Official Opening of Tierney Building Takes Place
published on Nov 25th, 2011
Pictured (left to right): UL Chancellor, Mr Peter Malone, UL Foundation Director, Dr Dan Tierney, UL President, Prof Don Barry, Minister for Finance, Mr Michael Noonan, T.D., Vice-President Research at UL, Dr Mary Shire
On 21st November 2011, Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan T.D. officially opened the Tierney Building at University of Limerick. This state-of-the-art campus facility will house UL’s Innovation Centre and Lero – the Irish Software Engineering Research Centre. The UL Innovation Centre is the latest Enterprise Ireland campus incubation centre to be opened and will support the formation and growth of 35 new high potential start-up (HPSU) companies between 2011 and 2016, generating over 115 new high-value jobs.
The Tierney Building has been named after the Tierney family in recognition of their generous support towards the buildings. Dr Dan Tierney, who is originally from Limerick, has been a Director of the UL Foundation since 1993. He is Chairman of Bimeda Holdings Plc. Speaking at the launch, Dr Tierney said: “The University of Limerick has always been at the forefront of enterprise and innovation. The Tierney family are delighted to be associated with this new building that will be home to future generations of entrepreneurs and innovators”.
Speaking at the launch, Minister Noonan said: “The Tierney building will house both cutting-edge software engineering research together with a centre that will support the growth of new high potential business start-ups. It is a tangible example of what we can achieve when Government, industry and our universities collaborate together.”
“Over recent years Ireland has built up a very impressive record in scientific research. If we are to get out of our present difficulties, we must now use this base to commercialise more ideas, create more Irish businesses, and attract and embed more multinational investment. Turning good ideas into good jobs: that is what SFI’s research centres, such as the Lero CSET, and funded teams are about, and that is what I am determined to achieve.” Minister Noonan added.
The objective of the UL Innovation Centre is to increase regional entrepreneurship with an international trading focus. It will provide dedicated business incubation space and support services for start-up companies whose activities are aligned with UL research strengths. The UL Innovation Centre offers dedicated units for supporting new technology based businesses together with two fully equipped research laboratory suites, boardrooms, meeting rooms and ancillary support services. The centre will facilitate the transformation of new knowledge into commercially viable opportunities and become a hub around which regional innovation is driven, organised and supported.
UL President, Professor Don Barry said: “UL started out with a pioneering vision of innovation, excellence and a commitment to building strong industry collaborations. We are now even more focused on research that can assist companies enhance their own research and development capabilities and support them in obtaining or maintaining a competitive advantage in the market place. We will continue to uncover the emerging technological opportunities we have here in Ireland, to nurture those with high economic impact and growth potential and to support them in achieving success.”