The Irish Universities’ Association (IUA) (Irish: Cumann Ollscoileanna Éireann) is the representative body of the eight universities within the Republic of Ireland and is based at NUI offices in Merrion Square, Dublin. It is a non-profit-making body.
The IUA Council consists of the presidents/provosts of each college. IUA activities are run through a network of committees and working groups including nine standing groups: Chief Finance Officers, VPs of Research, Registrars, HR Directors, Secretaries, VPs Global, VPs EDI, Directors of Comms & Marketing, COOs .
In 1972, the five Heads of the universities in Ireland at that time decided to establish a conference to provide a forum for joint action on matters of common concern. The Association was created in the late 1970s as the Conference of Heads of Irish Universities (CHIU) (Irish: Comhghairm Cheannairí Ollscoileanna Éireann) and formally incorporated in 1997 with charitable status and adopted its current name in 2005.
The IUA is a "Collective Full Member" of the European University Association.[1]