The President of the University of Limerick, Dr Des Fitzgerald, has announced that he will step down from the role later this year.
In a move that has greatly surprised people working at UL and across the third-level sector, Dr Fitzgerald said he had taken the decision to resign "in the context of Covid-19".
Dr Fitzgerald, who is 66, said that the virus would "directly impact my ability to serve the university and limit my ability to fully engage once we get our community back onto the campus".
In a statement announcing his decision Dr Fitzgerald, who took up the UL presidency three years ago, said he believed the university had made important progress in tackling "controversial issues" which predated his appointment and which resulted in