It will boost the local economy by €2.8 million.

Cork’s biggest international conference to date, The European Astronomical Society (EAS) Meeting, is happening at University College Cork (UCC) in June 2025, with up to 1,400 hotel rooms booked across the city for the event.

UCC is home to the Crawford Observatory, one of Ireland’s oldest observatories. Today, the university has one of Ireland’s leading schools of physics and astronomy. Now the EAS, which organises Europe’s largest gathering of astronomers, has recognised UCC’s contribution to Astronomy by choosing Cork as the local for their annual meeting.

Several public astronomy events are planned throughout the week.

Dr Mark Kennedy, School of Physics, UCC; Professor Paul Callanan, Head, School of Physics, UCC; and Evelyn O’Sullivan, Manager, Cork Convention Bureau.

These meetings provide a platform for astronomers to discuss the latest discoveries and research, assess progress in developing world-leading European astronomical facilities, and honour distinguished researchers with some of the most prestigious prizes in European astronomy.

At the conclusion of EAS 2024 in Padua, Italy, a ceremony was held to celebrate Cork and UCC as the location for the next meeting which will take place from June 23rd to 27th, 2025.

Professor Paul Callanan, Head, the School of Physics, UCC said the event will put UCC, Cork and Ireland “very much at the heart of European astronomy” for a week next summer.