6-K

                                    FORM 6-K

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                        Report of Foreign Private Issuer
                        Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16
                    under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

                        For the month of September, 2004

                        Commission File Number 001-13896



                              Elan Corporation, plc
                 (Translation of registrant's name into English)


                 Lincoln House, Lincoln Place, Dublin 2, Ireland
                    (Address of principal executive offices)



     Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual
reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F:

                 Form 20-F /X/                Form 40-F / /


     Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in
paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1):

                       Yes / /                      No /X/

     Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1) only permits the submission in paper of
a Form 6-K if submitted solely to provide an attached annual report to security
holders.


     Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in
paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7):

                       Yes / /                      No /X/






                                      -2-


     Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7) only permits the submission in paper of
a Form 6-K if submitted to furnish a report or other document that the
registrant foreign private issuer must furnish and make public under the laws of
the jurisdiction in which the registrant is incorporated, domiciled or legally
organized (the registrant's "home country"), or under the rules of the home
country exchange on which the registrant's securities are traded, as long as the
report or other document is not a press release, is not required to be and has
not been distributed to the registrant's security holders, and, if discussing a
material event, has already been the subject of a Form 6-K submission or other
Commission filing on EDGAR.

     Indicate by check mark whether by furnishing the information contained in
this Form, the registrant is also thereby furnishing the information to the
Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

                       Yes / /                      No /X/


     If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the
registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b):







This Report of Foreign Issuer on Form 6-K is incorporated by reference into the
Post-Effective Amendments on Forms F-3 and S-8 to Form F-4 Registration
Statement of Elan Corporation, plc (Registration No. 333-12756), the
Registration Statement on Form F-3 of Elan Corporation, plc and Athena
Neuroscience Finance, LLC (Registration No. 333-13130), and the Registration
Statements on Form S-8 of Elan Corporation, plc (Registration Nos. 333-13996,
333-12344, 333-11940, 333-09644, 333-09284, 333-09048, 333-08384, 333-07361,
333-07136, 333-14240, 33-27506, 333-100252 and 333-100556).










                                       EXHIBIT LIST

  Exhibit     Description
  -------     -----------

    99.1      Press release dated September 22, 2004 titled:
              Elan and Wyeth receive patents supporting Alzheimer's disease
              immunotherapy treatments. Seven new patents enhance the companies'
              patent portfolio in immunotherapy research and development.








                                   SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.



                                    ELAN CORPORATION, plc

                                    By:  /s/ William F. Daniel
                                         ----------------------------
                                         William F. Daniel
                                         Company Secretary

Date: September 22, 2004

EX-99.1

                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.1



                             ELAN Corporate Bulletin

                             FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Investors:                                                Media:
Elan: Emer Reynolds                                       Elan: Anita Kawatra
Ph:   353-1-709-4000                                      Ph:  212-407-5755
      800-252-3526                                             800-252-3526

Wyeth: Justin Victoria                                    Wyeth: Gerald V. Burr
Ph:    973-660-5340                                       Ph:    484-865-5138


                    ELAN AND WYETH RECEIVE PATENTS SUPPORTING
                  ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE IMMUNOTHERAPY TREATMENTS

   Seven new patents enhance the companies' patent portfolio in immunotherapy
                            research and development

DUBLIN, IRELAND and MADISON, NJ, September 22, 2004 -- Elan Corporation, plc and
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth, today announced that the United
States Patent and Trademark Office recently issued Neuralab Limited, a
subsidiary of Elan, seven patents for the companies' joint research on
immunotherapeutic approaches to the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's
disease.

Six of the patents, all entitled "Prevention and treatment of amyloidogenic
disease," are directed to the companies' active immunization approaches for
treatment of Alzheimer's disease:

U.S. Patent Numbers 6,787,140 and 6,787,523 claim methods of prophylactically or
therapeutically treating a disease characterized by a beta amyloid deposit in a
patient by administering a beta amyloid peptide.

U.S. Patent Numbers 6,787,139, 6,787,138; 6,787,143 and 6,787,144 claim
compositions comprising a beta amyloid fragment, as well as methods using those
compositions to



                            ELAN Corporate Bulletin


prophylactically or therapeutically treat a disease characterized by a beta
amyloid deposit in a patient.

The seventh patent is directed to the companies' passive immunization approach:
U.S. Patent Number 6,787,637, entitled "N-terminal amyloid-beta antibodies,"
claims pharmaceutical compositions comprising an antibody that specifically
binds to a region within the beta amyloid. This patent is in addition to the
previously issued U.S. Patent Numbers 6,750,324, 6,743,427 and 6,761,888
relating to passive immunization.

"As we continue to advance our understanding of Alzheimer's disease, it is
increasingly important that we examine multiple approaches towards targeting the
different parts of the disease. These new patents underscore this commitment and
further our goal of developing treatments for this devastating disease," said
Lars Ekman, M.D., Executive Vice President and President, Research and
Development, Elan.

"Elan and Wyeth maintain a strong commitment to leading edge immunotherapy
research. These new patents are important additions to the Alliance's already
strong patent portfolio," said Robert R. Ruffolo, Jr., Ph.D., President, Wyeth
Research and Senior Vice President, Wyeth.

Elan and Wyeth, solely or jointly, are the owners or exclusive licensees of more
than fifty U.S. patents and/or patent applications along with corresponding
foreign patents supporting their Alzheimer's disease immunotherapy approach.

In 2000, Elan and Wyeth formed a collaboration to discover, develop and
commercialize immunotherapeutic approaches to prevent and treat Alzheimer's
disease. The companies are currently pursuing beta amyloid immunotherapy for
mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease in a Phase I safety study of a humanized
monoclonal antibody, AAB-001. Elan and Wyeth are



                            ELAN Corporate Bulletin


also developing ACC-001, a novel beta amyloid-related active immunization
approach that is in the late preclinical discovery phase.

About Elan

Elan is focused on the discovery, development, manufacturing, sale and marketing
of novel therapeutic products in neurodegenerative diseases, autoimmune diseases
and severe pain. Elan (NYSE: ELN) shares trade on the New York, London and
Dublin Stock Exchanges.

About Wyeth

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth (NYSE:WYE), has leading products in
the areas of women's health care, cardiovascular disease, central nervous
system, inflammation, transplantation, hemophilia, oncology, vaccines and
nutritional products. Wyeth is one of the world's largest research-driven
pharmaceutical and health care products companies. It is a leader in the
discovery, development, manufacturing, and marketing of pharmaceuticals,
vaccines, biotechnology products and nonprescription medicines that improve the
quality of life for people worldwide. The Company's major divisions include
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare, and Fort Dodge Animal Health.

Forward Looking Statement

The statements in this press release that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties including,
without limitation, risks associated with the inherent uncertainty of the
clinical development of potential pharmaceutical products for Alzheimer's
Disease and whether they will ever be approved for commercialisation. Factors
which could cause actual results to differ materially from the companies'
current expectations include the risk that problems or delays may arise during
preparations for clinical trials or in the course of development, testing or
manufacturing of any potential product; the risk that results in later stage or
larger trials may be different from early stage clinical trials or may not meet
applicable regulatory standards; as well as the other risks and uncertainties
described from time to time in the companies' periodic reports filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.