In this article, the unfulfilled promise of eportfolio in Irish higher education is critiqued. The article analyses the factors that have led to the slow pace of eportfolio adoption in Ireland, in contrast to the ubiquitous nature of eportfolio practice in higher education worldwide. The emergence of an Irish eportfolio community indicates that eportfolio are gaining traction in Irish higher education but to fulfil their promise academics need to be supported in their professional development, funding is required for empirical research and a greater understanding of eportfolio purposes and pedagogy should be developed in the Irish academic community.