Top Irish universities continue to climb world university rankings

The results of the 2010 QS World University Rankings show Irish universities are holding their own against the world's top universities.

ThreeIrish universities rank in the Top 200 universities in the world , with a total of eight Irish universities featuring in the full QS Top 500 results.

Trinity College Dublin isranked just outside the Top 50, at place 52, while University College Dublin at 114, and University College Cork at 184, make up the threeIrish universities in the Top 200. However, unlike other years, the performance of Irishuniversities in the QS World University Rankings has been mixed: four universities have dropped in rank, three universities have remained stable, and only one university -University College Cork - hasimproved on 2009 results.

Now in itsseventh year, the QS World University Rankings research is conducted by QS Quacquarelli Symonds.