Maths Week Ireland


Maths Week Ireland is an annual all-island mathematics outreach initiative which takes place throughout Ireland each October. It was founded in 2006 by Waterford Institute of Technology staff members Eoin Gill and Sheila Donegan, and is a project of that institution's STEM outreach Centre for the Advancement of Learning of Maths, Science and Technology. Gill and Donegan continue to direct and run MWI.
In 2019 MWI engaged over 400,000 people on an island with a population of under 7 million and is arguably the world's largest mathematics festival.

Purpose

MWI is a partnership of over 50 organizations dedicated to promoting and celebrating mathematics across the island of Ireland, including universities, institutes of technology, colleges, museums, libraries, visitor centres, and other professional bodies. Maths Week Ireland is currently supported by the Irish Government’s Department of Education and Taighde Eireann, Research Ireland, and the Northern Ireland government’s Department for the Economy and technology company AMD.
MWI targets school and universities, as well as hosting weekend "street fairs" in cities such as Dublin, Belfast and Cork. Events are run by the participants with materials delivered online by Maths Week Ireland. Most schools run their own special activities. Maths Week is a nine-day event which always includes the 16th of October, the day in 1843 when William R. Hamilton discovered quaternions.
The idea has been so successful that it has now been replicated in England and Scotland.
MWI hosts the Maths Ireland website which is home to the monthly blogs of the Annals of Irish Mathematics & Mathematicians, authored by Colm Mulcahy.
Starting in 2016, MWI has also produced the annual Irish Maths Calendars which are also archived at the Maths Ireland site.

Presenters

Mathematicians and mathematics popularizers who have been MWI presenters include:
In 2016 MWI inaugurated the annual Maths Week Ireland Award to honor outstanding work in raising public awareness of mathematics. The award is presented during Maths Week Ireland. Awardees so far are: