Ireland's saints may have long since deserted it, but now it appears our scholars aren't what they used to be either.

This week Ireland's two biggest universities both failed to rank among the world's top 100 for teaching and research in the view of a panel of international academics.

The Irish universities did rank among the top 26 in Europe however, according to the latest global league table.

Trinity College Dublin (TCD) placed 14th in Europe, while University College Dublin (UCD) placed 26th, in a new rankings published by Times of London's Higher Education magazine.