The concept of the Continuous Professional Development of Teachers (CPD) continues to emerge in Ireland and is strongly influenced by movements abroad, especially from amongst our European neighbours. Coming from a recent tradition of little or no systematic CPD the Irish education system is now trying to build structures such as a newly established Teaching Council (2005) which regard CPD as the norm. Since 1998 Ireland has experienced a process of legislative reform, much of it driven by European directives which promote inclusion and equality of all within the education mainstream. Structural reforms within the Department of Education (Cromien 2000) have contributed to the establishment of new curriculum support programmes which provide direct support for teachers. Moves are afoot to unify these programmes into a single coherent national support structure which will provide a CPD framework for practising teachers. Irish Universities have long had involvement in teacher CPD through the provision of post-graduate diploma and degree courses. Their approach has been predictably academic more than vocational, reflecting the discipline / profession distinction which has been noted in Germany (Keiner 2002) The Irish Teaching Council is the structure most likely to impact significantly on Irish teacher CPD. Established as a statutory body it has legally stipulated commitments to develop the teaching profession with specific reference to CPD. The experience of neighbouring countries such as England (Furlong 2000) and Scotland (McCrone 1999) show that Teaching Councils do not undertake CPD work directly choosing instead to set frameworks and standards for its implementation. Universities are often preferred partners in the provision of CPD, its operation and evaluation. This paper will review the recent Irish experience of CPD with reference to participation by Universities in its provision. It will then set Irish CPD in the European context before going to locate it within the mainstream of current international thinking on teacher CPD (Furlong 2000)(Whitty 2002)(Sachs 2003)(Hargreaves 2003). It will argue that the challenge for Irish Universities will be to negotiate a new space and role from themselves within the emergent structures of the new order. To achieve this they will need to be more flexible and adaptable than they may have been heretofore if they are to engage with the practicing teacher on his or her own terms. Must teachers leave the classroom to engage with the Universities or can the Universities leave academe to engage with the teachers in their classrooms? What is called for is a contestation not only of ideas and theories but also of space and practice as well.