THE ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY IS IRELAND'S LEADING BODY OF EXPERTS IN THE SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

The Royal Irish Academy/Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann champions research. We identify and recognise Ireland’s world class researchers. We support scholarship and promote awareness of how science and the humanities enrich our lives and benefit society. We believe that good research needs to be promoted, sustained and communicated. The Academy is run by a Council of its members. Membership is by election and considered the highest academic honour in Ireland.

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RIA Publications at Research Open Day

20 September 2022

Join us on 4 October to learn more about our publishing house and the work we publish.

The Royal Irish Academy is running its first Research Open Day on 4 October. The aim is to showcase the work of our projects, library and publications through a rich programme of lectures and demonstrations. 

RIA authors Claire O'Connell and Mary Kelly-Quinn will present on their current research, while our Managing Editor, Ruth Hegarty, will demonstrate how to use our educational resources and how to pitch an idea for publication. Our bookshop will be open throughout the day and the Publication team will be available to answer any queries you may have. If you have an interest in our publishing house, you don't want to miss these talks:

11:20 Meeting room: Meet the authors; books. Claire O’Connell: ‘Distilling the wisdom of masters’
Dr Claire O’Connell will speak about moderating masterclasses with experts and distilling their wisdom into an upcoming book. 

12.00 Members' Room: Ruth Hegarty: ‘An invitation to write for the Academy: how to pitch an article or book for publication’

14.40 Members' Room: Ruth Hegarty: ‘Using our educational resources: curriculum-linked lesson plans available to secondary-school teachers’

16:20 Meeting room: Meet the authors; journals. Mary Kelly Quinn: ‘Biodiversity of Ireland’s rivers – time to take stock’
This lecture will  look at the tremendous freshwater resources we have in Ireland, their amazing biodiversity and our dependence on them. Importantly, it will highlight the growing and shocking threats to water quality and biodiversity, and the urgent need for greater action to address declines.

Our Research Open Day is free and all are welcome. You can find out more and book your ticket at www.ria.ie/research-open-day

About the speakers

Dr Claire O’Connell is a scientist-turned-writer. From Dublin, Ireland, she studied science at University College Dublin, graduating in 1998 with a PhD in cell biology. She also holds a Master’s in Science Communication from Dublin City University. Since 2005, she has written extensively for Silicon Republic and for The Irish Times. In 2016, she was named Irish Science Writer of the Year. Claire lives in Dublin with her husband, Fearghal, and their two children. 

Mary Kelly-Quinn is Associate Professor in the School of Biology and Environmental Science at University College Dublin. Her primary research activities focus on the assessment of land-use and other anthropogenic activities on the hydrochemical and ecological quality of surface waters. She has completed studies on the aquatic habitats of peatlands, agricultural, upland, urban and forested landscapes as well as canals and constructed wetlands. Her research group has also maintained a strength in fisheries studies, working in close collaboration with Inland Fisheries Ireland on a variety of species and systems. Further afield she has collaborated with Operation Wallacea to develop a water quality biotic index for the Merendon Mountains region of Honduras and with the University of Addis Ababa.

Ruth Hegarty is the Managing Editor of the Royal Irish Academy and a former President of Publishing Ireland, the trade association for publishers in Ireland.

About our publishing house

The publishing house of the Royal Irish Academy is one of the oldest in Ireland. We began publishing in 1787 and today we publish the work of hundreds of academics in six journals covering subjects such as earth sciences; biology and environmental studies; mathematics; international affairs; history, archaeology and literature; and Irish philology. Under the Prism imprint, we commission writers, artists and illustrators to make books that bring scholarly work to a broad audience. Many of these books lead to the creation of exhibitions, to features on radio programmes, or to events, talks and podcasts, and they open up opportunities for us to collaborate with, and showcase the work of, cultural institutions; other organisations; libraries; archives; festivals and the media. The Academy continues to publish landmark series, including the output of most of our research projects; series on Ireland’s cultural heritage, as well as scholarly books. Our books and journals are peer-reviewed, and are all produced to a high standard of editing and design. Our books have won several Irish Book Awards, and a printers' award for Best Irish-Printed book; Institute of Designers in Ireland awards; and Business-2-Arts awards.

 

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