On 10th June, IReL celebrated 20 years of strengthening Irish research infrastructure at an event hosted at the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin by its chairperson, President of Maynooth University Professor Eeva Leinonen.
![From left to right: Dr Colm O’Reardon, DFHERIS Secretary General, Susan Reilly, Director of IReL, Prof Eeva Leinonen, Chairperson of IReL and MU President and Dr Orla Flynn, ATU President](https://irel.ie/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GQhvc0YXkAAt3Nvs-2-1024x683.png)
IReL brought together librarians, academics, and policymakers to reflect on IReL’s impact on the Irish research and education landscape and discuss its future role in enhancing Irish research and supporting educational excellence.
A significant accomplishment celebrated during the event was Ireland’s leadership in supporting open access to Irish research publications. Thanks to IReL’s negotiation of and support for transformative agreements, Ireland now ranks as a global leader in open access, placing sixth among benchmarked countries alongside renowned innovators like Finland, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, and the UK.
https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/news-events/mu-based-irish-research-e-library-celebrates-20-years