Gold Medals for top Irish researchers shaping their fields

The Royal Irish Academy Gold Medals recognise and celebrate researchers in Ireland making an international impact and shaping their field. The medals aim to identify and recognise inspirational figures in order to celebrate the achievements of higher education in Ireland and to inspire future generations. Since 2005, a total of 32 Gold Medals have been awarded; notable recipients have included Immunologist, Luke O’Neill MRIA, European Central Bank Chief Economist, Philip Lane MRIA and Cognitive Scientist, Ruth Byrne MRIA. The 2023 Royal Irish Academy Gold Medals are sponsored by AIB.

Hosted by the President of the Royal Irish Academy, Mary Canning, last night's ceremony took place in the Royal Irish Academy before an invited audience of members of the Irish higher education system, funding agencies, colleagues, friends and family members of the medallists.

Senator Malcolm Byrne, Fianna Fáil's Spokesperson on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science said

‘In a rapidly changing world, it is vital that universities and higher education institutions promote academic excellence but they also have a responsibility to ensure the value of evidence based debate is recognised in the development of public policy.’

President of the Royal Irish Academy, Mary Canning said

“The Royal Irish Academy Gold Medals recognise world leaders in their research fields in Higher Education Institutes on this island. We need trailblazers in research to explore, to challenge and to explain – these gold medal winners are proven experts in achieving these aims.”

Jonathan Coleman MRIA took the opportunity to acknowledge the contributions of his students and colleagues to his work saying,

“I am absolutely delighted to receive the Royal Irish Academy Gold Medal in the Physical and Mathematical Sciences. It’s always nice to have your work recognised and this is recognition for the hard work put in my many research students and postdocs over the last fifteen years. Without them, it would be impossible to do research at all.”

Jane Ohlmeyer MRIA said

"It is a great honour to receive this medal from the Academy, awarded by my fellow scholars, in recognition of a career devoted to developing new frontiers of scholarship and presenting fresh ways of understanding Ireland, our history and culture, and our relationship with the rest of the world. This award also recognises the vital importance of basic frontier research and the critical role that the humanities play in the world today."

Watch the full presentation ceremony below: