Athlone Institute of Technology (Irish: Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Bhaile Átha Luain), also known as AIT, is a third-level education institution in Athlone, Ireland.
The institution was established by the Irish Government in 1970 as Athlone Regional Technical College under control of the local Vocational Education Committee. In 1975 the College acquired an Art Collection. The College gained more autonomy with the enactment of the Regional Technical Colleges Act 1992. In late 1997, as with the other RTC’s it was renamed the Athlone, Institute of Technology. In 1999 AIT became a validation authority with the power to award HETAC degrees. In 2000, Prof. Ciarán Ó Catháin was appointed President of AIT. Dr David Fenton and James Coyle, were previous holders of the post of head of the College, previously called Director and Principal before that. In 2001 a School of Humanities was opened. In 2010 President of Ireland Mary McAleese spoke at the fortieth anniversary of the College.
Facilities
- The Goldsmith Library, named after Oliver Goldsmith, novelist, playwright and poet
- McCormack Hall, performance venue named after John McCormack, tenor
AIT International Arena
An international athletics arena with an overall building floor area of 9,715 m2 was opened in early 2013. The arena can house 2,000 spectators and was constructed at a cost of €10 million.