🎅🎄 Enjoy the break, everyone. Wishing you a restful and happy Christmas. We'll see you in January 🙏

The story of Ireland’s peatlands are being told through a new series of illustrated beer mats celebrating the biodiversity and history preserved by Irish’s bogs.

💙💛 End-of-year message from the President As the year draws to a close, UCD President Professor Orla Feely reflects on some of the successes over the past year in University College Dublin, and thanks all those who helped to make them happen. 🔗 www.ucd.ie/newsandopini...

And that’s a wrap on 2025 for the UCD Staff Community Choir! Four Christmas performances done! 2026 will be an exciting year for us as we prepare to celebrate ten years of singing together! 🎉🍾 @ucddublin.bsky.social @caoimhe1.bsky.social

👨‍🌾💰 Many congratulations to Assistant Professor Dimitrios Argyropoulos, who has secured €6.5m in Horizon Europe-backed funding for the UCD-led AI project AGROBOOST.

Why does it seem like good government is so hard to deliver? A new module for our students tackled these questions by bringing policy makers and shapers into the classroom. More details about the guests and module: www.ucd.ie/spire/newsan... @ucddublin.bsky.social @ucdsocscilaw.bsky.social

🏛️🇮🇪 A dedicated women’s museum may be developed in Ireland as recommended by an advisory committee chaired by Dr Sandra Collins, UCD’s University Librarian. @ucdlibrary.bsky.social @drmarymcauliffe.bsky.social

What OpenAI’s Leadership Changes Reveal About Its Strategic Direction. Associate Professor Alessia Paccagnini speaks to @forbes.com Read the full article here: www.forbes.com/sites/sallyp... #AI #OpenAI #UCDBusinessFaculty @ucddublin.bsky.social

Bumblebees behave differently in areas with more honeybees. Does this represent competition and what can we do about it? Really, we need to learn more. Great to have funding from @researchireland.ie to continue this work, and hopefully provide better advice for beekeeping and conservation

⛵️🏆 She’s on fire! Congratulations to UCD Ad Astra Academy sailing ace Eve McMahon on being named “Rising Star” at the Team Ireland Olympic Sport Awards.

🐝🕵️‍♀️ Honeybee activity linked to smaller bumblebees in heather habitats A new study has revealed that bumblebee workers are getting smaller in areas with high honeybee activity. ✍️ @darastanley.bsky.social

💙💛 Many congratulations and a warm welcome to Oisín Fagan, who has been named by The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon as UCD’s Writer in Residence for 2026. @artscouncilireland.bsky.social www.ucd.ie/newsandopini...

I have a book being published shortly. It can be pre-ordered here www.brokensleepbooks.com/product-page...

👩‍🎓🏆 Warmest congratulations to UCD Professor Niamh Moore-Cherry, who has received a prestigious Fáilte Ireland prize for sustainable practices in conference planning. 👏 @niamhmcherry.bsky.social

🏥🤖 AINM, an AI healthcare project led by UCD, has been awarded €9.1 million under the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF).

💙💛 Many congratulations to Associate Professor Laura K. Taylor of the UCD School of Psychology on being awarded a prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant for her GENERATION EU project. 👏👏👏 @lauraktaylorphd.bsky.social

📰🏆 Eleven of Ireland’s leading business journalists have been recognised at the UCD Smurfit School Business Journalist Awards. For almost two decades, the Awards have celebrated exceptional work by print, broadcasting and digital journalists across a number of hard-fought categories.

🧑‍🎓🏆 Champions! Huge congratulations to UCD AFC, who have won the Colleges and Universities Football League (CUFL) Premier Division title for a tenth time. Following a decisive 4–0 victory over ATU Sligo at Athlone Town Stadium, the Students brought the CUFL Premier championship back to Belfield.

💙💛 The University has honoured Ireland’s Ombudsman for Children, Dr Niall Muldoon, alongside leading business executives Siobhán Talbot and Mark Dobbin, and economist Paul Sweeney, during the week of graduation ceremonies.

💙 💛 Paul Sweeney, one of Ireland’s most influential economists, was also awarded a UCD honorary doctorate for his unique contributions to the country’s economic development.

NUI was proud to confer three Higher Doctorates on Published Work on 4 December to Professors Orla Hardiman (DSc), Harry Kennedy (DMed) and Kevin D. Malone (DMed) at a ceremony in @ucddublin.bsky.social 🎓

🕯️🛖 “These were sizeable but dispersed communities, assembling at sites like Newgrange at specific times of the year, including the winter solstice." - Associate Professor Jessica Smyth, UCD School of Archaeology @ucdarchaeology.bsky.social www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/artic...

🎓✨ Huge congratulations to the 812 SNAs who last weekend graduated with an accredited Level 6 Diploma in Inclusive School Support, the fourth cohort to do so 👏

We are really proud of the Ombudsman for Children, Dr Niall Muldoon who yesterday was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Literature (D.Litt) by @ucddublin.bsky.social. A wonderful achievement for Niall and his family.

Many congratulations to my @ucddublin.bsky.social @ucdsocscilaw.bsky.social colleague, @niamhmcherry.bsky.social who won the 'Sustainability Spotlight Award' from @failte-ireland.bsky.social for organising the 35th International Geographical Congress in 2024 www.failteireland.ie/Utility/News...

December sunshine at @ucddublin.bsky.social

💙💛 Ireland’s Ombudsman for Children (OCO) Dr Niall Muldoon was awarded a UCD honorary doctorate in recognition of a lengthy career spent championing children’s rights.

Is it better to have children early or later in life, and does parenthood speed up ageing? A new study from University College Dublin offers has tackled these questions with some help from Greater horseshoe bats. 🦇

💙💛 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has presented representatives of UCD’s Ukraine Trauma Project with the Golden Heart Award, in recognition of the life saving medical training it has provided to first responders in Ukraine.

💙💛 Business executive Siobhán Talbot is awarded a UCD honorary doctorate for her significant contributions to the Irish and global business landscapes.

A lack of sufficient staff is the biggest barrier for Irish organisations when it comes to implementing environmental policies, a new UCD study has shown.

💙💛 Business leader and philanthropist Mark Dobbin has been awarded an honorary doctorate from the University, recognising his significant contribution to strengthening academic and cultural ties between Canada and Ireland. 👏 Congratulations @markdobbin.bsky.social

🧑‍🎓🏆 UCD’s Dr Andrew Hines has won a prestigious tech prize for the development of audio quality testing technology used by Google. Based in The Insight Centre for Data Analytics at UCD, Dr Hines picked up the Technology Ireland Industry Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement of the Year.

👩‍⚕️👁️ Many congratulations to eye therapeutics start-up OcuHealth on winning the NovaUCD 2025 VentureLaunch Accelerator Programme. www.ucd.ie/newsandopini... 👏 @novaucd.bsky.social @ucdvetmed.bsky.social

🎓 Congratulations to all MSc graduates in International Business, Management Consultancy, Project Management, Strategic Management, and Sustainable Supply Chain Management! 💙💛 Today we celebrated your achievements, the result of dedication, collaboration, and countless hours of hard work. 👏

💙💛 Congratulations to the all at @ucdsmurfitschool.bsky.social, who have been once again recognised by the Financial Times as Ireland’s leading business education and research school, marking an outstanding tenth consecutive year in the prestigious global top 30. www.ucd.ie/newsandopini...

👩‍🎓✨ Warmest congratulations to UCD alumna Professor Karina Doorley, who has been appointed to the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council by An Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Simon Harris TD. 👏 @karinadoorley.bsky.social @esri.ie

We are ready

🧑‍🎓✨ Huge congratulations to UCD Athletics Club runner Cian McPhillips, who was crowned Track Athlete of the Year at the National Athletics Awards. www.ucd.ie/newsandopini...

💙💛 He smashed it! 60.09 km 🔹 5h 36m 🔹 €6,194 raised (and counting). Yesterday, Tommy O’Brien, a fourth-year UCD Veterinary Medicine student, completed an astonishing 120 laps of the UCD lake, running a 60 km ultramarathon for Movember in support of men’s mental health.

💙💛 The Government of Ireland has launched a €750m investment package for research infrastructure across Ireland's higher education sector.

🧑‍🎓🖼️ Congrats to UCD graduate Daniel Nelis on winning the AIB Portrait Prize 2025 at the @nationalgalleryirl.bsky.social. A Donegal native, Nelis studied Fine Art Painting at Ulster University before completing his MA in Art History, Collections and Curating at UCD College of Arts and Humanities.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "You don’t so much attend The Dead as slip, almost conspiratorially, into James Joyce’s Dublin." The acclaimed immersive staging of The Dead returns to MoLI this winter, inviting audiences back inside the historic rooms of UCD Newman House, where our most celebrated graduate studied (1902).

💙💛 120 Laps of the Lake: Sending massive good luck to Tommy O’Brien, 4th year Veterinary Medicine student member, who is taking on an incredible 60km run, or 120 laps of the main lake, for Movember.

🧑‍🎓👩‍🎓 Our warmest congratulations to UCD Professors Emeriti Sheila O’Donnell and John Tuomey, who have received the RIAI Gandon Medal, Irish architecture’s highest personal honour, for their outstanding contribution to architecture in Ireland, the UK and Europe.

🧑‍⚕️🫁 Poor air quality in major cities, driven by microscopic particles from traffic and environmental pollution, is a major reason our lungs can age faster than they should. @ucdmedicine.bsky.social Prof Adam Byrne says staying active is key to protecting them. www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/he...

#UCD rises to 47th in the world & 27th in Europe for sustainability in the 2026 QS rankings! ✅ 👏 Highlighting progress across Environmental, Social & Governance impact. Governance alone now ranks 29th globally. bit.ly/4pmIXYb Our commitment to a #SustainableFuture @ucddublin.bsky.social

Festive lights are glowing once again at the heart of University College Dublin ✨ A time to gather with friends and colleagues, give thanks, and look ahead to the festive season.

💙💛 University College Dublin is ranked 47th in the world and 27th in Europe in the 2026 QS World University Rankings for Sustainability. www.ucd.ie/newsandopini...

This book is dedicated to University College Dublin, a place of dreams and futures which saved me three times.” @ucddublin.bsky.social @ucdlibrary.bsky.social