The Irish Research Council (Irish: An Chomhairle um Thaighde in Éirinn) was launched in 2012 and operates under the aegis of the Department of Education. The core function of the organisation is to support research across a number of disciplines and career stages. The council also has a role in supporting research with a "societal focus", and has established partnerships across government and civic society to this end.

The council provides competitive funding for Postgraduate Scholarships and for Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in all disciplines. The Council also funds Principal Investigator-led research with a social, cultural and societal significance, it participates in a range of EU-funded projects, and it also partners on a number of initiatives with enterprise, employers, government departments and civic society.