The ability to maintain high yields for barley production in Ireland is crucial for the indigenous brewing industry. However, high yields are threatened by global climate change, as Ireland is predicted to have increased flooding events. In consequence, the identification and development of barley varieties that are more tolerant to waterlogging has become an important research focus. The N-end rule protein degradation pathway has been shown to play an important role in the response of plants to flooding in Arabidopsis thaliana. Based on sequence similarities, N-end rule components were identified in barley and used as targets to develop new cultivars with increased waterlogging tolerance. Also, barley varieties that are part of AGOUEB population were tested for their waterlogging tolerance. Gene expression together with physiological parameters such as plant height, tiller number, chlorophyll content and root architecture were assessed in order to select varieties that are more tolerant to waterlogging