Atlantic Technological University (also known as Atlantic TU or ATU; ) is a

technological university An institute of technology (also referred to as technological university, technical university, university of technology, polytechnic university) is an institution of tertiary education that specializes in engineering, technology, applied science ...

in the west and north-west of

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 was formally established on 1 April 2022 as a merger of three existing

institutes of technology An institute of technology (also referred to as technological university, technical university, university of technology, polytechnic university) is an institution of tertiary education that specializes in engineering, technology, applied science ...

(ITs) –

Galway-Mayo IT The Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT; ) was an institute of technology, located in Galway, Ireland. In April 2022, it was formally dissolved, and its functions were transferred to Atlantic Technological University (ATU). Now a con ...

IT Sligo The Institute of Technology, Sligo (ITS; ) was an institute of technology, located in Sligo, Ireland. In April 2022, it was formally dissolved, and its functions became part of Atlantic Technological University (ATU). the institute had three f ...

, and

Letterkenny IT The Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT; ) was an institute of technology, located in Letterkenny, Ireland. Based at Letterkenny in County Donegal, it was one of the smaller places of third level education in the historic province of Ul ...

– into a single university, the fourth such TU in Ireland.

History

With alliances made in 2012, by 2015,

(GMIT), along with

and

(LYIT), submitted a formal

Expression of Interest An invitation to tender (ITT, also known as a call for bids or a request for tenders) is a formal, structured procedure for generating competing offers from different potential suppliers or contractors looking to obtain an award of business activ ...

to the

Higher Education Authority __NOTOC__ The Higher Education Authority (HEA), officially An tÚdarás um Ard-Oideachas, is the statutory body providing policy advice for higher education in Ireland. Description and functions The HEA was established under the Higher Educati ...

(HEA) in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

for re-designation as a

Technological University An institute of technology (also referred to as technological university, technical university, university of technology, polytechnic university) is an institution of tertiary education that specializes in engineering, technology, applied science ...

. This partnership, known as the

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

Alliance (CUA), aimed to establish a 'Technological University' in the West of Ireland and

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

, a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the north of Ireland, and was in the planning stage in October 2018. The plan was a tenet of the GMIT strategic plan 2019 – 2023. The CUA planned to make a formal application in 2021, with a TU beginning operations in 2022. In October 2020, the constituent IT's were allocated over €5.5 million towards transformation. Formal approval was granted in October 2021 by

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 ...

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science ( Irish: ''An tAire Breisoideachais agus Ardoideachais, Taighde, Nuálaíochta agus Eolaíochta'') is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the ...

, with a launch date in April 2022. In November 2023,

St. Angela's College, Sligo St. Angela's College, Sligo () is a college of the Atlantic Technological University located beside Lough Gill, County Sligo. History St. Angela’s College was founded by the Ursulines, Ursuline Order in 1952 and was a recognised college o ...

became part of ATU.

Campuses

Galway Campus

Atlantic TU Galway campus is based on the Dublin Road in the Ballybane suburb of Galway city, overlooking

Galway Bay Galway Bay ( Irish: ''Loch Lurgain'' or ''Cuan na Gaillimhe'') is a bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south; Galway ...

. It is the administrative headquarters for the Institute and has four schools of study; the school of business, the school of engineering, the school of science & computing, and Galway International Hotel School. Also located at this campus are the Innovation Hub, the Lifelong Learning Centre and the Research, Development & Innovation Centre. File:ATU, Galway Campus, 2022-05-15 04.jpg, Main entrance to ATU Galway campus File:ATU, Galway Campus, 2022-05-15 02.jpg, Library of ATU Galway campus GMIT CCAM

Wellpark Road campus

Atlantic TU's ''Centre for Creative Arts and Media'' (CCAM) is located at the satellite Wellpark Road campus situated on the Wellpark Road / Monivea Road, in Galway city, approximately 1.2km west of the main campus. It is based in an old

Redemptorist The Redemptorists, officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (), abbreviated CSsR, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brothers). It was founded by Alphonsus Liguori at Scal ...

monastery named Cluain Mhuire, which is a protected structure dating from the 1940s. The campus is still sometimes referred to as the Cluain Mhuire campus. The monastery was home to GMIT's School of Design and Creative Arts from 1998 until its rebranding in 2022 as Atlantic Technological University, and offers undergraduate courses in design, contemporary arts, film & documentary, textiles and fine art. In 2016, it introduced post-graduate courses in Creative Practice to support artists, designers and filmmakers. The annual graduate exhibitions and screenings showcase the work being produced throughout the academic year. In January 2020, GMIT announced that over €6 million was being invested into the Centre for Creative Arts and Media on the campus to accommodate growing student numbers.

Sligo Campus

The Sligo campus of the university is located in Ash Lane,

Sligo town Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...

. In addition,

, which is located a few miles outside the town, became part of the university in 2023. It was formally gifted to the university by the Ursuline Order of Nuns, which had established the college in 1952. File:Itsligo-entrance.jpg, Main entrance to ATU Sligo campus File:Itsligo-bic.jpg, Business Innovation Centre (BIC) at ATU Sligo campus File:Itsligo-sports-centre.jpg, Sports centre at ATU Sligo campus File:Sligo IT library 2014.jpg, Section of library LYIT

Letterkenny Campus

ATU Letterkenny Campus lies on the Lower Port Road (part of the N14) in

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( , meaning "hillside of the O'Cannons"), nicknamed the Cathedral Town, is a large town in County Donegal, Ireland, on the River Swilly in the north-west of Ulster. Along with the nearby city of Derry, Letterkenny is a regional eco ...

, in

, the northern

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

in Ireland. It offers a large range of programmes, including undergraduate and postgraduate courses in computing, engineering, design, science, business, veterinary practice, nursing and law. Killybegs_Harbour_2007_08_21

Killybegs Campus

The ATU Killybegs Campus, located in the southwest of County Donegal in the west of

, houses the School of Tourism. It is located by the harbour. It is home to the ATU Department of Tourism and Sport and offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in culinary arts, hospitality and tourism disciplines.

Mayo Campus

Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology at Castlebar

Atlantic TU Mayo campus is located at Castlebar on approximately 20 hectares of land. Degree courses on offer include business, engineering, humanities, nursing and social care, and technology. Atlantic TU Mayo campus also offers a wide range of Lifelong Learning courses, and has an Innovation Hub to support entrepreneurs and start-up businesses.

Letterfrack Campus

$Letterfrack Former Industrial School 2018 09 04$ Atlantic TU

Letterfrack Letterfrack or Letterfrac () is a small village in the Connemara area of County Galway, Ireland. It was founded by Quakers in the mid-19th century. The village is south-east of Renvyle peninsula and north-east of Clifden on Barnaderg Bay and li ...

campus is the National Centre of Excellence for Furniture Design and Wood Technology, and has been involved with the study of furniture design since 1987. It offers degree courses in furniture design and manufacture, furniture and wood technology, and teacher education (construction studies and DCG). The campus is located in

Connemara Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

in County Galway.

Mountbellew Campus

Mountbellew was the first agricultural college in Ireland, set up by the Franciscan Brothers in 1904. The original college was demolished in 1971 and replaced with the new building in 1975. In 1986, the Franciscan Brothers Agricultural College established a link with (the then) Regional Technical College, Galway to deliver a Higher Certificate in Business Studies (

Agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...

). In 2023, ATU students in Mountbellew can choose between three types of degree (Agri-Business, Agri-Science or Agri-Engineering) and spend time between the Mountbellew and Galway Campuses.

References

External links

* {{authority control 2022 establishments in Ireland Art schools in Ireland Buildings and structures in Castlebar Buildings and structures in Galway (city) Buildings and structures in Letterkenny Buildings and structures in Sligo (town) Education in Castlebar Education in Galway (city) Education in Letterkenny Education in Sligo (town) Institutes of technology in the Republic of Ireland Universities and colleges established in 1970 Technological universities in the Republic of Ireland Universities and colleges established in 2022