The National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ), commonly known as Maynooth University (MU) (), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. It was Ireland's youngest university until Technological University Dublin was established in 2019, having been founded by the Universities Act, 1997, from the secular faculties of the now separate St Patrick's College, Maynooth, which was founded in 1795. Maynooth is also the only university town in Ireland, all other universities being based within cities.
The university consists of two connected campuses: an older southern campus, with 19th-century buildings, shared with St Patrick's College, and, across a public road, a modern northern campus, occupying circa .
With over 13,000 students enrolled, and over 900 staff from over 20 different countries, it is Ireland's smallest, yet fastest growing, university. In 2009, Maynooth University was listed as a Top500 university in the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings. The 2012 QS World University Rankings put MU in the 501–550 bracket worldwide, but most recently, Maynooth University was ranked in the 701–750 bracket in the 2019 QS World University Rankings. In 2008, it was named The Sunday Times 'University of the Year'. In 2011, Maynooth University became the first and only institution outside of North America to be included in The Princeton Review of Best Colleges. It also has the highest proportion of university participation in Ireland of mature students (16%) and access students (22%).
History
18th and 19th centuries
The university and St Patrick's College, Maynooth have a common history from 1795 to 1997. The college in Maynooth was established by the government as a college for Catholic lay and ecclesiastical students in 1795. The lay college was based from 1802 in Riverstown House on the south campus. With the opening of Clongowes Wood, the lay college which had lay trustees was closed in 1817 and it functioned solely as a Catholic seminary for almost 150 years. In 1876 the college became a constituent college of the Catholic University of Ireland, and later offered Royal University of Ireland degrees in arts and science. The Pontifical Charter was granted to the college in 1896.
20th and 21st centuries
The college became a recognised constituent college of the National University of Ireland in 1910. From this time, arts and science degrees were awarded by the National University of Ireland, while the Pontifical University of Maynooth continued to confer its own theology degrees, as these had been prohibited in the Royal University of Ireland, and continued to the National University of Ireland (its successor) until 1997.
In 1966 the college again allowed the entry of lay students; this greatly expanded the college and essentially set the foundation stone for Maynooth University. In 1997 the Universities Act resulted in the transfer of the faculties of arts, Celtic studies, philosophy and science of the recognised college of St Patrick's College to the new university. The university has also expanded into finance and engineering since its creation in 1997. In 2007 the university added business studies, followed by law in 2008.
Any person who was a student at St Patrick's College, Maynooth, and was conferred with a National University of Ireland degree prior to the creation of the university, is legally considered a graduate of Maynooth University.
In 1994, W. J. Smyth was appointed to the position of Master of St. Patrick's College Maynooth (NUI) and in 1997 he became president of MU. In 2004 W. J. Smyth was succeeded by John G. Hughes as president of Maynooth University. Thomas Collins was appointed interim president for 2010–2011, and Philip Nolan served in the role 2011–2021. On 1 October 2021, Finnish academic Eeva Leinonen became the first woman president of the institution.