University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (often called UCC) is a famous university located in Cork, Ireland. It is part of the National University of Ireland system.

UCC was started in 1845 as one of three "Queen's Colleges." These colleges were set up in Belfast, Cork, and Galway. Over time, it changed its name to University College, Cork, and then to its current name. Even with the longer official name, most people still know it as University College Cork.

UCC has won many awards. The Sunday Times named it the "Irish University of the Year" five times. Most recently, it won this award in 2017. In 2015, UCC was also recognized as a top-performing university by the U-Multirank system. It got the highest number of "A" scores among 1200 universities. UCC was also the first university to get the ISO 50001 standard for managing energy in 2011.

Discovering UCC's Past

The "Long Hall" and the clock tower of the UCC quadrangle

Queen's College, Cork, was founded by Queen Victoria. She wanted to create new colleges to help learning in Ireland. On December 30, 1845, the colleges in Belfast, Cork, and Galway were officially started. The Cork college opened its doors in 1849. It had 23 professors and 181 students. The first subjects taught were Medicine, Arts, and Law. A year later, it became part of the Queen's University of Ireland.

The university's location was chosen carefully. People believed it was connected to Saint Finbarr, the patron saint of Cork. His old monastery and school were nearby. The college's motto, "Where Finbarr Taught, Let Munster Learn," shows this connection.

The main buildings, including the beautiful Tudor Gothic quadrangle, were designed by Sir Thomas Deane and Benjamin Woodward. Queen's College Cork officially opened in November 1849. More buildings, like the Medical/Windle Building, were added later.

Becoming a National University

In 1908, the Irish Universities Act 1908 created the National University of Ireland. This new university included colleges in Dublin, Cork, and Galway. The Cork college became University College, Cork. Later, in 1997, it became a full university. However, the National University still awards the degrees and diplomas.

UCC Today: A Hub for Learning

UCC Student Centre with the O'Rahilly Arts and Commerce Building opposite

As of 2022, University College Cork (UCC) has over 24,000 students. This includes students studying for their first degrees and those doing advanced research. About 2,800 students are also taking adult education courses. Over 3,400 staff members support these students. UCC has around 200,000 former students all over the world.

Exploring the Campus

The number of students at UCC has grown a lot since the 1980s. This led to the campus getting bigger. New buildings were added, and old ones were expanded. Some important additions include the Alfred O'Rahilly building and the Brookfield Health Sciences Centre.

The Boole Library was also extended. It is named after George Boole, UCC's first professor of mathematics. He created a type of algebra that helped make computer programming possible. In 2009, the Western Gateway Building opened. In 2016, UCC also bought the Cork Savings Bank building in Cork City.

Glucksman Gallery in UCC's lower grounds

The School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences is located on the North Mall Campus. This used to be the site of a distillery.

In 2006, the university reopened the Crawford Observatory. This building was built in 1880 by Sir Howard Grubb. He designed the observatory and built its telescopes. The university worked hard to restore the building and its three main telescopes.

In November 2009, some UCC buildings were damaged by floods. Many students had to leave their homes. The university had to pause classes for a week. In 2018, UCC's campus opened Ireland's first "plastic free" café. It's called the Bio Green Café.

Amazing Research at UCC

UCC is one of Ireland's top places for research. It gets a lot of money for its research projects. In 2016, UCC received over €96 million for research. This was a big increase and a record for the university.

UCC used to have seven main study areas, called faculties. These included Arts, Commerce, Engineering, and Medicine. Between 2005 and 2006, it was reorganized into four bigger colleges. These are Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Science; Business and Law; Medicine and Health; and Science, Engineering and Food Science.

UCC wants to do even more research and create new ideas. In 2009, it was ranked among the top 3% of universities worldwide for its research. UCC creates "Centres of Excellence" for "world-class research." These centers allow researchers to explore their areas of study freely. Some research areas include:

Nanoelectronics: With the Tyndall Institute.
Food and Health: With centers like the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre.
Environment: With the Environmental Research Institute, studying things like biodiversity and energy.
Business Information Systems: Focusing on how businesses use information.

The Sunday Times "Good University Guide 2015" ranked UCC first for "research income per academic." This means it earns a lot of money for research per teacher.

In 2016, Professor Noel Caplice announced a "major breakthrough" in replacing blood vessels. He is a director at UCC's research center for Vascular Biology.

UCC's Spin-off Companies

UCC has helped start several companies. These companies use ideas and research from the university. Some examples include:

Cytrea: Works on making medicines.
Firecomms: Focuses on optical communications for technology.
Alimentary Health: A health company using biotechnology.
Biosensia: Develops tiny chips for analysis.
Sensl: Part of ON Semiconductor.
Luxcel: Develops special probes and sensors.

UCC's Office of Technology Transfer helps turn university research into new products and businesses. This office connects researchers with industries.

Special Events and Celebrations

In 2015, UCC celebrated the 200th birthday of George Boole. He was a famous mathematician and UCC's first math professor. In 2017, UCC announced a big plan to invest €350 million. This plan aims to improve courses, get more students, expand the campus, and raise more money from donations.

The National Famine Commemoration was held at UCC in 2018. Cork University Press, which is part of UCC, published "The Atlas of the Great Irish Famine" in 2012. They also published "The Atlas of the Irish Revolution" in 2017. In November 2017, UCC's MSc Information Systems for Business Performance course won "Postgraduate Course of the Year - IT."

UCC's Strong Reputation

Rankings
Global rankings
ARWU (2020)	301−400
QS (2021)	=292
THE (2021)	301−350

University College Cork is highly rated by many groups. Sunday Times named it "Irish University of the Year" in 2003, 2005, 2011, and 2016. It was also a runner-up in 2015.

In 2015, UCC was named a top-performing university by the U-Multirank system. It got many "A" scores out of 28 different measures. The 2015 CWTS Leiden Ranking placed UCC 1st in Ireland. It was 16th in Europe and 52nd globally among 750 universities.

The 2011 QS World University Rankings gave UCC a 5-star rating. It ranked UCC among the top 2% of universities worldwide. In 2014, UCC was ranked 230th globally by QS. In 2015, 13 of its subject areas were in the QS World University Rankings by Subject. Pharmacy & Pharmacology were in the top 50 worldwide.

The Universitas Indonesia (UI) Greenmetric World University Ranking gave UCC a second-place ranking in the world for sustainability in 2015. This was for its efforts to be environmentally friendly.

UCC is also known for its online presence. It won an award for 'Best Social Media Engagement' in 2014. UCC had the first website in Ireland in 1991. It was only the ninth website in the world at that time!

What You Can Study at UCC

Medicine and Health

Medicine, Arts, and Law were the first subjects taught at Queen's College Cork in 1849. The medical buildings were built between 1860 and 1880. The medical school quickly became known for its excellent graduates. The first two women in Ireland to graduate in medicine did so from UCC in 1898. This was special because women were not allowed to study medicine at University of Oxford until much later.

UCC's School of Medicine is part of the College of Medicine and Health. It is based at the Brookfield Health Sciences Centre. It works with the University College Cork Teaching Hospital. This is the largest medical center in Ireland. The UCC School Of Pharmacy is in the Cavanagh Pharmacy Building.

Architecture

The Cork Centre for Architectural Education (CCAE) is UCC's Department of Architecture. It is run together with Munster Technological University. It is approved by the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland.

Arts and Social Sciences

The College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences (CACSSS) includes many different schools.

UCC has the Irish Institute of Chinese Studies. Here, students can learn about Chinese culture and language. This department won the European Award for Languages in 2008.

Digital Humanities is a growing area of study at UCC. It combines technology with arts and humanities. Students can study Digital Humanities at different levels, from bachelor's to PhD degrees.

Student Life at UCC

Clubs, Societies, and Student Voice

University College Cork has over 100 active societies and 50 different sports clubs. There are groups for academics, charity work, creative arts, gaming, politics, religion, and social events. Sports clubs include field sports, martial arts, water sports, and team sports. Bank of Ireland sponsors UCC clubs. The UCC Skull and Crossbones is the mascot for all UCC sports teams. In 2010, 100 students received scholarships for 26 different sports.

UCC societies often do charity work. The Surgeon Noonan society raises over €100,000 each year. The War Gaming and Role Playing Society (WARPS) raises €10,000 through its gaming event, Warpcon. The UCC Law Society also raised €10,000 for an orphanage in Cambodia. The UCC Pharmacy Society supports the Cork Hospitals Children's Club every year.

Societies sometimes invite famous speakers. For example, journalist Robert Fisk spoke to the Law Society.

An Chuallacht is UCC's Irish language and culture society. It was founded in 1912. This society helps promote the Irish language. It won the Glór na nGael "Irish Society of the Year Award" in 2009.

The UCC Students' Union (UCCSU) represents all students at UCC. Every student is automatically a member.

Where Students Live

UCC offers student housing through a company called Campus Accommodation UCC DAC. UCC has five housing complexes. These include the Castlewhite Apartments and Mardyke Hall.

In February 2020, UCC announced it would raise rent for student housing. This decision caused some disagreement. Students, staff, and local politicians spoke out against it. The UCC Students' Union started a campaign to stop the increase. Over 300 UCC staff members signed a petition to support the students. UCC said the increase was needed for repairs and higher costs for security and maintenance.

Students from Around the World

In 2010, UCC had 2,400 international students. Most came from the United States, followed by China, France, and Malaysia. UCC also takes part in the Erasmus program. This allows students to study in other European countries.

UCC was highly rated in the 2008 International Student Barometer report. This survey asked 67,000 international students about their experiences. The report found that 98% of UCC's international students said they had "Expert Lecturers." Over 90% said they had "Good Teachers." UCC was also in the top three for "sports facilities," "social facilities," and "university clubs and societies."

Famous People Who Studied at UCC

Notable alumni

Charles Donovan, physician and scientist

Jack Lynch, Taoiseach

Fiona Shaw, actress

Declan Kidney, rugby coach

Many famous people have studied at UCC in different fields.

In arts and literature, there are writers like Seán Ó Faoláin and Daniel Corkery. Composers Aloys Fleischmann and Seán Ó Riada also studied here. Actors Fiona Shaw and Siobhán McSweeney are also alumni. Poets like Paul Durcan and Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill attended UCC. Singer SEARLS and comedian Des Bishop are also former students. Journalists like Brendan O'Connor and Samantha Barry studied at UCC. Actor Cillian Murphy and BBC presenter Graham Norton went to UCC but did not finish their degrees.

From the business world, Denis Brosnan of Kerry Group and Gerry Murphy of Kingfisher plc are alumni.

In medicine, famous graduates include Sir Edwin John Butler and Dr. Pixie McKenna.

In physics, Professor Margaret Murnane and Professor Patrick G. O'Shea are notable alumni.

In mathematics, Seán Dineen and Des MacHale are well-known mathematicians who studied at UCC.

Many politicians and public servants attended UCC. These include current Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Micheál Martin and former Taoiseach Jack Lynch. Supreme Court justice Liam McKechnie and High Court judge Bryan MacMahon are also alumni.

In sports, rugby coach Declan Kidney is a UCC alumnus. Famous Gaelic football players like Séamus Moynihan and Maurice Fitzgerald studied here. Hurlers like Joe Deane and Ray Cummins also attended. Rugby players Ronan O'Gara and Donnacha Ryan are also alumni. Olympian Lizzie Lee also studied at UCC.

Notable Teachers at UCC

George Boole, mathematician and philosopher

George Boole was the first professor of mathematics at UCC. He created Boolean algebra, which was key to computer programming.
Aloys Fleischmann, a composer, was a music professor from 1934 to 1980.
Máire Herbert is a historian who studies early medieval Ireland.
Kathleen O'Flaherty was a professor of French literature. She received an award from the French government.
Mary Ryan was the first woman in Ireland or Great Britain to be a university professor. She taught romance languages at UCC.
J.C. Séamus Davis is a Professor of Quantum Physics. He won the Oliver E. Buckley Prize in 2023.

List of Presidents

1845 to 1873: Sir Robert Kane; first president
1873 to 1890: William Kirby Sullivan
1890 to 1896: James W. Slattery
1897 to 1904: Sir Rowland Blennerhassett
1904 to 1919: Bertram Windle
1919 to 1943: Patrick J. Merriman
1943 to 1954: Alfred O'Rahilly
1954 to 1963: Henry St John Atkins
1964 to 1967: John J. McHenry
1967 to 1978: Donal McCarthy
1978 to 1988: Tadhg Ó Ciardha
1989 to 1999: Michael Mortell
1999 to 2007: Gerard Wrixon
2007 to 2017: Michael Murphy
2017 to 2020: Patrick G. O'Shea
2021 to Present: John O'Halloran

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