The Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest (TUS) (, ''OTS'') is a public university in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It is a technological university, the third such one to be established in Ireland, and opened in October 2021. The university was the result of a merger between two institutes of technology: the Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT) and the

Limerick Institute of Technology The Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT; ) was an institute of technology, located in Limerick, Ireland. The institute had five campuses that were located in Limerick, Thurles, Clonmel, as well as a regional learning centre in Ennis Enn ...

(LIT). The AIT-LIT Consortium had been formed due to the passing of the Technological Universities Bill, which required at least two institutes to apply together for university status. The university officially opened on 1 October 2021 to serve both the

midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...

and the

mid-west The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

regions of the country. It currently has six campuses situated in four counties and three provinces within Ireland. They are located in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midland Region, Ir ...

Thurles Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles. The cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Arch ...

Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Dro ...

, and

Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...

History

Limerick Institute of Technology

The Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) can trace its roots back to the School of Ornamental Art on Leamy Street, Limerick, on 3 July 1852. This re-opened in 1855 on Cecil Street under the auspices of the Limerick Athenaeum, founded by William Lane Joynt. The Limerick Athenaeum was part of an international movement for the promotion of artistic and scientific learning, started by John Wilson Croker at the Athenaeum Club in London in 1823. This is now the Limerick School of Art & Design, a multi campus Faculty within TUS For much of the history of the school, it was constituted as the Municipal Technical Institute (known locally as ''The Red Tech'') which was opened in 1910. By the 1970s, it had grown to such a degree that a new campus had to be acquired in Moylish for technical education, with artistic education continuing in a number of locations in the city centre. The Limerick City Vocational Education Committee (VEC) founded the college in 1975 as the Limerick Technical College. The institute was constituted as the Limerick College of Art, Commerce and Technology (Limerick CoACT) in 1980, became a regional technical college in 1993, and finally an institute of technology in 1997. In 2012, LIT merged with the Tipperary Institute, which had been founded in 1998. This merger brought two new campus locations in Thurles and Clonmel, as well as increasing the institution's footprint across the region. This footprint was further extended in Clare when the institute introduced degree-level education at its Ennis Learning Centre in 2016. In 2017, the institute was granted planning permission for a new campus at Coonagh in Limerick, to be focused on teaching and research in engineering. Pat MacDonagh served as head of the college from 1978 through its evolution. He resigned as director in 2003. Dr. Maria Hinfelaar joined in 2004 as president, serving for 11 years. In 2016, Vincent Cunnane was appointed president of the institute.

Athlone Institute of Technology

The Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT) was established by the

Irish Government The Government of Ireland () is the executive authority of Ireland, headed by the , the head of government. The government – also known as the cabinet – is composed of ministers, each of whom must be a member of the , which consists of ...

in 1970 as the Athlone Regional Technical College, under control of the local Vocational Education Committee. The college gained more autonomy with the enactment of the ''Regional Technical Colleges Act 1992''. In late 1997, as with the other RTC's, it was renamed as the Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT). In 1999, AIT became a validation authority with the power to award HETAC degrees. In 2000, Ciarán Ó Catháin was appointed as the institute's president. Dr. David Fenton and James Coyle were previous holders of the post, having been called director and principal. The AIT had a campus size of 44 acres, and new, purpose-built facilities that included the Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure Studies building, built in 2003; the Nursing and Health Science building and the Midlands Innovation and Research Centre, built in 2005; as well as the Engineering and Informatics building and the Postgraduate Research Hub, built in 2010.

Formation of the AIT-LIT Consortium

In 2018, the Athlone IT investigated the possibility of becoming a university in its own right. However, the Technological Universities Bill passed by the

Oireachtas The Oireachtas ( ; ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of the president of Ireland and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...

earlier that year ruled out that possibility as it declared that two or more institutes must apply together for university status. A consortium between the Athlone IT and the Limerick IT (ALTU) was formed and announced in October 2019, with the intention of forming a technological university for the

and

regions, centred on the

River Shannon The River Shannon ( or archaic ') is the major river on the island of Ireland, and at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of I ...

, with Athlone and Limerick both sitting on it. The objective was to establish a new technical university for central and midwestern Ireland, with a targeted opening date of 1 September 2021.

Application and approval

On 23 November 2020, the AIT-LIT Consortium announced that the joint Limerick-Athlone IT application for technological university (TU) status had been submitted for approval. The government approval was officially announced by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science,

Simon Harris Simon Harris (born 17 October 1986) is an Irish Fine Gael politician serving as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Minister for Defence since January 2025, having previously served as Taoiseach from 2024 to 2025. He has ...

in May 2021, making it the third technological university to be established in Ireland. On 31 August 2021, it was announced that outgoing LIT president Vincent Cunnane would be appointed as the new technological university's first president.

Operations

The governing body of Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest was established to govern the university. The body is chaired by Josephine Feehily, while Vincent Cunnane serves as president. Currently, there is a population of 14,000 students and 1,200 staff members under the university. The governing body's inaugural meeting took place in April 2022 at the midlands campus in Athlone.

Research

Research activity is concentrated in a number of institutes and centres. The institutes include: * Irish Digital Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing Institute * Health and Biosciences Research Institute * LSAD (Limerick School of Art and Design) Research Institute * Polymer, Recycling, Industrial, Sustainability and Manufacturing Research Institute (PRISM) * Irish Digital Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing Institute (IDEAM) * Health and Life Sciences Research Institute * Social Science ConneXions * Software Research Institute The organisation of these and other centres of research are currently being reviewed.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Technological University of the Shannon Midlands Midwest Universities and colleges established in 2021 Education in Limerick (city) Education in Athlone Education in County Tipperary Education in Ennis Science and technology in the Republic of Ireland Buildings and structures in Athlone Buildings and structures in Clonmel Buildings and structures in Ennis Buildings and structures in Limerick (city) Universities and colleges formed by merger in the Republic of Ireland 2021 establishments in Ireland Shannon TU