Ireland's Top 2% Scientists 2021: Career-Long List

Ireland has 661 scientists on the 2021 career-long Top 2% list, up 20.8% from 547 in 2020. That places Ireland 32nd in the world by number of listed scientists, down 1 place. University College Dublin has the most listed scientists (115), followed by Trinity College Dublin (111).

Single Year

710

+124 (+21.2%) vs 2020

Career Data

661

+114 (+20.8%) vs 2020

World rank by count

#32

down 1 place vs 2020

Institutes

+17 (+23.0%) vs 2020

Scientists in Ireland on the list, by year

The career-long count has grown 21% since 2020.

Career-long list, change on the previous year

2021+20.8%

2022+9.1%

2023+6.7%

2024+8.7%

2025+5.4%

Show the numbers

Year	Single Year	Change	Career Data	Change
2020	586		547
2021	710	+21.2%	661	+20.8%
2022	758	+6.8%	721	+9.1%
2023	777	+2.5%	769	+6.7%
2024	841	+8.2%	836	+8.7%
2025	925	+10.0%	881	+5.4%

Top 10 institutes in Ireland

By number of listed scientists

Career-long list2021

Show the list

1University College Dublin115
2Trinity College Dublin111
3University College Cork64
4National University of Ireland Galway61
5University of Limerick36
6Dublin City University25
7Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland23
8Maynooth University17
9Beaumont Hospital11
10St James's Hospital11

All 661 scientists

Career-long list2021

The first 100 are free to browse.

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Rank in Ireland	World rank	Scientist	Institute	Sub-field	Rank in sub-field
1	389	OL O’Neill, Luke	Technological University Dublin	Immunology	Rank 25
2	611	CJ Coey, J. M.D.	Trinity College Dublin	Applied Physics	Rank 24
3	622	SP Serruys, Patrick W.	National University of Ireland Galway	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 32
4	1,313	CJ Coleman, Jonathan N.	Trinity College Dublin	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 33
5	1,955	SF Shanahan, F.	APC Microbiome Ireland	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 29
6	2,628	DT Dinan, T. G.	APC Microbiome Ireland	Psychiatry	Rank 83
7	2,748	DM Duffy, Michael J.	University College Dublin, School of Medicine	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 130
8	3,165	MA Meharg, Andrew A.	Queen's University Belfast	Environmental Sciences	Rank 10
9	3,981	HD Higgins, Desmond G.	University College Dublin, School of Medicine	Bioinformatics	Rank 12
10	4,074	AF Aharonian, Felix A.	Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies	Astronomy & Astrophysics	Rank 25
11	4,117	WK Wolfe, Kenneth H.	University College Dublin	Developmental Biology	Rank 243
12	4,120	MS Martin, Seamus J.	Trinity College Dublin	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 219
13	4,768	OE O’Brien, Eoin	University College Dublin	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 244
14	4,968	KW Kolch, Walter	University College Dublin	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 256
15	5,590	VM van Mechelen, Willem	University College Dublin	Sport Sciences	Rank 14
16	5,761	LB Leonard, Brian E.	National University of Ireland Galway	Psychiatry	Rank 162
17	6,419	MK Mills, Kingston H.G.	Trinity College Dublin	Immunology	Rank 250
18	6,846	GI Greer, Ian	Queen's University Belfast	Obstetrics & Reproductive Medicine	Rank 31
19	6,940	HC Hill, Colin	APC Microbiome Ireland	Microbiology	Rank 174
20	7,279	CJ Cryan, John F.	APC Microbiome Ireland	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 641
21	7,986	FP Fox, Patrick	University College Cork	Dairy & Animal Science	Rank 7
22	8,099	KR Kitchin, Rob	Maynooth University	Geography	Rank 16
23	8,376	OF O'Brien, Fergal J.	Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland	Biomedical Engineering	Rank 36
24	8,390	RI Robertson, I. H.	Trinity College Dublin	Experimental Psychology	Rank 128
25	9,418	FM Ferguson, Mark W.J.	Science Foundation Ireland	Developmental Biology	Rank 503
26	9,795	IR Irvine, Robin	Dept of Pharmacology	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 509
27	9,834	LM Lynch, Marina A.	Trinity College Dublin	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 854
28	10,298	SS Sanvito, Stefano	Trinity College Dublin	Applied Physics	Rank 250
29	11,105	LJ Luong, John H.T.	University College Cork	Analytical Chemistry	Rank 57
30	11,509	TD Taylor, David	Trinity College Dublin	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 70
31	11,530	CH Curran, Henry J.	National University of Ireland Galway	Energy	Rank 101
32	12,150	RY Roos, Yrjö H.	University College Cork	Food Science	Rank 35
33	12,928	CS Connon, Stephen J.	Trinity College Dublin	Organic Chemistry	Rank 276
34	13,730	CT Cotter, Thomas G.	University College Cork	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 704
35	13,786	MW McNicholas, Walter T.	St Vincent's University Hospital	Respiratory System	Rank 141
36	13,826	WW Wijns, William	National University of Ireland Galway	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 637
37	14,396	GT Gunnlaugsson, Thorfinnur	Trinity College Dublin	Organic Chemistry	Rank 307
38	15,166	OD O'Regan, Donal	National University of Ireland Galway	General Mathematics	Rank 37
39	15,215	KB Kholodenko, Boris N.	University College Dublin	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 775
40	15,339	WM Wilm, Matthias	University College Dublin	Developmental Biology	Rank 715
41	15,934	RR Ross, R. Paul	APC Microbiome Ireland	Microbiology	Rank 377
42	16,312	DK Dawson, Kenneth A.	University College Dublin	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 169
43	16,872	CM Caffrey, Martin	Trinity College Dublin	Biophysics	Rank 34
44	17,106	SJ Scott, John M.	Trinity College Dublin	Nutrition & Dietetics	Rank 139
45	17,273	DG Dickens, Gerald R.	Trinity College Dublin	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 264
46	17,280	BB Bresnihan, Barry	University College Dublin	Arthritis & Rheumatology	Rank 138
47	17,369	WJ Waddington, John L.	Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland	Psychiatry	Rank 469
48	17,518	GI Graham, Ian	Trinity College Dublin	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 772
49	17,631	TV Torra, Vicenç	Maynooth University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 305
50	18,171	CP Cotter, Paul D.	APC Microbiome Ireland	Microbiology	Rank 438
51	19,282	PP Puri, Prem	University College Dublin	Pediatrics	Rank 74
52	19,329	KR Kenny, R. A.	Trinity College Dublin	Geriatrics	Rank 28
53	19,357	LP Lonergan, Pat	University College Dublin	Obstetrics & Reproductive Medicine	Rank 143
54	19,756	BJ Boland, John J.	Trinity College Dublin	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 199
55	21,103	ME Morris, Edwin R.	University College Cork	Polymers	Rank 192
56	21,496	CK Cashman, Kevin D.	University College Cork	Nutrition & Dietetics	Rank 174
57	21,755	DC Dorman, Charles J.	Trinity College Dublin	Microbiology	Rank 527
58	21,846	TB Tiwari, Brijesh K.	Moorepark Food Research Centre	Food Science	Rank 66
59	23,260	MB McCleary, Barry V.	Megazyme Ltd.	Food Science	Rank 73
60	23,483	MP McSweeney, Paul L.H.	University College Cork	Dairy & Animal Science	Rank 34
61	23,814	TJ Taylor, James W.	University of Oxford, Saïd Business School	Econometrics	Rank 28
62	23,995	TD Tobin, Desmond J.	University College Dublin	Dermatology & Venereal Diseases	Rank 112
63	24,102	LP Lane, Philip R.	Trinity College Dublin	Economics	Rank 196
64	24,919	AR Anwyl, Roger	Trinity College Dublin	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 1,954
65	25,781	TC Taylor, Cormac T.	University College Dublin	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 1,220
66	26,092	FP Fallon, Padraic G.	Trinity College Dublin	Immunology	Rank 903
67	26,767	GG Guilbault, George G.	University College Cork	Analytical Chemistry	Rank 170
68	26,989	HO Hardiman, Orla	Trinity College Dublin	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 2,091
69	27,619	CK Conlon, Kevin	Tallaght University Hospital	Surgery	Rank 223
70	27,827	JA Jones, A. G.	Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 453
71	28,461	RL Rezzolla, Luciano	Trinity College Dublin	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 455
72	29,035	CJ Crown, John P.	St Vincent's University Hospital	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 1,329
73	29,056	PJ Prehn, Jochen H.M.	Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 2,218
74	29,235	BA Bowie, Andrew	Trinity College Dublin	Immunology	Rank 995
75	29,380	DL Drury, Luke	Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies	Astronomy & Astrophysics	Rank 314
76	29,649	BF Barry, Frank	National University of Ireland Galway	Biomedical Engineering	Rank 125
77	29,756	WJ Walter, Jens	APC Microbiome Ireland	Microbiology	Rank 740
78	30,619	JW James, William H.	University College London	Genetics & Heredity	Rank 187
79	30,883	GM Gill, Michael	Trinity College Dublin	Psychiatry	Rank 717
80	30,960	PI Perry, Ivan J.	University College Cork	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 352
81	30,993	SB Smyth, Barry	University College Dublin	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 527
82	31,306	CR Conroy, Ronán M.	Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 357
83	31,522	FR FitzGerald, Richard J.	University of Limerick	Food Science	Rank 104
84	31,857	LB Lawlor, Brian A.	Trinity College Dublin	Geriatrics	Rank 52
85	32,282	OC O'Dowd, Colin	National University of Ireland Galway	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 446
86	32,599	FB Fitzgerald, Brian	University of Limerick	Information Systems	Rank 75
87	32,792	HB Hathaway, Brian J.	University College Cork	Inorganic & Nuclear Chemistry	Rank 223
88	32,961	DJ Davenport, John	University College Cork	Marine Biology & Hydrobiology	Rank 230
89	32,966	MA Moran, Anthony P.	National University of Ireland Galway	Microbiology	Rank 808
90	33,453	HM Hutchinson, Michael	St Vincent's University Hospital	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 2,500
91	33,893	PP Prendergast, Patrick J.	Trinity College Dublin	Biomedical Engineering	Rank 153
92	34,007	BW Blau, Werner J.	Trinity College Dublin	Applied Physics	Rank 853
93	34,113	WG Watson, Graeme W.	Trinity College Dublin	Chemical Physics	Rank 777
94	34,157	GM Gibney, Mike	University College Dublin	Nutrition & Dietetics	Rank 259
95	34,428	IA Irvine, Alan D.	Trinity College Dublin	Dermatology & Venereal Diseases	Rank 191
96	34,673	WA Wilson, Anthony G.	University College Dublin, School of Medicine	Arthritis & Rheumatology	Rank 250
97	34,678	KM Kennedy, Michael Peter	University College Dublin	Electrical & Electronic Engineering	Rank 82
98	34,700	NM Nolan, Michael	Tyndall National Institute	Chemical Physics	Rank 785
99	35,552	CI Coyne, Imelda	Trinity College Dublin	Nursing	Rank 64
100	35,608	WG Walsh, Gary	University of Limerick	Biotechnology	Rank 90
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You are seeing the first 100. 561 more are on the 2021 career-long list.

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Every year since 2020Single Year and Career Data.

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Countries with a similar count

Career-long list2021

Turkey828 scientistsin 2021

Brazil812 scientistsin 2021

South Africa669 scientistsin 2021

Iran654 scientistsin 2021

Portugal481 scientistsin 2021

Saudi Arabia443 scientistsin 2021

Explore other countries

Career-long list2021

United Kingdom17,237 scientistsin 2021

Sweden2,889 scientistsin 2021

Denmark1,808 scientistsin 2021

Finland1,217 scientistsin 2021

Norway1,152 scientistsin 2021

Estonia52 scientistsin 2021

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Frequently asked questions

How many scientists from Ireland are in the 2021 Stanford Top 2% list?

710 scientists affiliated with Ireland are on the 2021 single-year list, and 661 are on the career-long list.

Which institute in Ireland has the most Top 2% scientists?

On the 2021 career-long list, University College Dublin has the most listed scientists from Ireland, with 115. It is followed by Trinity College Dublin with 111.

How has the number of Top 2% scientists in Ireland changed since 2020?

On the career-long list, Ireland went from 547 scientists in 2020 to 661 in 2021, a change of +20.8%.

What is the difference between the single-year and career-long lists?

The single-year list ranks scientists on the citations their work received in one year. The career-long list ranks them on citations across their whole career. Both lists are published every year, and a scientist can be on one, both or neither.

What is the official source of this data?

The rankings come from the science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators published by Ioannidis et al. in the Elsevier Data Repository, updated every year. TOPSCINET, an independent platform, organises that data by country, year, institute and field, so you can compare and explore it.