Royal Irish Academy elects 29 new members

Posted on: 23 May 2022

(L to R) Orla Sheils, Vice-Provost, Trinity College, Mary Doyle, Patrick Wyse Jackson and Mary Cosgrove

Newly elected members from Trinity College Dublin include Provost Linda Doyle,  Professor Mary Cosgrove, Mary Doyle, and Dr Patrick Wyse Jackson.

Linda Doyle was appointed as the 45th provost of Trinity College Dublin in 2021, the first woman in the College’s history to hold that position. She is a fellow of the College and holds a personal chair of Engineering and The Arts. Her expertise is in the fields of wireless communications, cognitive radio, reconfigurable networks, spectrum management and creative arts practices.

Mary Doyle is currently a visiting fellow in public policy at the Trinity Long Room Hub Research Institute in the Arts and Humanities. Mary has had a distinguished career in the Irish public service over a lengthy period, where she served in three departments—the Department of the Taoiseach, the Department of Health and Children and the Department of Education and Skills

Patrick Wyse Jackson is associate professor of Geology, curator of the Geological Museum, and head of the School of Natural Sciences at Trinity College. He is an international authority on fossil bryozoans—a large phylum of invertebrate animals—and the foremost expert on the history of
Irish geology.

Mary Cosgrove has been professor in German at Trinity College since 2016 having previously held senior academic posts at Edinburgh and Warwick universities. She has published ground-breaking work on modern and contemporary German literature.

Dr Mary Canning, President of the Royal Irish Academy, said:

‘We are immensely proud of these 29 new Members who we are recognising today for their scholarly achievements, their research and international distinction or for significant contributions to Irish society. As new Members of the Academy, they will contribute to and strengthen our capacity to provide expert advice on Higher Education and Research policy.’

The Academy has been honouring Ireland’s leading contributors to the world of learning since its establishment in 1785 and those elected by their peers are entitled to use the designation ‘MRIA’ after their name. Full citations are available in the Admittance Day booklet (external link)

The 29 new Members of the Royal Irish Academy are:

Geraldine Boylan (University College Cork); Katherine Browne (University College Dublin); Mary Cannon (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, University of Medicine and Health Sciences); Karen Corrigan (Newcastle University); Mary Cosgrove (Trinity College Dublin); Rónadh Cox* (Williams College); Marie Donnelly* (Climate Change Advisory Council); Gary Donohoe (NUI Galway); Fiona Doohan (University College Dublin); Linda Doyle* (Trinity College Dublin); Mary Doyle (Trinity Long Room Hub); Gladys Ganiel (Queen’s University Belfast); Andreas Hess (University College Dublin); David Jones (Queen’s University Belfast); Patricia Kearney (University College Cork); Mairead Kiely (University College Cork); JoAnne Mancini (Maynooth University); Hannah McGee (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, University of Medicine and Health Sciences); Niamh Moloney* (London School of Economics); Orla Muldoon (University of Limerick); Siobhán Mullally (NUI Galway); Tadhg Ó hAnnracháin (University College Dublin); James P O’Gara* (NUI Galway); Stefan Oscarson (University College Dublin); Ann Rigney (Utrecht University); Jane Roberts (University of London); David Stifter (Maynooth University); Virginia Teehan (Heritage Council of Ireland); Patrick Wyse Jackson (Trinity College Dublin) * Cannot attend today’s ceremony

There are 656 Members of the Royal Irish Academy including: Nobel Laureates William C. Campbell and John O’Keefe; Louise Richardson, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford; Frances Ruane, economist; Philip Lane, European Central Bank; Fabiola Gianotti, Director General CERN; Brigid Laffan, Irish political scientist and Director of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies; and Geraldine Byrne-Nason, Irelands Permanent Representative to the UN.