In the structures of European society, the institutions of education, state, industry and others have always been quite autonomous and largely separate from each other. This contrasts with the USA and Japan, where the linkages between the university and industry sectors have always been very strong and cooperation between the two has been long established. This paper addresses itself to the situation in Ireland and reviews the many institutional structures for university industry cooperation. The specific developments in University College Dublin are described and the benefits which such cooperation bring to both the university and industrial sectors are summarised.