Dundalk native Naughton makes landmark philanthropic contributon

Dundalk native Martin Naughton has made a €25 million donation to a new programme for students at Trinity College Dublin - the single biggest philanthropic donation in Irish history.

The Glen Dimplex founder was joined by his wife Carmel, Minister of State Mary Mitchell O'Connor and Minister for Education Richard Bruton on Friday to announce the new €60 million campus that will provide 1,800 new place for students studying STEM subjects, such as science, technology engineering and maths.

Work is set to begin on the new E3 Institute later this year, with hopes that it is completed by 2022.
Speaking at Friday's announcement, Dr Naughton said Ireland was going to need increasing numbers of engineers and scientists to work together to tackle big global challenges the world is currently facing.

Naughton said he agreed to fund the new and ambitious Trinity College project on two conditions – that it should be a world-class development, and that it would be supported by the Department of Education.

The Government is providing €15m in funding on top of the Naughton’s €25m - towards a €60m cost.
Minister Bruton thanked Naughton for his service to the country as a whole.

Glen Dimplex was founded in 1973 by Mr Naughton, a former pupil of De La Salle College in Dundalk.

It is now the world's largest electrical heating business. According to the Sunday Independent, Mr Naughton is the 11th richest person in Ireland with a personal fortune of €1.65 billion