Lessons from the Republic of Ireland

This book tells the story of how The Atlantic Philanthropies’ 30 years of investments had an extraordinary impact on the Republic of Ireland—from helping breathe life into the nation’s university system and its research capabilities, to supporting major advances in human rights, and spurring the…

This case study focuses on Atlantic’s role in helping build the capacity of the children and young people’s sector in the Republic of Ireland between 2004 and 2014. The report found: Building capacity at the field level requires a strategic and systemic approach, which includes…

This collection of short case studies and briefs provides insights into how Atlantic grantees used the law to secure social change in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Drawn from a longer report summarized here, the case studies and briefs cover work of Atlantic’s…

Over the course of the 1990s and continuing through 2007, Ireland experienced a substantial increase in migration. The large influx of people from other countries seeking a better life placed pressures on the existing legislative framework that regulated the rights of migrants. It also put…

When Atlantic began its human rights work in Ireland in 2004, it faced strong resistance at the governmental and judicial levels to the idea of setting down such rights in legislation. Still, the foundation saw signs that suggested that the right kinds of investments —…

This report examines the cost of providing palliative care in Ireland for individuals facing life-threatening illnesses, outcomes for patients and families resulting from that care, and the patterns and variations among the measures studied. Focusing their examination on three regional areas, researchers found: Wide variations in…

This report analyzes 25 of Atlantic’s “big bet” grants—those over $10 million or more to a single organization or focused initiative—and highlights impact and lessons. The report also discusses what worked and some of the challenges the foundation, its grantees and partners faced. Atlantic President…

The Atlantic Philanthropies’ investments on behalf of people with disabilities living on the island of Ireland helped advance their rights and achieve community inclusion and participation, according to this evaluation by Morrow Gilchrist Associates. Atlantic’s strategy was informed by the need to implement and interpret…

Atlantic’s work in the Republic of Ireland between 2003-2014 positively contributed to the development of government policy and practice, especially in the areas of service delivery for children and older adults, according to a study by the Institute of Public Administration. Researchers say Atlantic had…

The Atlantic Philanthropies has given $177 million to Trinity College Dublin and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) to establish the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI). GBHI will train at least 600 global leaders over 15 years in the United States, Ireland and around…

Today 1.1 million people aged 60 and over live on the island of Ireland. By 2041 that number will reach 2.44 million, making up nearly one third of the island’s total population. Over the last decade, Atlantic has made significant investments to help build and…

For more than a decade, the Atlantic Philanthropies, sometimes in conjunction with Government and other organisations, has invested over €127 million/£105 million in 30 partner agencies and community groups running 52 prevention and early intervention services and programmes across the island of Ireland. This document…

In December 2014, the Irish government published a National Dementia Strategy, designed to tackle one of the key health challenges of the 21st Century. This was a watershed moment and one that Atlantic had been working towards for several years. In this video, Mary Sutton,…

From 2004-2013, Atlantic funded four organisations working to improve human rights, visibility, and access to services for LGBT people in the Republic of Ireland. This video looks at a few examples of these grantees' successes, including a landmark 2010 civil partnership law, a scheduled public referendum…

Children and youth organisations on the island of Ireland are building a strong body of prevention and early intervention practices, according to an evaluation of Atlantic's investments by Mathematica Policy Research. Meanwhile, research organisations are acquiring new expertise in evaluating children's prevention and early intervention…

Investment in end-of-life care has made Ireland a world leader in advancing palliative and hospice care but regional inequities persist, according to an evaluation by Professor Mary McCarron and colleagues at Trinity College Dublin. The evaluation examined The Atlantic Philanthropies’ End of Life programme –…

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="250"] Postgraduate research student Eric Farrell and Minister of Education and Science Mary Hanafin at Trinity College Dublin's Centre for Bioengineering. Photo: Trinity College Dublin[/caption] "Look, frankly you've got to invest in research," were Founding Chairman Chuck Feeney's words in 1998 to…

The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) is a large-scale, nationally representative study of people aged 50 and over in Ireland carried out by Trinity College Dublin, an Atlantic grantee. It is the most ambitious study of ageing ever carried out in Ireland and aims…

This report finds that the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions was pivotal in stimulating the development of research performance in universities across the Republic of Ireland. Authors of the study note that the programme put in place research infrastructure, built basic research capability and drove a…