diff --git a/packages/r-irkernel/package.py b/packages/r-irkernel/package.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d6dd8db386548c6464be1f016487b9f07246969b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/r-irkernel/package.py
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+# this package was adapted from Spack upstream v0.18.1, to change the dependency on py-jupyter to py-jupyter-client
+
+# Copyright 2013-2022 Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC and other
+# Spack Project Developers. See the top-level COPYRIGHT file for details.
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: (Apache-2.0 OR MIT)
+
+
+from spack import *
+
+
+class RIrkernel(RPackage):
+    """Native R Kernel for the 'Jupyter Notebook'.
+    The R kernel for the 'Jupyter' environment executes R code which the
+    front-end ('Jupyter Notebook' or other front-ends) submits to the kernel
+    via the network."""
+
+    cran = "IRkernel"
+
+    version('1.3', sha256='5a7fcbfd978dfb3cca6702a68a21c147551995fc400084ae8382ffcbbdae1903')
+    version('1.2', sha256='5fb4dbdb741d05043120a8be0eb73f054b607d9854f314bd79cfec08d219ff91')
+    version('0.7',
+            git="https://github.com/IRkernel/IRkernel.git",
+            commit='9cdd284e03eb42d03fab18544b81f486852d5fe0',
+            deprecated=True)
+
+    depends_on('r@3.2.0:', type=('build', 'run'))
+    depends_on('r-repr@0.4.99:', type=('build', 'run'))
+    depends_on('r-evaluate@0.10:', type=('build', 'run'))
+    depends_on('r-irdisplay@0.3.0.9999:', type=('build', 'run'))
+    depends_on('r-pbdzmq@0.2-1:', type=('build', 'run'))
+    depends_on('r-crayon', type=('build', 'run'))
+    depends_on('r-jsonlite@0.9.6:', type=('build', 'run'))
+    depends_on('r-uuid', type=('build', 'run'))
+    depends_on('r-digest', type=('build', 'run'))
+    depends_on('py-jupyter-client', type='run')
+
+    depends_on('r-evaluate@0.5.4:', type=('build', 'run'), when='@0.7')
+    depends_on('r-devtools', type=('build', 'run'), when='@0.7')