The Gold Medals from the Royal Irish Academy are sponsored by the Higher Education Authority and awarded to individuals who have made a demonstrable and internationally recognised, outstanding scholarly contribution in their fields. The medals were presented by Robert-Jan Smits, Director-General of Research and Innovation with the European Commission who said that ‘each of these awardees have demonstrated through their outstanding contributions to academia and the impact of their research the intersection of research, scholarship and ‘real world’ application. Ireland, and Europe as a whole, can be proud of such achievements’.
Image: R-L: Robert-Jan Smits, Alan Smeaton, Mary Daly, Tom Boland, Philip Lane
