The Irish Research Council’s Researcher of the Year Awards celebrate the very best IRC-funded researchers who are making highly significant and valuable contributions to knowledge, society, culture and innovation.

Professor McMahon has led pioneering and internationally recognised research on the impact of intellectual property (IP) rights on people’s access to healthcare and on the development and delivery of health technologies.

A 2020 article by Professor McMahon examining the impact of patent rights on which countries could access Covid-19 vaccines, medicines and diagnostics first, and on what terms, was cited as an information source for a UK House of Commons Briefing in November 2020.

Accepting her award, Professor McMahon said: “Scientific research can have incredible benefits for human health. My research is driven by building understandings of the role that legal and regulatory mechanisms can play in fostering the development of cutting-edge ethically responsible health technologies; and alongside this, developing understandings of how legal tools can facilitate and ensure equitable access to such health technologies for all those who need them.”

Professor David Stifter of the Department of Early Irish was commended in the Researcher of the Year category and Dr Ian Marder of the School of Law and Criminology, received an Impact Award commendation for his research work in restorative justice.

Professor Rachel Msetfi, vice president research and innovation at Maynooth University congratulated all the recipients and paid tribute to their dedicated research: “These awards are a wonderful recognition of the excellent work being conducted by researchers at Maynooth University in the fields of law, criminology, education, and old Irish. We are very proud that our researchers are being honoured today for their highly significant and valuable contributions to knowledge, society, culture, and innovation.”