Royal Irish Academy – Dawson Street

Overview

The Royal Irish Academy holds the largest collection of Old Irish manuscripts in the world, and it keeps them at 19 Dawson Street in the centre of Dublin. Founded in 1785 and given a royal charter by George III the following year, it is Ireland’s senior learned society, covering the sciences, the arts, literature and the social sciences. It is a working research body first, but the Georgian premises, the library and a programme of exhibitions, lectures and audio-guided tours are open to the public, free.

History

The Academy grew from a group of scientists, writers and artists who began meeting in 1785 to promote Irish learning. They gathered first at Charlemont House, then in 1787 moved to the former Grand Canal Company offices on Grafton Street, Navigation House. In 1852 they settled into Academy House, the present home, built around 1750 and fitted in 1854 with decorative plasterwork and a meeting room designed by Frederick Clarendon.

For most of the 19th century the Academy held Ireland’s foremost antiquities, the Ardagh Chalice and the Tara Brooch among them, until they passed to the National Museum of Ireland in 1890. What stayed was the manuscript collection: the 6th-century Cathach of Colmcille, the 8th-century Lebor na hUidre, the 14th-century Leabhar Breac, the Book of Ballymote and the Annals of the Four Masters. Today the Academy works as an independent forum of peer-elected members, advising government and the public, publishing six scholarly journals and running nine research programmes, and awarding honours such as the Cunningham Medal.

What to see

The library is the reason to come. It holds over 150,000 printed items and the broadest collection of medieval Irish manuscripts anywhere; you can see the reading room where scholars work, and, when there’s an exhibition on, items such as the Cathach or the Annals shown behind climate-controlled glass. Whether the headline manuscripts are out depends on the current exhibition, so check before you make a special trip.

Academy House also runs art exhibitions, scientific displays and literary talks; past programmes have included ‘Ink & Innovation’ on early printed books. For a self-paced visit there’s an audio guide through the Inner Hall, the reading room and the historic meeting room, in English and Irish, streamed or downloaded from the website (a short excerpt is here). Conferences and debates are often free and open to the public, which is a low-key way to sit in on serious research.

Practical information

Opening hours

Access – The building is wheelchair-accessible, with a lift to the main floors and a ramp at the side entrance. The audio guide works from the reading room even when the meeting room is in use.

Getting there – Academy House is a short walk from St Stephen’s Green and the Luas Green Line (St Stephen’s Green stop). Dublin Bus routes 145 and 46A stop nearby.

Admission – Free, but limited to scheduled tours, exhibitions or library appointments. Check the website for the current exhibition schedule and book a slot where one is needed.

Latitude / longitude – 53.340746, -6.258110

Nearby

The Academy sits in a tight cultural quarter, which makes for an easy hour on foot.

• Mansion House – next door on Dawson Street, the Lord Mayor of Dublin’s official residence since 1715.
• National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology – a three-minute walk on Kildare Street, holding the gold ornaments and prehistoric pieces the Academy once collected.
• National Library of Ireland – also on Kildare Street, with rotating exhibitions on Irish writing.
• St Stephen’s Green – a five-minute walk south, for a sit-down afterwards.

Research and learning

For non-specialists the Academy runs a monthly Public Lecture Series, often free, on everything from climate science to the Irish language. Selected medieval texts are digitised and put online at high resolution, so you can keep reading after a visit, and the education office arranges workshops for primary and secondary schools through the academic year.