Maynooth University (MU; ) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. Maynooth University was formerly known as National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ). It was Ireland's youngest university until Technological University Dublin was established in 2019, having been founded by the Universities Act, 1997, from the secular faculties of the now separate St Patrick's College, Maynooth, which was founded in 1795. Maynooth is one of two university towns in Ireland, the other being Tralee, Co. Kerry.
The university consists of two connected campuses: an older southern campus, with 19th-century buildings, shared with St Patrick's College, and a modern northern campus, occupying .
Over 16,000 students are enrolled in the university, employing over 1,000 staff from over 20 different countries. In 2009, Maynooth University was listed as a Top500 university in the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings. In 2008, it was named The Sunday Times 'University of the Year'.
In the Times Higher Education Young University Rankings 2023, Maynooth University was ranked as the highest placed of Ireland's four universities under 50 years old.
History
18th and 19th centuries
The university and St Patrick's College, Maynooth have a common history from 1795 to 1997. The college in Maynooth was established by the government as a college for Catholic lay and ecclesiastical students in 1795.Maynooth College History www.maynoothcollege.ie Official St Patrick's College website The lay college was based from 1802 in Riverstown House on the south campus. With the opening of Clongowes Wood College, the lay college which had lay trustees was closed in 1817Lay Catholics Educated at Maynooth College. (Hansard, 27 March 1908) Lay Catholics Educated at Maynooth College (Hansard, 1908) and it functioned solely as a Catholic seminary for almost 150 years. In 1876 the college became a constituent college of the Catholic University of Ireland, and later offered Royal University of Ireland degrees in arts and science. The Pontifical Charter was granted to the college in 1896.
20th and 21st centuries The college became a recognised constituent college of the National University of Ireland in 1910. From this time, arts and science degrees were awarded by the National University of Ireland, while the Pontifical University of Maynooth continued to confer its own theology degrees, as these had been prohibited in the Royal University of Ireland, and continued to the National University of Ireland (its successor) until 1997.
In 1966 the college again allowed the entry of lay students; this greatly expanded the college and essentially set the foundation stone for Maynooth University. In 1997 the Universities Act resulted in the transfer of the faculties of arts, Celtic studies, philosophy and science of the recognised college of St Patrick's College to the new university. The university has also expanded into finance and engineering since its creation in 1997. In 2007 the university added business studies, followed by law in 2008.
Any person who was a student at St Patrick's College, Maynooth, and was conferred with a National University of Ireland degree prior to the creation of the university, is legally considered a graduate of Maynooth University.
In 1994, W. J. Smyth was appointed to the position of Master of St. Patrick's College Maynooth (NUI) and in 1997 he became president of MU. In 2004 W. J. Smyth was succeeded by John G. Hughes as president of Maynooth University. Thomas Collins was appointed interim president for 2010–2011, and Philip Nolan served in the role 2011–2021.President's Greeting on NUI Maynooth site On 1 October 2021, Finnish academic Eeva Leinonen became the first woman president of the institution."University welcomes first female president", Kildare News, October 01, 2021
Timeline 1518 – Garret Óg Fitzgerald, Earl of Kildare, founded the College of St Mary in Maynooth 1535 – College of St Mary confiscated as part of Henry VIII's religious reforms 1795 – The Royal College of St Patrick established on 5 June 1795 (35 Geo III, cap. 21) 1798 – United Irishmen Rebellion; out of 69 students, 18 were expelled for taking the Oath of the United Irishmen 1800 – Act of Union 1800; transfer of Maynooth grant from Dublin to London; John Butler, 12th Baron Dunboyne died 1800 – First ordinations from Maynooth 1801 – First lay college suppressed 1802 – A lay college opens in Riverstown Lodge 1808 – Dunboyne Establishment case settled between Maynooth Trustees and Butler family 1817 – Lay college closed 1845 – Maynooth grant increased 1871 – Irish Church Act 1869 disestablishes the Church of Ireland, ancillary to which, Maynooth was disendowed and lay trustees left the board 1876 – Maynooth becomes a constituent college of the Catholic University of Ireland 1880 – Royal University of Ireland founded 1895 – Centennial celebrations 1896 – Maynooth granted Pontifical University status by Papal Charter 1903 – King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra visited it on 24 July 1903 1908 – National University of Ireland founded 1909 – Royal University of Ireland dissolved 1910 – St. Patricks College, Maynooth officially becomes a recognised college of the National University of Ireland 1937 – Department of Sociology foundedPresident Michael D. Higgins Celebrates 75th Anniversary of NUI Maynooth Department of Sociology Press Release, NUIM website. 1966 – Lay students admitted 1970 – Dept. of Biology founded as part of the Faculty of Science 1979 – Pope John Paul II visits Maynooth 1984 – The John Paul II Library is built 1987 – Dept. of Computer Science founded as part of the Faculty of Science 1995 – Bi-centennial celebrations 1996 – Third level fees abolished by the Irish Government 1997 – National University of Ireland, Maynooth founded from the faculties of Science, Arts and Celtic studies of Maynooth College of the NUI; Outreach Campus at St. Kieran's College in Kilkenny founded 1999 – Foundation of Dept. of Psychology 2001 – Foundation of Dept. of Engineering. MA in Leadership course commences for officers in the Irish Defence Forces; joint delivery of programmes with the Defence Forces, in Leadership, Management, Engineering and Computing, up to and including Masters levelAwards conferred by NUI Maynooth Defence Studies, The Military College, Óglaigh na hÉireann (Irish Defence Forces), www.military.ie. 2004 – Foundation of the Dept. of Media Studies by Professor Christopher Morash, as part of the School of English, Media and Theatre Studies 2007 – Marie Curie Laboratory for Membrane Proteins opens, as NUIM wins European Union Marie Curie "Transfer of Knowledge" funding 2008 – Named Sunday Times University of the Year; university canteen burns down during open day. 2009 – Foundation of Department of Law with Professor Sandeep Gopalan as the first head of department. 2010 – Announced that Froebel College of Education will move to the university by 2013; formation of the School of Business; Professor John Hughes resigns presidency to take post at Bangor University. 2012 – Extension to The John Paul II Library is completed 2014 – Rebranded as Maynooth University 2018 – Kilkenny campus closed
Campus
The university's main campus straddles the main road from Maynooth to Kilcock. It is divided into the North Campus and the South Campus (also referred to by staff and students as the "new" and "old" campuses respectively). The campuses were connected by means of a footbridge that crossed over the road until mid-2011. The footbridge was then decommissioned due to the construction of a library extension on the South Campus. The campuses are now connected by means of a pedestrian crossing on the Kilcock Road. The campus has four buildings for on-campus accommodation, namely Rye, Village, River, and Courtyard.
South Campus
The South Campus houses the facilities of St. Patrick's College, as well as most of the administrative offices shared between college and university. A number of MU academic departments also have their offices on the South Campus including Law, Mathematics, Music, Geography, Economics and History. The main buildings, most of which were built in the 19th century, are the Aula Maxima; St. Patrick's House (including the college chapel); the John Paul II Library (built in 1984). In December 2012 an extension to the John Paul II library was completed. The extension is 6,000 m2 and accommodates 1,700 students. New, Dunboyne, Humanity and Stoyte Houses which collectively form St. Joseph's Square; Logic House and Rhetoric House. The first building to be completed on the South Campus was named after its designer, John Stoyte. Stoyte House, still a prominent presence on campus, stands in proximity to Maynooth Castle.
Over a period of 15 years, the site at Maynooth underwent rapid construction so as to cater for the influx of new students, and the buildings which now border St. Joseph's Square (to the rear of Stoyte House) were completed by 1824. The university chapel is located on the South Campus, just off St. Joseph's Square; masses and choir services are frequently held in the chapel, as is the traditional Christmas carol service. The South Campus also houses the National Science Museum and the Russell Library.
Maynooth University acquired most of south campus from St. Patrick's College in June, 2026. Prior to this acquisition Maynooth University rented facilities on South Campus from St. Patrick's College. The purchase adds twenty eight acres and twenty-four thousand square meters of buildings to Maynooth University.
North Campus The North Campus was developed far more recently than the South Campus, in the latter half of the 20th century. Here, the main buildings are the Students' Union building, Sports Complex, Biosciences, and Engineering Building, Callan Science Building (named after the inventor of the induction coil, Nicholas Callan), the Iontas Building, the Arts Building, the Science Building and the John Hume Building. The Eolas Building houses the department of Computer Science, the Business Incubation Centre, the Innovation Value Institute, as well as the Hamilton and Callan Institutes, along with several teaching spaces, while the Technology, Society and Innovation (TSI) Building houses living labs and break out rooms for interactive research; three large theatres of 500, 300 and 250-seat capacity, and research spaces for students, academics and collaboration with industry partners.
The student services function is also based on North Campus, and there are a number of playing fields and a sports complex, which includes a fully equipped gym and an astroturf field. The remainder of MU's academic departments, as well as many research institutes such as the Institute of Microelectronics and Wireless Systems, the Hamilton Institute and the Institute of Immunology, are also located on the North Campus.
Kilkenny Campus The university also maintained a campus in Kilkenny from September 1997 until June 2018, based at St Kieran's College, with students enrolled in certificate, diploma and degree programmes.
Administration and organisation
The university is divided into three faculties: Arts, Celtic Studies and Philosophy; Science and Engineering; Social Sciences, with most students studying within one of these streams (although some cross-discipline courses are available). The faculties are further divided into various schools and departments.
As of 2016, there were 1,800 students at post graduate level.
Froebel College of Education