Former president Michael D Higgins has strongly criticised the University of Galway for its collaboration with an Israeli university that allegedly maintains close ties to defence contractors contributing to the ongoing genocide in Palestine.
The University of Galway and the Israel-based university Technion have both collaborated on the ASTERISK research project - which receives funding from the EU’s Horizon Europe programme- since early 2025.
Speaking at the “Without Values, None of it Matters” event in Trinity College Dublin last week, the former president condemned his former university and expressed his support for cutting off ties with Technion.
“I very much understand and support those who have objected to the Technion connection,” Higgins said.
“I was deeply distressed by Galway University’s excuse being based on an economic contractual problem rather than the big issue of participation in the EU’s Horizon programme by [Technion].”
Higgins was speaking alongside the director-general of Palestinian human rights organisation Al-Haq, Shawan Jabarin.
At the event, Mr Jabarin said also said that “no Irish University (including Galway ) should have any agreement with Israeli Universities. They are all complicit in the crimes in Palestine. Technion is like a military research institute.”
The former president’s remarks were welcomed by Campus Anti-Genocide Coalition [CAG] which supports the cutting of ties with Technion and is comprised of various student and staff groups in the University of Galway.
In a statement the group said they welcoomed “the statement by former President Michael D. Higgins in support of the campaign to end Galway University’s links with the racist, apartheid and genocidal state of Israel.”
“The former President has followed the example of his successor, current President Catherine Connolly. She too has spoken out against Galway University’s links with the Technion, Israel.”
The group also critisised the University of Galway for the amount of time it took them to issue a statement in relation to the Israeli detention of final year PhD student Louise McCormack and Dr Margaret Connolly following their participation in the Global Sumud Flotilla, which sought to break the blockade of the Palestinian territory and deliver aid to Gaza.
In a press release, the coalition said, “This is the first public statement mentioning their own student, Louise McCormack, and their Alumnus, Margaret Connolly, since they were kidnapped and subjected to physical and psychological abuse by Israeli forces.”
“CAG say that this is not good enough and the rest of the statement hides behind repeated and opaque legal advice despite arguments to the contrary in last year’s open letter to the president from the Irish Centre for Human Rights.”
It is understood that the university’s statement was posted on their website on Monday, May 25 - seven days after McCormack and Connolly had initially been detained by Israel, and two days after the pair had returned to Ireland.
The statement says, “We condemn in the strongest possible terms the actions of the Israeli state and the abhorrent treatment and arbitrary detention of peaceful, humanitarian, civilian campaigners on the Gaza Sumud Flotilla, including our student Louise McCormack and our graduate Dr Margaret Connolly.
“Since our last statement, we have continued our engagement with peer institutions who are dealing with similar research partnership arrangements.
“At this time...there is no mechanism to take unilateral action to terminate a lead role in a Horizon Europe research project without breaching legal and other obligations. To do so would result in significant consequences to the University beyond an individual research project.”
The University of Galway was contacted by the Advertiser over the matters in this report. A spokesperson said that the university does not wish to make any further comment.
