The HardiBlog

Introduction In recent years, Ireland has emerged as a highly active research ecosystem in the global drive towards full open access infrastructure and transparent research practices. The National Open Access Repository Project is one of the six pilot projects funded by the National Open Research Forum (NORF) to transition Ireland to 100% open access by 2030, now complemented by a further thirteen projects .  As an important output of this project’s data gathering and analysis phase, in March 2024 the project team published Advancing Ireland’s Open Repository Landscape: A Strategic Roadmap . Building on a 2023 project report, Advancing Open Repositories in Ireland: A Survey and Strategic Recommendations for National Progress . This roadmap is a detailed examination of the current state of open repositories within Ireland and provides valuable insights into the hurdles the repository community faces, the potential opportunities for alignment and advancement, and the roadmap for f...

The historic Dominican Convent Library at the University of Galway This month of April, the Dominicans in Galway are celebrating the 800th anniversary of the arrival of the Dominican Order in Ireland. In 1224, Dominican friars from Oxford and London established communities in Dublin and Drogheda, having sailed up the Liffey and the Boyne rivers. In 1241, they set up house in Athenry and in 1488 they took over a ruined abbey on the banks of the Corrib. The Dominican Sisters established a convent in Galway city in 1644 in New Tower Street, now known as St Augustine Street. In 2018, the Dominican Convent in Taylor’s Hill, Galway donated its library of more than 2,000 volumes, built up over five centuries, to University of Galway. Spanning almost five centuries, the library contains a selection of significant religious publications from the 17th Century onwards and was almost lost due to a convent building demolition. The University worked closely with the Domin...