News from around the network
IRN Launches Summer Series
IRN – June 2026
The Irish Reproducibility Network has launched its Summer Series, a talks programme bringing open, critical conversations about research quality to a national audience. The series opened with a Trinity College Dublin/UCC talk critically examining claims linking autism and the gut microbiome. This was followed by a session exploring the role of open-source software in reproducible science.
The Summer Series marks an exciting new chapter for the IRN, creating space for critical engagement with open and reproducible research across disciplines.
IRN Represented at EARMA 2026
Utrecht – May 2026
Dr. Martina Prendergast represented the IRN at this year’s EARMA (European Association of Research Managers and Administrators) conference in the Netherlands, addressing an audience of roughly 50 at Europe’s largest gathering of research management professionals, which drew some 1,800 attendees across a dense programme of parallel sessions.
The talk traced the Network’s open science journey since 2022, from its founding committee and open science charter through funded projects supporting open-source software management and researcher training. She highlighted the value of dedicated, paid project management roles in sustaining this work, along with collaborations spanning national innovation summits and contributions to a position paper for the European Open Science Cloud.
Audience questions touched on measuring training outcomes and connecting open science with research security and impact agendas. Prendergast noted strong international interest in the Network’s freely available resources, including its charter and training modules, and returned newly connected to EARMA’s global open science thematic group.
Picture of Dr. Martina Prendergast presenting at the EARMA conference.
From Reproducibility Crisis to Real Change: Open Science at GoGreenNext, Malta
Malta – March 2026
Dr. Dermot Lynott, Chair of the Irish Reproducibility Network (IRN), and Dr. Dounia Lakhzoum, Lead Researcher of the IRN, were invited to present at a GoGreenNext workshop in Malta. GoGreen Next is a Horizon Europe-funded project focused on helping cities and regions reach their climate goals using nature-based solutions, working across pilot locations including Malta, Ireland, Austria, and Finland to connect ecosystem health, human health, and climate policy.
Dounia presented From Reproducibility Crisis to Real Change, tracing how Open Science emerged as a response to systemic issues in academia.
Dermot spoke to the particular value of Open Science for early-career researchers, who can gain recognition for contributions such as preprints, shared code, and materials, long before formal publication.
They then ran the TROPIC’s myth-busting game, in which participants draw cards bearing common claims about open research practices, then unpack where these beliefs come from and how to counter them with colleagues.
The activity sparked lively discussions, with participants exploring the implications of applying open practices to engineering, mathematical modelling, and climate simulations.
Picture of Dr. Dermot Lynott and Dr. Dounia Lakhzoum at the GoGreenNext Conference in Malta.
Launch of the Irish Reproducibility Network
Limerick – January 2026
The end of January marked the official launch of the Irish Reproducibility Network (IRN), a national, peer-led, all-island initiative connecting researchers, librarians, and research development professionals across 17 higher education institutions to strengthen reproducibility and transparency in Irish research. Over 65 participants gathered at Lero, the Research Ireland Centre for Software at the University of Limerick.
Prof. Kevin Ryan (UL) opened with reflections on grassroots research culture and the fragility of public trust. Dr. Dermot Lynott (Maynooth University), who initiated the IRN, shared his journey from early failed replications to building a national community, thanking Dr. Martina Prendergast (Lero) and co-organiser Dr. Dounia Lakhzoum, lead researcher on the TROPIC and TROPIC 2 training projects.
Prof. Tim J. Newton (King’s College London) delivered the keynote, Open Research: An Essential Component of Research Culture, followed by lightning talks on open research in the Irish context.
Picture of the IRN launch event (by Piquant).
Myths, Maps & Missions at NORFest 2025
Dublin – November 2025
The IRN brought open research training to life at NORFest 2025 with Myths, Maps and Missions, a gamified workshop designed to make open research practices tangible, discussable, and fun.
The session opened with a myth-busting game: participants drew cards bearing common claims about open access, preregistration, and data sharing, then worked in groups to unpack where these beliefs come from, why they persist, and how to counter them with colleagues.
From there, participants stepped into rotating roles — Preregistrar, Data Manager, Preprinter, and License Specialist — each with its own “mission.” In the Preregistrar’s task, for instance, teams decided which study components belonged in a preregistration, distinguishing essential elements from nice-to-haves.
Beyond generating lively discussion, the workshop served as a pilot for new materials feeding into our TROPIC (Training in Open Research in an Irish Context) offer — helping us refine how we teach open research practices going forward.
Picture of the Myths, Maps and Missions workshop (NORFest 2025)
Congratulations to DR. Dermot Lynott
Maynooth – October 2025
Dr Dermot Lynott of the Department of Psychology (Maynooth University, Ireland) has been awarded the Open Research and Scholarship Award.
The award recognises his commitment to open research practices and his contribution to promoting transparency, accessibility, and collaboration in scholarship. Dr Lynott’s work reflects the principles of open science and has had a positive impact within and beyond the research community.
Congratulations to Dr Lynott on this well deserved recognition.
Picture of Prof. Rachel Msetfi and Dr. Dermot Lynott, Department of Psychology, recipient of the Open Research & Scholarship Award. Maynooth University has the rights to the photograph.