Advancing Humanities and Social Sciences Research in Ireland

Foreword
The Royal Irish Academy (RIA) has long recognised the fundamental importance and
central contribution of the humanities and social sciences to the advancement of the
cultural, social, political, economic and scientific well-being of Ireland. Historically,
the Academy has played a significant role in the development of higher-education
research in these disciplines and today their continued importance is reflected in
the Academy’s research activities.
Ten of the RIA’s twenty-one committees are concerned with the humanities and social
sciences ranging from archaeology to biblical and Near Eastern studies, and from
philosophy to the social sciences. The majority of its research projects lie within the
domain of the humanities and social sciences and include: the Dictionary of Irish
Biography; the Foclóir Stairiúil na Nua-Ghaeilge; the Irish Historic Towns Atlas; the
Dictionary of Medieval Latin from Celtic Sources; Documents on Irish Foreign Policy
(in association with the Department of Foreign Affairs); and the Dublin Excavations
Publications Project. The Academy’s library contains important collections of manuscripts
and other material of national as well as international interest, and welcomes
hundreds of researchers every year. Our occasional symposia, monographs, journals
and other publications underline our commitment to the promotion of excellence in
the humanities and social sciences.
In recent years the Academy has drawn on its expertise to analyse higher-education
research needs and to inform and advise on public policy in matters of national
research strategy. Its analysis of, and response to, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD) recommendations on higher education in
Ireland, Cumhacht Feasa: Report on the Working Group on Higher Education, was
published in 2005. It has also published reports on higher-education infrastructure
needs and research investment, and facilitated government departments and other
bodies seeking independent expertise.
At a time when higher-education institutions and the broad humanities and social
sciences research community are under pressure to become more utilitarian and
‘vocationally relevant’, and when the relevance of the humanities may be becoming
less obvious in the eyes of the public, there is a perception that higher-education
institutions may be turning away from their historical commitment to these core
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