IrelandQCI

15/05/2026

Ireland Participates in Landmark European Quantum Academy Initiative

Ireland is among the countries developing the newly funded European Quantum Academy (EQA), a major pan-European initiative designed to strengthen Europe’s quantum skills, education and workforce ecosystem.

Bringing together more than 70 partner organisations and over 100 affiliated organisations from across over 20 European countries, the EQA will create a coordinated framework for quantum education, training, mobility and professional upskilling spanning schools, secondary education, higher education, research and industry.

Ireland will participate in the initiative through the involvement of ICHEC (Irish Centre for High-End Computing) at the University of Galway, Walton Institute at South East Technological University and Trinity College Dublin.

Project coordinator of IrelandQCI Dr Deirdre Kilbane Director of Research at Walton Institute and IrelandQCI partner Venkatesh Kannan from ICHEC (Irish Centre for High-End Computing) are pictured with Felix Binder from further IrelandQCI partner university Trinity College Dublin.

Participation in the European Quantum Academy (EQA) is a fantastic opportunity for Ireland, as the EQA bridges the national and European coordination efforts in quantum, bridging the gap between academia, industry and quantum technologies, showcasing the support and collaboration between stakeholders across Ireland and Europe.

Full more details and the full EQA announcement, read more here: https://irelandqci.ie/2026/05/12/ireland-participates-in-landmark-european-quantum-academy-initiative/



Walton Institute South East Technological University Trinity College Dublin Irish Centre for High-End Computing University College Cork University College Dublin ESB Telecoms Asiera Maynooth University

14/04/2026

🎉 Happy World Quantum Day - an opportunity to celebrate the scientists, engineers and innovators working within the field of quantum!

Today, April 14 (4.14), is World Quantum Day. In quantum physics, there is a famous number called Planck’s constant. It is one of the most important numbers in science; it helps explain how the tiniest things in the universe - like atoms and particles - behave.

The number looks like this: 4.14 × 10⁻¹⁵

Scientists chose April 14 (4.14) as World Quantum Day to to celebrate quantum scientists, engineers and innovators on this day!

Today, we particularly recognise the IrelandQCI consortium of partners and celebrate the brilliant quantum minds that work on this project:
Walton Institute SETU CONNECT Research Ireland Maynooth University UCC UCD Trinity College Dublin Irish Centre for High-End Computing University of Galway ESB Telecoms Asiera

#414

26/03/2026

📣 Milestone alert!

IrelandQCI consortium partners work with Q*Bird, the Dutch leader in quantum secure communication, to deploy Ireland’s first multi-node, entanglement-based Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution (MDI-QKD) network. 🙌

''This multi-node deployment represents a major milestone for Ireland’s national quantum infrastructure,'' said Dr Deirdre Kilbane, Director of Research at Walton Institute, South East Technological University (SETU) and Coordinator of the €10 M IrelandQCI project which is co-funded by the European Commission and Ireland's Department of Culture, Communications and Sport. “By integrating Q*Bird's operational MDI-QKD Falqon® Series across research institutions, data centers and national networks, we are enabling secure, interoperable quantum communication while also creating a platform for other research institutions to join. It strengthens Ireland’s sovereignty over critical communications and contributes directly to EuroQCI and Europe’s federated quantum network vision.”

Read more: https://irelandqci.ie/news/



IrelandQCI consortium of partners:
Walton Institute South East Technological University CONNECT Research Ireland Trinity College Dublin University College Dublin Tyndall National Institute University College Cork Maynooth University Irish Centre for High-End Computing University of Galway ESB Telecoms Asiera

Ireland’s quantum leap – Walton Institute at SETU and Q*Bird deploy Ireland’s first QKD network with expandable architecture! Waterford’s Walton Institute at South East Technological University (SETU) and IrelandQCI project consortium partners have worked with Q*Bird, the Dutch leader in …

25/02/2026

The IrelandQCI team demonstrated quantum-secure communications in our first Government Use-Case with local authority Dublin City Council last week.

Watch highlights from the demonstration here:
https://youtu.be/uem4BugT4As

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23/02/2026

Partners in the IrelandQCI project successfully demonstrated quantum-secure communication at Dublin City Council headquarters today, as part of the project’s first engagement with a local authority.

18/02/2026

Partners in the IrelandQCI project successfully demonstrated quantum-secure communication at Dublin City Council headquarters yesterday, as part of the project’s first Government use-case with a local authority.

The test involved creating a highly secure connection between two strategic Dublin City Council locations with the expertise of project partner Asiera. During the trial, the IrelandQCI consortium of partners led by Walton Institute at South East Technological University successfully tested quantum-based security technology in a real operational environment, showing that it works reliably under everyday conditions.

The demonstration took place under the IrelandQCI project, as the first Government use-case engagement with a local authority. The project is co-funded by the European Commission and the Irish Government’s Department of Culture, Communications and Sport, and is part of the wider DIGITAL Europe EuroQCI initiative involving all 27 EU member states.

This was also a collaboration with Smart Docklands, a programme of advanced technology trials, a joint initiative between Dublin City Council and the CONNECT Centre.

Pictured: Jamie Cudden Dublin City Council; Sinéad Whelan, Walton Institute, South East Technological University; Quigley, TCD; John Regan, MD at ESB Telecoms; Pat Kelly, CONNECT Centre TCD; Colm Browning, Smart Docklands; Dan Sweeney, Asiera; Nicola Graham, Dublin City Council; Eoin Kenny, Asiera; Prof. Dan Kilper, CONNECT Centre, IrelandQCI project partner.

17/02/2026

🎉 Project Coordinator and Principal Investigator of IrelandQCI Dr Deirdre Kilbane has been awarded the prestigious South East Technological University Research Excellence Award, with peers recognizing her unmatched dedication and passion for research in her role as Director of Research at Walton Institute SETU.

🙌 Congratulations from all at IrelandQCI, we are very proud to have you lead our project.

CONNECT Centre | Research Ireland | Trinity College Dublin | Tyndall National Institute | University College Cork | University College Dublin | Maynooth University | Irish Centre for High-End Computing | University of Galway | ESB Telecoms | Asiera

09/02/2026

📣 Exciting quantum industry appointments for Walton Institute interns.

🤝 Jimí Ó Baoill de Faoite and Dillon Broaders joined Walton Institute at South East Technological University as early career researchers supporting Dr Deirdre Kilbane, Director of Research at Walton, and the team working on the IrelandQCI project – the €10 M project that focuses on building a national ground-based quantum communication network for Ireland, co-funded by the European Commission and the Irish government’s Department of Culture, Communications and Sport.

⚡ During their time at Walton, they gained hands-on research experience within the Quantum Facility, procuring cutting edge quantum technology, understanding processes for high-end equipment functionality, liaising with suppliers, learning about laboratory protocol, set up and management. They contributed to the establishment of the Walton Quantum Facility including establishing many of the ongoing experiments and deployments such as Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and quantum entanglement networks.

💡 Benefiting from all they experienced at Walton Institute, with exposure to working within research and with industry, Jimí and Dillon have both recently obtained excellent corporate positions within the field of quantum communication.

👏 Jimí moved on from Walton to take up a fantastic international opportunity as Technical Service Engineer at Single Quantum based in Delft, The Netherlands; and Dillon departed Walton to join Mastercard Ireland, as a Quantum Scientist.

🗞️ Read more about Jimí and Dillon's fantastic successes here: https://irelandqci.ie/2026/02/09/exciting-quantum-industry-appointments-for-walton-institute-interns/

✨ Walton Institute at SETU is excited to welcome talented individuals from diverse backgrounds to work within the challenging world of ICT research and innovation. We are currently recruiting for several postdoctoral positions in quantum:
- 2 postdoctoral positions - Quantum Communications
- 1 postdoctoral position - Quantum Networks
- 1 postdoctoral position - Digital Twin

👍 These are excellent opportunities to join a dynamic team to work alongside thought-leaders in the quantum space, with access to cutting-edge research facilities including the Walton Quantum Facility, and opportunities for collaboration with both academia and industry.

Closing date for applications: 11th February 2026.

For further information and to apply visit: www.setu.ie/vacancies

At Walton Institute at South East Technological University, we offer exciting research positions as well as varied postgraduate opportunities, with hands-on experience across cutting-edge, international projects and access to learn from world-class leaders across various STEM fields.

30/01/2026

Walton Institute at South East Technological University is currently recruiting for several postdoctoral positions at SETU West Campus, Carriganore, Co. Waterford:

- 2 postdoctoral positions - Quantum Communications

- 1 postdoctoral position - Quantum Networks

- 1 postdoctoral position - Digital Twin

These are excellent opportunities to join a dynamic team to work alongside thought-leaders in the quantum space, with access to cutting-edge research facilities including the Walton Quantum Facility, and opportunities for collaboration with both academia and industry.

Closing date for applications: 11th February 2026.

For further information and to apply visit: www.setu.ie/vacancies

30/01/2026

🤝 The IrelandQCI project team at Walton Institute at South East Technological University were delighted to welcome a delegation from INEX - Internet Neutral Exchange yesterday, to attend a workshop at our Walton Quantum Facility.

💡 Hosted by IrelandQCI Project Lead Dr Deirdre Kilbane, Director of Research at Walton Institute, who was joined by team members including Kavindu Sellahewa, they led a tour of INEX members into the Quantum Facility, for hands-on experience in learning about the quantum communication technology demonstrations that are running.

⚡ Workshop attendees from INEX included companies from the telecommunications sector. Key to the IrelandQCI project is stakeholder engagement. Our industry workshops provide the opportunity for potential end-users to explore the quantum technology equipment set up, see experiments running in real time, and input feedback related to their own sector, which the project team can take forward as we progress towards building Ireland's quantum communication infrastructure.

🔦 Quantum-secure communications will ultimately improve cyber-security across sectors such as telecoms, healthcare and emergency response, finance, energy, and critical public services - impacting an array of industry and most importantly, benefitting wider Irish society.

📣 If you or your organisation is interested in attending an IrelandQCI Workshop at the Walton Quantum Facility, please reach out to [email protected] to discuss potential opportunities.



The IrelandQCI project ‘Building a National Quantum Communication Infrastructure for Ireland’, is led by Walton Institute at SETU on behalf of CONNECT Centre, co-funded by European Commission and the Irish government’s Department of Culture, Communications and Sport.

Our consortium of partners includes Trinity College Dublin Tyndall National Institute University College Cork Maynooth University ICHEC (Irish Centre for High-End Computing) University of Galway University College Dublin ESB Telecoms HEAnet