The recent Azul State of Java 2025 survey offers a timely window into the use of Java and why it is still so popular. To find out more about the survey and its findings Ronan spoke to Simon Ritter, deputy. CTO, Azul.

Simon talks about what Azul does, the benefits of Java, the Azul State of Java Report, security and more.

More about Simon Ritter:

Simon Ritter is the Deputy CTO of Azul. Simon joined Sun Microsystems in 1996 and spent time working in both Java development and consultancy. He has been presenting Java technologies to developers since 1999, focusing on the core Java platform as well as client and embedded applications.

At Azul, he continues to help people understand Java and Azul's JVM products. Simon is a Java Champion and two-time recipient of the JavaOne Rockstar award. In addition, he represents Azul on the JCP Executive Committee, the OpenJDK Vulnerability Group, and the JSR Expert Group since Java SE 9.

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The re-election of Donald Trump as President of the United States has significant implications for the cryptocurrency market. Trump made it a key campaign promise to transform the U.S. into the "crypto capital of the world," ending the previous administration's crackdown on the industry. This sparked optimism among crypto enthusiasts who expected pro-crypto policies like tax cuts, deregulation, and even a potential national digital asset reserve.

Initial Crypto Market Surge

In the immediate aftermath of Trump's victory in November 2024, major cryptocurrencies saw significant surges. Bitcoin broke through the psychological barrier of $100,000 for the first time, and subsequently reached over $109,000 on inauguration day. The overall crypto market cap also topped $3 trillion for the first time last November as the market reacted to a possible Trump presidency.

Stocks also rallied, with the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices hitting record highs. Investors anticipated corporate tax cuts and tariffs from Trump's administration that would benefit these markets. The dollar also strengthened against other global currencies.

This short-term market euphoria was based on speculation around Trump's campaign promises of tax cuts, deregulation and other crypto-friendly policies. Investors rushed to buy crypto assets in anticipation of major gains.

Loss of Momentum

However, the initial surge was not sustained in the long run. In the weeks after Trump's inauguration, the crypto market lost momentum. Lack of substantial policy announcements or concrete steps by the new administration led to growing uncertainty.

By Trump's first policy move in early February, a month after inauguration, Bitcoin had already fallen below $80,000. Ethereum was down to $80,000 from highs above $7,500. Memecoins like Dogecoin which had risen on hype also suffered crashes.

Limited Regulatory Clarity

A key expectation from Trump was clear regulations providing legitimacy to the crypto industry. However, the administration did not provide detailed frameworks.

The long-awaited crypto executive order signed in January was vague, only setting up a working group to evaluate digital asset policies. It left out specifics around taxation, stablecoin regulation, investor protection and other issues, although it did establish federal policy supporting digital assets.

Further Clarity Needed to Support Sectors Like Gaming and Retail

Many industries are hoping for further clarity, as crypto usage continues to climb in sectors like gaming, where sites like NetBet Sport routinely offer crypto as a payment option. Greater legitimacy will allow businesses to further invest in crypto, which in turn will help it become a mainstream currency option.

Conflicts of Interest

Trump's personal involvement in crypto projects like the memecoins TRUMP and MELANIA also harmed market confidence. Watchdogs and industry experts accused Trump of shameless conflicts of interest and corruption for promoting assets that benefited his business empire.

Controversies also emerged around the World Liberty Financial crypto project launched by Trump's family. Its ties to major crypto players like Tron raised eyebrows. All this damaged faith in Trump's motives around crypto among investors.

Market Manipulation Risks

With Trump himself invested heavily in crypto through various ventures, policies could be dictated by personal interests rather than public benefit. There are concerns that crypto regulation could be weakened to allow market manipulation that favours Trump's holdings.

Any such policy moves would also diminish international faith in the U.S. crypto market's ethics and transparency. This would undermine its ambitions to be the global crypto leader.

Geopolitical Headwinds

Broader geopolitical factors could negatively impact U.S. crypto markets. If tariffs are imposed on other major economies, their retaliation could hurt American crypto firms. The EU and China are also global crypto hubs.

Trump's conf...

The O-CEI project, a groundbreaking Horizon Europe Innovation Action program, has officially launched to address one of today's most pressing challenges: sustainable and energy-efficient digital networks.

The rapid growth of data-driven infrastructures has increased energy consumption, costs, and carbon emissions. This challenge is further amplified by the fragmented nature of cloud ecosystems, which struggle to efficiently manage resources across diverse edge devices such as e-vehicles, IoT-enabled sensors, and smart devices. O-CEI tackles this fragmentation head-on by fostering seamless collaboration between independent entities and enabling real-time data sharing to optimize energy usage and improve operational efficiency.

An Open Platform for a Greener Tomorrow, O-CEI

O-CEI aims to create an open CEI platform that emphasizes interoperability, security, and reliability. The platform seeks to build an ecosystem to accelerate innovation and adoption of CEI solutions, enable energy flexibility, establish CEI standards, and create viable and scalable business models.

The platform will be developed based on information collected across six strategic verticals, addressing critical sectors such as electricity grids, electromobility, software-defined vehicles, agriculture, logistics, and urban environments. To this end, O-CEI will conduct eight large-scale pilots to showcase innovative applications, including optimizing renewable energy grids, promoting sustainable dairy production, enabling smart electric vehicle charging, and managing energy in maritime ports. Through 28 real-world scenarios, the project looks to demonstrate its flexibility and scalability, emphasizing its potential to transform diverse sectors and drive sustainable innovation.

By advancing open standards and virtualization technologies, the project will enable collaboration and innovation across the six verticals. This cross-domain integration will empower industries to make faster, more precise energy predictions and implement adaptable solutions, significantly reducing energy consumption and environmental impact. The project allocated up to 4 million euros for two Open Calls which will start as of January 2026.

A Vision for Strategic Autonomy and Sustainability

O-CEI unites 58 partners from 20 countries, including leading industrial players, research organizations, academic institutions, SMEs, and non-profits. Together, these stakeholders will shape a resilient ecosystem and a competitive market for European businesses and key innovation stakeholders.

The project coordinator, Prof. Carlos Enrique Palau Salvador, from The Polytechnic University of Valencia, underlined O-CEI's transformative potential:

"O-CEI represents a bold step toward reimagining Europe's Cloud-Edge-IoT ecosystems. By harnessing the collective power of industries and innovators, we're crafting solutions that optimize energy efficiency for a more sustainable and resilient digital infrastructure. O-CEI isn't just about technology - it's about building a sustainable future for generations to come."

If you are interested in following the development of the O-CEI project, follow it on LinkedIn and Mastodon channels and visit its website.

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Surveying 1,000 people in Ireland, the Deloitte Digital Consumer Trends report shows that over two thirds (67%) of GenAI users say it boosts their productivity at work, but less than one in four (24%) say their employer actively encourages use of the technology.

The Deloitte research shows that 90% of Irish companies lack a GenAI policy and that while GenAI users are more likely to use the technology for personal reasons (69%), the percentage using it for work tasks is up from 32% in 2023 to 36%.

A total of 48% of respondents have used GenAI, an increase from 33% in 2023. Meanwhile, the percentage of those who are not aware of GenAI is down from 38% in 2023 to 27%.

Of those using GenAI, 10% are using it daily, 28% are doing so weekly and 15% are using it monthly. A total of 46% are using it less than monthly, with 24% of this cohort saying they don't know how to use it well and 18% saying they are dissatisfied with the answers they receive.

Use of GenAI is highest among younger people at 85% for those aged 18 to 24, followed by 69% for the 25 to 34 age group and 56% for those aged 35 to 44. Usage then drops significantly to 34% for those aged 45 to 54, 22% for those between 55 and 64 and 20% for those aged 65 to 75.

Most people use GenAI for personal reasons (69%) ahead of professional or work reasons (36%) and for educational purposes (38%).

Of the 67% of users who believe GenAI makes them more productive at work, 44% say they use the technology for writing and editing emails and for looking up information. A total of 42% use it to generate ideas, followed by creating written content (38%), summarising texts and reports (35%), editing (26%), analysing data (25%) and generating images (20%).

When GenAI users were asked if their employer encouraged them to use the technology at work, just 8% strongly agreed with the statement and 16% agreed.

The survey showed that uncertainty around GenAI and its impact on future workforces continues to be a concern with 60% of users worried that it will reduce the number of jobs available in the future and 46% concerned that it will replace some of their role in the workforce.

While they are concerned about the potential impact of GenAI on their future, a significant proportion of users trust the technology. A total of 28% of users said GenAI responses were unbiased and 34% agreed that the technology "always produces accurate responses". This is despite well-documented issues with the reliability of the technology.

The survey also showed that a majority of those who are aware of GenAI would be less inclined to trust AI-generated emails (66%) and AI-delivered customer services (63%).

Meanwhile, ChatGPT remains the most popular GenAI tool among people in Ireland having been used by 49% of GenAI users. This is far ahead of similar products such as Snapchat's 'My AI' (15%), Microsoft Copilot (13%) and Google Gemini (12%). The survey took place prior to the release of DeepSeek's latest AI model.

Emmanuel Adeleke, Deloitte Ireland's GenAI Leader, said: "Employees in Ireland are racing ahead of their employers when it comes to GenAI. This means gains are being left on the table by employers and innovation is being stymied.

"We're seeing the wide range of benefits GenAI creates for our clients in Deloitte, such as improved efficiency and productivity, but our survey shows that the vast majority of organisations do not have GenAI policies in place and they are not actively promoting its use or leading on its adoption even though their employees are increasingly using it to complete everyday tasks.

"It is vital employers take the lead on the use of GenAI. They need to invest in initiatives and organisational changes that will drive adoption of GenAI tools and identify successful use cases for their organisations.

"There is a risk in not reacting to the increase in usage, particularly because users are not fully appreciative of the dangers involved as indicated by the level of trust certain users have...

Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke T.D. has announced the successful applicants to the latest round of the Capital Equipment Call, administered by Enterprise Ireland (EI) through the Technology Gateway and EI/IDA Technology Centre Programmes.

Ten successful projects from across the third-level sector have secured €12.1m in funding to improve the capabilities of the existing Technology Gateways and EI/IDA Technology Centres by investing at a scale that allows them to bridge the gap between their existing capabilities and the state of the art.

With individual awards of up to €2 million available the equipment funded through this Call will become an engine of economic development for local companies, in particular Small and Medium Enterprises who could not afford to invest at this scale. The new equipment will particularly help companies develop new products and services in areas focusing on Sustainability and Manufacturing Productivity.

Since 2019, the Capital Equipment Fund administered by Enterprise Ireland has funded over 200 equipment purchases with a total value of €55 million.

Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke TD said: "I am delighted to announce that my Department, through Enterprise Ireland, is providing over €12.1 million to fund state of the art equipment for our Technology Gateways and Technology Centres. Innovation is essential for all companies to adapt and deliver novel products and services, making them more competitive in their respective markets. This funding will further add to our system of supports to our enterprise sector, with the new equipment being an important tool for companies on their growth and innovation journey.

This announcement builds on my Department's ongoing investment in equipping our research and innovation system, bringing our total funding to €55 million. It will allow our research network to continue to provide cutting edge support to Irish enterprise across all sectors and all regions in Ireland, providing more quality jobs along the way."

Marina Donohoe, Divisional Manager, Research & Innovation at Enterprise Ireland said: "The scale of this investment will have an extremely positive impact on companies in Ireland, in particular the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The cost of the equipment funded here is prohibitive to most SMEs so the provision of it in the Technology Gateways and Technology Centres means companies will have access to leading edge facilities that will in turn help to improve their technical capabilities and deliver world leading products and services. With an emphasis on sustainability, the new equipment will provide Irish companies with the means to dramatically improve their competitiveness whilst also positively contributing to Ireland's action on Climate Change."

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The Spider Awards, Ireland's longest-running and most prestigious digital awards ceremony, is delighted to unveil the shortlist for its 28th annual event. Taking place on Friday, 21st March 2025, the ceremony will once again bring together the brightest minds in Ireland's digital landscape. Held in the iconic Round Room at the Mansion House, Dublin 2, this black-tie gala dinner promises to be an unforgettable evening, with approximately 500 attendees celebrating excellence in the digital industry.

Established in 1996, the Spider Awards are dedicated to recognising companies and individuals who are driving innovation and setting new standards in digital transformation. As the longest-running digital awards programme in Ireland, they remain a cornerstone for showcasing the achievements of the nation's digital pioneers.

This year's Spider Awards saw a remarkable surge in entries, reflecting the innovation and creativity thriving within Ireland's digital sector. Leading agencies Granite and Kooba have secured multiple shortlist spots, with Granite earning an impressive nine nominations and Kooba securing five. Categories such as Best in Social Media and Best Influencer-Led Campaign attracted record-breaking submissions, reaffirming the growing influence of social and influencer-driven marketing.

Meanwhile, Best in E-Commerce experienced a significant increase in entries, highlighting the continued evolution of digital retail. Additionally, the introduction of the AI-Powered Marketing Excellence Award has been met with an outstanding calibre of entries, showcasing how brands and agencies are leveraging artificial intelligence to drive smarter, more effective marketing strategies.

This year introduces an exciting new award: the AI-Powered Marketing Excellence Award, highlighting the innovative use of artificial intelligence in marketing strategies. Additionally, categories such as Best in Social Media and Best Integrated Media Campaign have drawn record-breaking numbers of entries, showcasing the incredible talent and creativity flourishing in Ireland's digital sector.

Here is the full shortlist for the Spider Awards 2025

AI-Powered Marketing Excellence Award

AI Institute - AI Institute: Redefining Marketing Through Use of AI

NolaClan Group - Help to get Dawson Home for Christmas

Zesty - Ashgrove Furnishings

Best App Award

AY Studio - AXIS Health App

Folk VML - Circle K Extra

Musgrave - SuperValu - SuperValu Best App

Musgrave MarketPlace - Musgrave MarketPlace

Sugar Rush - Sugar Rush X Barista Bar

Best Brand Award

Barista Bar - Henderson Foodservice Ltd - Coffee As It Should Be: Brewing Community, Loyalty, and Growth

GRANITE - NDC - Redefining Dairy for the Younger Generation

Guaranteed Irish - The Guarantee of Guaranteed Irish

JOE Media Group - Gay Star News

JOE Media Group - JOE

Platform94 - Platform94

RedClick - RedClick Brand Launch - Insurance that just clicks!

Best Collaboration Award

BWG Foods - EUROSPAR proud sponsors of Junk Kouture

Gibney Communications - 'Solidarity' from Dublin Port Company and The Little Museum of Dublin

HeadStuff - 26 Minutes

JOE Media Group - Square Lovin Locals 2024

Kooba - Bord Bia Gather Event Site - Digital Collaboration

Londis - Peak Performance: Londis's Ultimate Team Collaboration

The Brill Building - Filter Out Lung Cancer: The AR Lens To Save A Life

Virgin Media - Virgin Media X Balls Media - Best for Irish Gamers

Best Consumer Campaign Award

Folk VML - Circle K Extra

Forsman & Bodenfors Dublin - Keep Discovering Car-Free, Carefree Travel

GRANITE - Aodhán - The dragon that can't breathe fire

KASH Beauty - KASH Beauty AURA Skin Campaign

Mason Hayes & Curran - Transforming Talent for Enhanced Client Service

MXB Agency - Student Fresher's Event Night at Musgrave MarketPlace Belfast

Sweartaker - Applegreen 24/7 Deal or More Deals Birthday Livestream

The Very Group - Let's Make it Sparkle

Best in Storytelling Award

GRANITE - Who did this? - The print partner that makes you look good

Inspiring B...

Clear Strategy, Ireland's leading Data and AI solutions firm headquartered in Dún Laoghaire, with operations in Lisbon, has launched its flagship product, Kerbi, on Snowflake Marketplace.

Clear Strategy, whose customer base has grown in the last year, with the increasing adoption of their Snowflake Native Apps, has existing customers that include Virgin Media Ireland, Davy and An Post.

Built using the Snowflake Native App Framework,Kerbi is an AI-powered tool that provides seamless data integration to Snowflake's AI Data Cloud. By automating repetitive tasks like data transformation, error logging and other labour-intensive aspects of data processing, Kerbienables up to a 30% reduction in the cost of implementing a data platform, delivering significant savings and efficiency gains, allowing users to focus on higher-value work. Kerbi also provides a real-time view of the health of an organisation's data ecosystem, assuring organisations that their data is governed and accurate at all times.

Clear Strategy has experienced rapid growth since 2018, driven by the rising demand for its innovative data solutions. This momentum is set to continue, with a 40% growth in headcount by the end of 2025, as the company scales its technical teams to meet expanding customer needs. revenue has grown by a multiple of 9 times, fuelled by the success of solutions like Kerbi, while the customer base has increased, reflecting the widespread adoption of its Snowflake-native offerings.

"As a Snowflake Premier partner since 2021, Clear Strategy ensures its solutions meet the highest standards for innovation and compatibility," said Julie Collison, Co-founder of Clear Strategy.

"We've established a Snowflake Centre of Excellence to help customers better exploit their data in new and innovative ways, driving faster realisation of data value. Looking ahead to 2025, we will continue enhancing Kerbi by expanding its integration capabilities and introducing AI-powered data optimisation features. We also aim to expand into the UK, EMEA, and US markets, leveraging Snowflake's global ecosystem to drive adoption of Kerbi. Additionally, Clear Strategy plans to develop further Snowflake Native Apps, solidifying our position as a key innovator in the data cloud space. We have 20+ years of experience using data to build better businesses, and that is vital with the mass adoption of AI."

Dan Waters, Regional Vice President, EMEA Partners at Snowflake said: "Snowflake Marketplace was designed to empower innovative partners such as Clear Strategy to seamlessly connect with our global customer base of over 10,000 organisations. The launch of Kerbi as a Snowflake Native App is a great example of solutions that enhance the Snowflake ecosystem and enable our joint customers to unlock value from their data with confidence."

Clear Strategy's journey, led by co-founders David Fitzpatrick and Julie Collison, has been defined by a singular focus: helping businesses transform raw data into meaningful insights that drive tangible results. By combining decades of expertise with innovative solutions like Kerbi, they have positioned themselves as a trusted partner for organisations navigating the complexities of the modern data landscape. Their approach was recently recognised when they were named Snowflake's UKI Services Accelerator Partner of the Year 2024, a testament to their commitment to delivering cutting-edge, impactful solutions.

What sets Clear Strategy apart is their ability to meet businesses where they are, tailoring solutions to real-world challenges rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all approach. This practical and adaptive philosophy has earned them the confidence of some of Ireland's leading brands and multinational clients. Recently being recognised with a Top 10 ranking in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 for 2024 and their winning of the UKI Services Accelerator Partner of the Year award underscores their forward-thinking approach and ability to innovate in ...

The Solace, an innovative digital space dedicated to grief and remembrance, has officially launched in Ireland. Founded by serial entrepreneur Mark Legge (previously co-founder of &Open), The Solace is designed to support not just those grieving, but also funeral professionals and the wider community impacted by death. By bridging care, connection, and innovation, The Solace offers a streamlined approach to memorialisation and funeral coordination, ensuring that those experiencing grief are supported with sensitivity and ease.

Unlike traditional obituary services and death notice sites, The Solace is built as a fully realised space for grief. The platform allows families to create digital memorials with photographs, videos, and shared stories, ensuring that a loved one's legacy is preserved and accessible. For funeral directors, The Solace addresses key pain points and simplifies logistical processes, offering tools for publishing death notices, managing RSVPs, coordinating charity donations, and streamlining communication. Bringing a fully comprehensive experience under one roof, The Solace has sourced from trusted vendors to offer a curated selection of mementoes and gifts, such as sympathy cards, candles, books and urns.

Bringing years of experience in designing innovative solutions, Mark Legge co-founded &Open, a company that redefined corporate gifting by replacing impersonal options with curated, meaningful gestures. Now, with The Solace, he applies this same ethos of a human-first, thoughtfully designed approach to grieving and funeral planning.

CEO Mark Legge said on the launch: "When my father died, it was one of the most challenging experiences of my life, in terms of both loneliness and the complexities - not only in the immediate after, but the months and years that followed. In Ireland, we take pride in 'doing death well,' yet many traditional services no longer reflect the way we live today. The need for something different is clear. Many people who have experienced grief share that traditional services can often feel disconnected or limited. I wanted to create a space where remembrance felt personal and accessible. The Solace is built to offer that."

While death is inevitable, the way we honour and remember our loved ones is evolving, catalysed by changing societal and technological trends. Notably global cremation rates reached 61.9% in 2024, with traditional gravestones giving way to the need for lasting digital legacies. Further to this, the rise of forum-style social media platforms, such as Reddit, demonstrates that people are increasingly seeking digital spaces to share experiences and engage within communities. Despite being a growing $62 billion industry as of 2023, the funeral sector is currently underserved by low-engagement, content-poor options. The Solace is at the forefront of this evolution of the industry, driven by such shifts.

With global ambitions, Mark looks to replicate the success of his previous companies in this new project, bringing both his expertise in creative thinking and experience scaling a business internationally. Recognising the need for a more accessible and thoughtful way to support grievers and the extended community of the deceased, Mark leveraged this passion for creating human-centred digital experiences to transform an industry that had remained largely unchanged for decades.

Legge added, "This is a sector that has not seen a huge amount of innovation over the years; from my previous ventures I knew that a thoughtful and experience-driven approach would be of value to funeral directors and grievers alike. There is a growing desire for a more engaging, experiential approach; over the last 12 months, working with a small team to build The Solace, we have spoken with families, funeral directors and communities to shape a space that meets the demands of the modern market."

With an understanding beyond digital, The Solace also provides tangible ways to express remembrance. ...

Interview with Danny Jenkins, CEO and co-founder of Threatlocker

Danny Jenkins didn't take the conventional route into cybersecurity. In fact, his journey started in an entirely different world - writing malware as a teenager in the UK. Now, as the CEO and co-founder of ThreatLocker, he's one of the leading voices in cybersecurity, helping businesses and IT professionals defend against the very threats he once explored.

With the rise of AI-driven cyberattacks, Jenkins is more determined than ever to educate and arm businesses with the right tools. Through hands-on training, live demonstrations, and a deep dive into emerging cyber threats, he's helping IT professionals develop the skills and strategies needed to combat modern cyber risks.

A Childhood Curiosity Turned Cybersecurity Mission

Jenkins' fascination with technology began at an early age - though not in the most conventional way.

"I was very short and used to get beaten up a lot," Jenkins admits. "I wasn't very good at fighting back, so I responded by writing malware. This was in the days of Windows 3.1, and I would create scripts that waited for floppy disks to be plugged in and then deleted work from people I didn't like."

Despite this early experimentation with hacking, Jenkins never went down the black-hat route. Instead, he secured an IT apprenticeship at just 15 years old, earning £50 a week. His passion for understanding how systems worked quickly led him into corporate IT security, where he learned firsthand how to defend large-scale networks from cyber threats.

The Evolution of Threats: AI and the New Cybersecurity Battlefield

Jenkins built his career by securing global enterprises, but today's cyber threats are evolving faster than ever - especially with the rise of AI-generated malware. What once required deep coding knowledge can now be created in minutes by someone with no prior experience.

"Two years ago, if you wanted to create malware, you either had to buy it off the dark web or write it yourself," Jenkins explains. "Now, anyone with a computer can generate malware using AI. We tested ChatGPT last year. At first, it refused to write malicious code, but when we told it we were cybersecurity professionals, it gave us exactly what we needed."

The experiment was eye-opening. When Jenkins' team compared a ChatGPT-generated malware script with a publicly available one from Google, traditional antivirus software immediately flagged the Google script - but the AI-generated one slipped through undetected.

"The problem isn't just that AI is making it easier to create malware. It's that new, unique malware is being generated in real time, making it nearly impossible for traditional detection-based security to keep up," Jenkins warns.

The Zero Trust Approach: Deny by Default

Jenkins and ThreatLocker advocate for a zero trust approach to cybersecurity - one that flips traditional security models on their heads. Instead of trying to detect and block bad software, Jenkins believes in denying everything by default and only allowing applications that have been explicitly approved.

"We don't care whether a piece of software is good or bad. If it hasn't been approved, it doesn't run. Period," he explains. "Hackers constantly find new ways to get past antivirus and detection tools, but if they can't execute their code, they can't do anything."

This "deny by default, allow by exception" approach eliminates a key weakness of traditional security models: the reliance on knowing what's bad. With AI-generated threats emerging at an unprecedented pace, zero trust security is becoming a necessity, not a luxury.

AI Agents, Web3, and the Future of Cybersecurity

The rise of AI agents - autonomous systems capable of performing complex tasks - also presents new cybersecurity challenges. These agents can transact, make decisions, and access personal data without direct human oversight, raising concerns about data privacy, fraud, and security breaches.

"The biggest risk isn't just w...

As Storm Éowyn approached Ireland on Friday, 25th January 2025, the Irish Marine Data Buoy Observation Network, managed by the Marine Institute in collaboration with Met Éireann, collected data on ocean weather conditions. These measurements confirm the extraordinary strength of Storm Éowyn. The long-term collection of ocean weather data is critical to the performance of weather forecast models.

During Storm Éowyn at 9 am, Friday 25th January 2025, the M3 buoy located 30 nautical miles (56km) off the Cork coast recorded a wave height of 20.15 metres - almost the length of a tennis court (23.7 metres). A wave height of 18.75 metres was recorded by the M4 buoy, located 45 nautical miles (83km) off the Donegal coast. Although not record wave heights at these locations, the data buoys operated throughout unprecedented storm conditions. The data buoys remained in position and have continued to report all parameters since Storm Éowyn passed.

The M3 and M4 data buoys are part of the Irish Marine Data Buoy Observation Network, a network of five observing buoys located in the seas around Ireland. The data buoys collect weather and ocean data including wind speed and direction, atmospheric pressure, air and sea surface temperature, and wave statistics. This information is vital for improving weather forecasts, as well as providing data for operational ocean models, shipping bulletins, gale and swell warnings, and scientific research including climate change.

Significant wind speeds were recorded by Marine Institute data buoys located off the Galway coast as Storm Éowyn arrived on the morning of Friday 25th January 2025. The Mace Head data buoy sustained winds of 114km/h and gusts up to 162km/h. The data buoy at Lehanagh Pool in Connemara recorded wind speeds of 100km/h and gusts of 150km/h.

Dr Rick Officer, CEO of the Marine Institute said the Irish Marine Data Buoy Observation Network plays a vital role in forecasting weather events, particularly during severe storms like Storm Éowyn.

"Data buoys provide real-time ocean and weather measurements that are critical for accurate weather predictions, supporting national emergency efforts, and ensuring public safety. Despite the extreme conditions of Storm Éowyn, the data buoys withstood the intense weather, remained operational, and continued delivering crucial data."

"The ongoing collaboration between the Marine Institute and Met Éireann, ensures that the Irish Marine Data Buoy Observation Network remains a reliable and vital resource for weather forecasting and maritime safety, as well as a critical support for scientific research," Dr Officer added.

The Irish Marine Data Buoy Observation Network is funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and managed by the Marine Institute in collaboration with Met Éireann. Real time data observations for the Irish Marine Data Buoy Observation Network, are available at marine.ie/databuoy.