The Nelson Mandela Foundation has said it is reviewing the use of the iconic name by the University of Galway following controversy surrounding its ongoing links with an Israeli institution.
The university has a partnership with the Israel Institute of Technology, Technion. It has said it will not participate in any new institutional research agreements involving direct Israeli partners in the future in response to the conflict in Gaza, but has said its legal advice is that it must continue with a research programme involving academic partners, one of which is Technion.
In a statement to the 7LÁ current affairs programme on TG4, the international foundation said it was now reviewing the use of Mandela’s name by the university because of its related concerns.
“[It is] part of its responsibility to safeguard the integrity and legacy of Nelson Mandela, including its role in managing the use of his name, image, and related intellectual property,” the foundation said.
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Mandela was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by the university during a visit in 2002. The university established a Nelson Mandela Leadership Award in 2025.
However, last month, the inaugural recipients of the award, Dylan and Shane O’Halloran, relinquished their titles in protest at the university’s continued partnership with Technion.
The university is the lead co-ordinator in the Asterisk project, which received €4 million in EU Horizon funding. The project aims to develop methods of producing green hydrogen from seawater and involves 12 international partners, including Technion.
The university has said it is contractually bound to continue its collaboration with Technion and cannot exit the agreement, citing legal advice. It said, however, that it will not enter into any new contracts with Israeli institutions.
The Global Legal Action Network (Glan), which supports legal challenges relating to human rights violations, has called on the university to publish the legal advice it is relying on to continue its collaboration with Technion.
Glan director Gearóid Ó Cuinn told 7LÁ that public bodies continuing to collaborate with Israeli institutions or companies linked to alleged breaches of international law could face legal action.
University College Dublin and the University of Limerick have two ongoing collaborations with Technion. UCD and UL both cite “academic freedom” for maintaining the controversial research projects. Other Irish universities, including Trinity College Dublin, are involved in research collaborations with Israeli institutions.
