Royal Dublin Society

Irish association established in Dublin in 1731 to promote the sciences and to improve agricultural practices. It has had a central role in the development of Irish scientific thinking and funded many of Ireland's early scientists. The society has helped to establish many national institutions including the National Library, the National Gallery, the National Botanical Gardens, and the Veterinary College which is now part of University College, Dublin. It formerly occupied the buildings of the Dáil (parliament) 1815–1924, but is now based in Ballsbridge, just south of central Dublin.

The RDS had its first meeting on 25th June 1731, setting itself objectives which included the improvement of ‘husbandry, manufactures, and other useful arts’. The words ‘and sciences’ were only added to its aims at its second meeting, but it is in the promotion of the sciences that the society has had its greatest impact. By the end of the 18th century the society appointed professors in the sciences who were required to carry out research and give public lectures on scientific advancements. Before a living could be made from science the RDS funded the research efforts of leading Irish scientists such as the chemists Richard Kirwan, Robert Kane, and William Higgins, and the geologist Richard Griffith. The physicist George Stoney coined the term ‘electron’ at an RDS lecture.