclaimed Cork University Press ‘Atlas Of The Irish Revolution’, ‘The Irish Civil War’ is the latest documentary collaboration between University College Cork and RTÉ following ‘The Hunger’ and ‘The Irish Revolution’ series.

The three-part series, narrated by Brendan Gleeson, will air on our screens this autumn.

President O’Halloran welcomed the Ambassador of Romania, H.E. Mr Laurenţiu-Mihai Ştefan, and a delegation from the Embassy of Romania, to UCC Friday, September 9th, 2022.

UCC’s beautiful Aula Maxima, its iconic Honan Chapel, and its award winning Glucksman Gallery will be the backdrops for Other Voices: Bringing It All Back Home which promises to be an unforgettable night of music and song live streamed from campus on Thursday September 29th.

The Ambassador of the Republic of Korea visited UCC’s historical campus on Thursday, 1st September 2022.

University College Cork and the University of Plymouth have agreed to work together to address some of the key climate challenges and opportunities of our time.

President John O’Halloran hosted the first UCC Pride Afternoon Tea for staff and students, in celebration of Cork Pride, in the President's Garden and Honan Plaza this Tuesday.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin provided the keynote address at the launch of the Cork and the Brexit Effect report at University College Cork on Friday 24 June 2022.

President John O’Halloran welcomed Minister of State for Heritage & Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan, and CEO Heritage Council, Virginia Teehan, to UCC on 20 June 2022.

The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) Local Development Forum: Better Strategies for Stronger Communities took place from 15-17 June 2022 in Cork in the form of an in-person event with live streaming of plenary sessions.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin will deliver the opening address at The Irish Civil War National Conference at University College Cork on Wednesday, June 15.

President John O’Halloran recently visited the Alumni and Development offices in the Western Gateway Building, where a three-week Fónathon engagement campaign is currently taking place, and met with students who are working as Fundraising Ambassadors for the campaign.

University College Cork welcomed Professor Philip Nolan, Director General of Science Foundation Ireland, to campus on Wednesday 01 June 2022.

UCC welcomed Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O'Gorman, to campus on 23 May 2022.

President O’Halloran welcomed the Ambassador of Bulgaria H.E. Mrs. Gergana Karadjova to UCC this Wednesday morning 11 May.   

The Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, who graduated from UCC in 1981, officially opened the state-of-the-art building on UCC's main campus on Friday 6 May where he spoke to a crowd gathered to celebrate the Hub's potential impact on future generations of UCC students. 

UCC welcomed Minister of State Martin Heydon T.D. to campus on 08 March 2022. 

On 22 February, UCC announced that its Civil Engineering Building is to be named the Iris Ashley Cummins building, in honour of UCC's first female engineering graduate.

UCC welcomed the Indian Ambassador to Ireland to its historical campus on 08 February 2022.

President John O’Halloran recently welcomed Dr Eva Mc Mullan, Professor Yvonne Nolan and members of the Rhythm family to the President's Office to launch the new MINdDS UCC Research Project website.

UCC President, Professor John O’Halloran, was a recent guest on the popular RTÉ Radio 1 show Mooney Goes Wild, in which Derek Mooney and his panel of guests explore the natural world in all its forms. The episode featuring President O'Halloran was recorded in November at UCC98.3FM. This is a new studio space on campus where students can develop interdisciplinary media skills helping them to find their narrative voice within their own education.

This November, 196 countries of the world met in Glasgow at COP26 to negotiate the next stage of an agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. UCC is privileged to be the only university in Ireland to hold “observer status” to COP, as secured by its flagship Environmental Research Institute in 2015.  This has allowed UCC to send delegates to COP meetings over the past six years. 

University College Cork welcomed Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris to campus on Monday 08 November.

A new mural, Sustainable Communities, by Cork-based artist Kevin O’Brien, was unveiled on campus this week.  The mural represents a positive vision of a sustainable city and depicts Cork against an imagined future version of itself. 

University College Cork this morning welcomed the Government Cabinet for the second time. The cabinet met in UCC's historic Aula Maxima where they signed off details of the new National Development Plan.

The safety of our students, staff and wider community is a priority as we reopen. From September 27, the HSE will be providing a walk-in vaccination clinic on campus. No appointment is necessary and any student, member of staff, or member of the local community, not fully vaccinated against COVID-19, is invited to attend.

The Indian Ambassador to Ireland recently attended a small ceremony at UCC.

An Taoiseach Micheál Martin visited recently appointed Professor John O'Halloran at the President's Office on Monday, 6th September. 

UCC’s Governing Body has appointed Professor John O’Halloran as the 16th President of the University with effect from 30^th August 2021.

We are delighted to announce that the much cherished Old College Bar at UCC has been transformed into dedicated space of respite and calm for students, and in particular students on the autism spectrum.

This weekend University College Cork hosted a brief ceremony commemorating 13 Irish Republican Army Volunteers executed by the British government in 1921. The men were buried within the walls of Cork Men’s Gaol, which was later to become part of the UCC campus.

University College Cork (UCC) has today been ranked 8th out of 1,000 universities from 98 countries across the world in the Times Higher Education (THE) prestigious Impact Rankings, placing it as Ireland’s leading university for its impact in working towards creating a sustainable future.

AIB has announced a partnership with University College Cork (UCC) which will see the bank fund The AIB Chair of Sustainable Business, the first of its kind in Ireland.

University College Cork has been ranked as one of the most sustainable universities in the world. The UI GreenMetric World University Ranking, which examines sustainability practices in universities across the world and examines their work in reducing carbon footprint and helping combat climate change, has ranked UCC at ninth, the only Irish university to make the top 10 of the ‘greenest universities’ in the world. 

On 30 December 2020, UCC celebrates the 175th anniversary of its establishment. On that date in 1845, royal letters patent granted charters to Queen's College, Cork, and to its sister colleges at Belfast and Galway. Throughout the current academic year, in which we continue to respond to unprecedented challenges, we will also reflect on this significant milestone through the theme of 'Reconnection'. We wish to reconnect with our past and our staff, students and graduates as part of our evolving role as a dynamic and vibrant regionally-placed university with global impact.

The vellum manuscript known as The Book of Lismore (Leabhar Meic Carthaigh Riabhaigh) created at Kilbrittain, Co. Cork, for Finghin Mac Cartaigh, Lord of Carbery (1478 - 1505) is rightly regarded as one of the Great Books of Ireland.

Sunday, 25 October, marked the centenary of the death of former Cork Lord Mayor, Terence MacSwiney. MacSwiney died in Brixton Prison, where he had been on hunger strike for 74 days.

On 25th September, Taoiseach Micheal Martin visited Tyndall National Institute, one of Europe's leading ICT research centres.

Professor O'Halloran has served as Deputy President and Registrar since 2018 and assumes the role of Interim President immediately for a period of one year.

On 25 February, UCC's new Hub played host to the winners of the 56th BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition.

Cormac Harris and Alan O'Sullivan, both aged 16, fourth year students from Colaiste Choilm, Cork, accompanied by their teacher Karina Lyne, presented their project "A statistical investigation into the prevalence of gender stereotyping in 5-7 year olds and the development of an initiative to combat gender bias."

On February 10, in the Atrium of UCC's new Hub, Ryan Tubridy was interviewed by 2nd Year Arts student Matthew Moynihan before engaging in dialogue with the large crowd of students who gathered for the event.

The Scottish Saltire was flown over the UCC Quad on February 6 in honour of a visit from Mr John Webster of Scotland House, Dublin.

The 21st Annual Philip Monahan Memorial Lecture was delivered by Fr Peter McVerry on 29 January, 2020, in Boole 4.

UCC was delighted to welcome Colum McCann to read at the first event of the 2020 School of English's reading series in late January.

We were delighted to welcome Ireland's Ambassador to China, H.E. Mr Eoin O'Leary, back to his native Cork, and to UCC in particular, in early 2020.

Jessica Militante (Choctaw Ireland Scholar) and Minhal Ahmed (Mitchell Scholar) visited the President's Office on Wednesday 6 November.

The ISS21 (Institute for Social Science in the 21st Century) Strategic Plan 2019 - 2024 was officially launched in the Aula Maxima on Monday, November 4.

UCC celebrated the 150th year of the birth of Gandhi by planting a native oak tree in his memory.

On October 24, the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor John Finucane, gave a public lecture at University College Cork's Centre for Executive Education at Lapp's Quay. 

Wednesday, 25 September, saw the President being presented with a copy of the Air to St Finbarr framed sheet music.

UCC hosted the Chinese Ambassador to Ireland on 23 September.

President Patrick O'Shea and Research Support Services hosted a coffee morning in the North Wing Council Room on Tuesday, 3 September.

Summer 2019 sees UCC host its fortieth International Summer School in Irish Studies. 

MaREI hosted the French Ambassador HE Mr Sephane Creuzat on Friday, 5 July.

Richard Bruton TD visited UCC in relation to the Climate Action Plan on Friday, June 21.

June 7 saw UCC awarding honorary degrees to Rena Buckley, Siobhan Talbot, Professor Gerry Boyle, Daragh Hogan and Marty Meehan.

UCC hosted a delegation from the Irish Caucus in the California State Legislature on Friday, 26 July.

Vice Governor of Jiangsu and delegation were welcomed to UCC on Friday, 21 June. 

In line with our student-centred Academic Strategy, we continue to promote excellence in sport and its full integration into the academic life of the university. 

UCC's research centres APC Microbiome, MaREI and IPIC were announced as three of six SFI centres to receive funding from the Government. 

The first of an annual series of lectures in honour of Myrtle Allen took place, in line with the launch of UCC's Postgraduate Diploma in Irish Food Culture in Adult Continuing Education and the Department of Folklore and Ethnology

All over Cork on 5th May community events took place to encourage neighbours to engage with each other. I was delighted to be invited to by local residents to participate in Connaught Avenue's interaction.

The announcement of UCC President Emeritus Professer Michael B. Murphy as newly elected President of the EUA was a source of enormous pride for UCC, Cork and Ireland.

It has been a long-held ambition of South Wind Blows producer, Other Voices’ founder and UCC graduate Philip King to bring Other Voices back home to the beautiful environs of the UCC campus and to Cork City. Thursday September 29 saw that ambition become a reality when UCC’s iconic Aula Maxima, the much-loved Honan Chapel, and the award winning Glucksman Gallery were transformed into the stunning backdrops for Other Voices: Bringing It All Back Home, an unforgettable night of musical performance and song in Cork.

UCC President John O’Halloran welcomed Colombian Ambassador, H.E. Patricia Cortes Ortiz, Vice-President of the National University of Colombia /Universidad Nacional De Colombia (UNAL), Professor José Ismael Peña Reyes, and delegation to UCC on Tuesday 04 October.

UCC welcomed Sir Bob Geldof to campus on 12 October 2022.

University College Cork and the Richard Harris Estate recently announced that the personal archives of the late Richard Harris, one of Ireland’s greatest actors, have been donated to UCC. 

Cork County Council and MaREI, the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Research Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine at UCC, have agreed a pioneering partnership that will see the entire coast of Cork assessed and mapped for coastal erosion.

University College Cork welcomed Professor Jouku Niinimäki, Rector of Oulu University in Finland and Dr Johanna Bluemink, Director of Development at the University of Oulu, to campus on Thursday, 3 November.

President O’Halloran welcomed H.E. Mr Mohamed Belaoura, Ambassador of Algeria, to UCC on Friday, 4 November.

University College Cork has been recognised as the top university for sustainability at a prestigious awards ceremony celebrating sustainability in higher education.

On a recent visit to New York, UCC President Professor John O’Halloran visited the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations.

On Monday 7 November, as part of UCC Equality Week, Professor John O’Halloran, UCC President, was joined by members of UCC’s Equality Committee and the Students’ Union to launch the UCC Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual Report 2021-22, which was prepared by the Equality Committee and EDI Unit.