In the most comprehensive survey of its kind in Ireland, this article analyses the growing field of international relations and international politics, examining what scholars working in universities in the Republic of Ireland think about international politics and what they are teaching the current generation of students. The article also provides for international comparisons with 10 other countries as the survey is part of a larger cross-national survey, led by academics at the college of William and Mary in Virginia, USA on teaching, research and international policy. The picture of Irish international relations that emerges from the first survey of Irish IR scholars is one of an internationally engaged community of scholars. Irish IR scholars themselves are very international; half come from countries other than Ireland and most speak at least one language other than English. This diversity within the Irish academy exposes students to varied global perspectives and helps them to better understand problems that are increasingly global in nature, such as environmental and health issues. Given this, the internationalisation of Ireland's IR community may be one of the field's greatest strengths and indeed the Irish academy's comparative advantage. Perhaps because of this diversity, IR scholarship and teaching at Irish universities does not fall under any single hegemonic theoretical, methodological or ideological perspective. Instead, the field is characterised by vibrant theoretical and methodological debates drawing on scholarship and evidence from the United States, Western Europe and other countries and regions. Individual scholars in Ireland, however, do seem to be less likely to draw equally on rationalist and constructivist approaches in their work, more likely than their international colleagues to see their work exclusively in one approach, and much more likely than international colleagues to describe their work exclusively as rationalist. © 2012 Copyright Political Studies Association of Ireland.