The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) ( ga, Cumann Ríoga Bhaile Átha Cliath) is an Irish philanthropic organisation and
members club which was founded as the 'Dublin Society' on 25 June 1731 with the aim to see Ireland thrive culturally and economically. The RDS is synonymous with its 160,000 m
2 campus in
Ballsbridge
Ballsbridge () (from historic Ball's Bridge) is an affluent neighbourhood of the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The area is largely north and west of a three-arch stone bridge across the River Dodder, on the south side of the city. Th ...
,
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
. The premises include the '
RDS Arena', 'RDS Simmonscourt', 'RDS Main Hall' and other venues which are used regularly for exhibitions, concerts and sporting events like the Dublin Horse Show or as playground for the
Leinster Rugby
Leinster Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Laighean) is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland and the most successful Irish team domestically. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugb ...
team. The Royal Dublin Society was granted Royal Patronage in 1820 by
George IV
George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...
. The RDS Members' Club is a members-only club offering exclusive access to sports events on its premises and weekly luncheons and dinners.
The RDS is one of nine organisations in Ireland that may nominate candidates for the
Seanad Éireann (Irish Upper House) elections.
Name and history
The society was founded by members of the
Dublin Philosophical Society, chiefly
Thomas Prior
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March ...
, as the 'Dublin Society for improving Husbandry, Manufactures and other Useful Arts'. On 1 July 1731 – at the second meeting of the Society – the designation 'and Sciences' was added to the end of its name. The Society's broad agenda was to stimulate economic activity and aid the creation of employment in Ireland.
For the first few years of its existence, the Dublin Society concentrated on tillage technology, land reclamation, forestry, the production of dyestuffs, flax cultivation and other agricultural areas.
In 1738, following the publication of his pamphlet entitled 'Reflections and Resolutions Proper for the Gentlemen of Ireland', Samuel Madden initiated a grant or 'premium' scheme to create incentives for improvements in Irish agricultural and arts. He proposed a fund of £500 be raised for this and he personally contributed £130. By 1740 the premium scheme had raised £900, and was adjudicated upon the following January and awarded to enterprises in earthenware, cotton, leatherwork, flax, surveying, as well as a number of painters and sculptors.
In 1761 the
Irish Parliament voted for £12,000 to be given to the Dublin Society for the promotion of agriculture, forestry, arts and manufactures. This funding was used to increase the amount of premiums distributed by the Dublin Society. Further funds were given by Parliament to the Dublin Society on a sporadic basis until 1784 when an annual parliamentary vote of £5,000 was put in place and remained so until the dissolution of
Grattan's Parliament in 1800.
The "Royal" prefix was adopted in 1820 when
George IV
George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...
became Society
patron.
Despite
Anglo-Irish Treaty, Irish Independence from the United Kingdom in 1922 the RDS
is one of several organisations based in Ireland that retain their royal patronage.
Arts
On foot of the successful award of premiums to artists and the public interest in this area, the RDS decided to establish an arts school. Through successful petitioning of the then Lord Lieutenant,
Lord Chesterfield
Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, (22 September 169424 March 1773) was a British statesman, diplomat, and man of letters, and an acclaimed wit of his time.
Early life
He was born in London to Philip Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Che ...
, it applied for Government support and was awarded an annual grant of £500 in 1746. The drawing school was established in 1750 and had an early emphasis on figure drawing, landscape and ornament, with architectural drawing added in the 1760s. Tuition was free and popular among people of a wide variety of trades and backgrounds. A notable student was
James Hoban, who attended in the 1780s and went on to design the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
, in
Washington DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
. Among the artists who attended the RDS schools of art or were awarded premiums by the Society were:
James Barry,
George Barrett,
Francis Danby,
Edward Smyth,
John Hogan.
In 1867 as part of a wider initiative, the Government took control of the RDS art school, which subsequently became the
Dublin Metropolitan School of Art, and later became the
National College of Art and Design.
The annual RDS Visual Art Awards incorporate the RDS Taylor Art Award which has been awarded since 1878. This award is now valued at €10,000 and is open to Irish visual art graduates. The total prize fund for the RDS Visual Art Awards is €30,000.
Former notable winners of the RDS Taylor Art Award include:
Walter Osborne,
William Orpen,
Seán Keating,
Mainie Jellet,
Colin Midleton,
Nora McGuinness and
Louis le Brocquy, as well as more contemporary artists such as Eamon O'Kane,
Dorothy Cross
Dorothy Cross (born 1956) is an Irish artist. Working with differing media, including sculpture, photography, video and installation, she represented Ireland at the 1993 Venice Biennale. Central to her work as a whole are themes of sexual ...
James Hanley and
Conor Walton
Conor Walton (born 1970) is an Irish figurative painter. Walton lives and works in Wicklow, Ireland.
Biography
Walton was born in Ireland and trained at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin and Charles Cecil Studios in Florence ...
.
Music
The RDS association with classical music extends back to 1886 when it first organised a series of popular recitals that took place over a phased basis from March, and it included works by
Corelli,
Haydn and
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
performed by teaching staff of the
Royal Irish Academy of Music.
In subsequent years a number of RDS recitals were recorded by
RTÉ
(RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, whil ...
for broadcast. The RDS chamber recitals continued into 1980s and 1990s, hosting artists such as
András Schiff
Sir András Schiff (; born 21 December 1953) is a Hungarian-born British classical pianist and conductor, who has received numerous major awards and honours, including the Grammy Award, Gramophone Award, Mozart Medal, and Royal Academy of Mus ...
,
Jessye Norman,
Isaac Stern and
Nigel Kennedy. The last RDS chamber recital was held in October 2002 and featured Irish pianist
Hugh Tinney.
The RDS became the main venue for
Feis Ceoil in 1983 onward. In 2003 offered its first RDS Music Bursary of €10,000 to one of the winners of selected Feis Ceoil senior competitions. The RDS Music Bursary currently offers two prizes, one of €15,000 and the RDS Jago Award of €5,000. Both prizes also offer performance engagements. An additional prize, the RDS Collins Memorial Performance Award is given to a former Music Bursary winner each year, offering them a professional performance opportunity with
Blackwater Valley Opera Festival.
Agriculture
Agriculture has been a persistent theme of endeavour since the foundation of the Dublin Society. In its first eighteen months, the Society reprinted or published up-to-date material on the latest agricultural innovations, such as
Jethro Tull's book on Tillage, a paper 'on improvement of flax by changing the soil' and 'a new method of draining marshy and boggy lands'. The Society followed this in the year to come with further publications on grass cultivation, saffron planting, drainage, management of hops, bee management, wool production and tillage. They also held demonstrations on how to use newly designed farm machinery.
Forestry was encouraged from an equally early stage with records of the Society showing that premiums were increasingly awarded for afforestation from 1742 onwards. Between 1766 and 1806 over 55 million trees were planted in Ireland on foot of the Society's initiatives.
The genesis of Dublin's Botanic Gardens can be found in the minute books of the Dublin Society as far back as 1732. From this time onwards, the Dublin Society sporadically leased land around the city to conduct agricultural and botanic experiments and initiatives. In 1790, enabled by funding from the Irish Parliament, the Society leased land in Glasnevin with the intent of making the lands ready for delivering public education on botany. It appointed a professor of Botany to oversee the gardens along with an experienced head gardener from Scotland. With the completion of offices and greenhouses in 1799, the Botanic Gardens, Dublin were opened in 1800 and remained in the care of the Society until 1877 when they were transferred over to the State.
In 1845 the early signs of
potato blight that would go on to have a devastating effect on Ireland were detected by the RDS in the Botanic Gardens. The Society offered a prize of £20 for the best research on the poorly understood disease. Utilising knowledge of both agriculture and science, the Society directed its own scientists to find remedies, but despite many trials and experiments both in the Botanic Gardens and in the Society's laboratory in Leinster House, they were unable to find one.
The first Spring Show was held in April 1831 on the grounds of Leinster House, Kildare Street, the purpose of which was to encourage best breeding practices in livestock by showcasing the best in the country. By 1848 the judges of the Show were satisfied that English breeders would soon be purchasing Irish stock such was the quality of cattle breeding on display. Their confidence was validated in 1856 at the Paris International Cattle Show where Irish shorthorn cattle took more prizes in proportion to livestock displayed, than their English and Scottish counterparts combined. The Spring Show moved to the RDS grounds of Ballsbridge in 1881 and continued it there until the last Spring Show took place in 1992.
The association with agriculture persists to today and it forms an important part of the Society's philanthropic mission. The RDS Forestry and Woodland Awards have been awarded annually since 1988 and in 2017 had a prize fund of €15,000 which is spread across four different categories. In 2016 the RDS, in conjunction with the IIEA, outlined the framework of a '
Climate Smart Agriculture' plan for Ireland. The Society continues to award annual prizes for the best cattle in Ireland, including the Economic Breeding Index (EBI) dairy cow. In 2021 the RDS was the host of the National Dialogues on Ireland's Food System, part of Ireland's engagement with the United Nations Food Systems Summit 2021.
Science
In the early period of the Society, science was innately linked to agriculture and industry. A link that continued well into the nineteenth century; for instance, the Botanic Gardens had cross-over appeal to both science and agriculture, as did the public lectures in veterinary science. But science began to also carve out its own separate area of interests towards the latter end of the eighteenth century with professorships in chemistry and physics funded by the Society in the 1790s, the employment of an itinerant geologist who toured Ireland collecting specimens for the Society, and the purchase of the
Leskean Cabinet
The Leskean Cabinet is an 18th-century mineral and natural history collection conserved in the Natural History Museum in Dublin. It is a cabinet of mineralogy which was assembled by Nathaniel Gottfried Leske.
History Purchase
Early in 1792 a ...
of minerals in 1792.
The Dublin Society began holding science lectures covering an array of topics in 1797, with lectures on physics and chemistry made open to the public in 1824. In 1810 a large laboratory and lecture room were built in Hawkins House and a similar facility was constructed in Leinster House when the Society moved there, allowing the public lectures on science to continue (in what is now the Dáil Chamber in the
Houses of the Oireachtas
The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the bicameral parliament of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:
*The President of Ireland
*The two houses of the Oireachtas ( ga, Tithe an Oireachtais):
**Dáil Éireann ...
). In 1835 the RDS co-hosted the
British Association for the Advancement of Science
The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chi ...
, which it also did again in 1957, and from 1838 commenced sponsoring science lectures outside of Dublin.
In 1903 the Society imported radium into Ireland for the first time and through experimental methods, devised by RDS Members
John Joly and Walter Stevenson, one of the earliest forms of cancer treatment was created to much international acclaim. It subsequently became known as the 'Dublin method'. In 1914 the Society established the Irish Radium Institute to supply radon to Irish hospitals, a function it carried out until the Irish Radiological Institute was established in 1952.
In 1961 the RDS held its first exhibition on atomic energy which was followed up in 1963 and 1966, garnering audiences of over 30,000. The
Young Scientists and Technology Exhibition was started at this time by physicists Tom Burke and
Tony Scott
Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was an English film director and producer. He was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as '' Top Gun'' (1986), '' Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987), ''D ...
, the latter being a member of the RDS Science Committee. The Exhibition has been held in the RDS since 1966.
Today, the RDS continues to promote science in Ireland through the awarding of the Boyle Medal on a biennial basis, alternating between a scientist based in Ireland and an Irish scientist based abroad, with a prize of €20,000. The Boyle Medal has been awarded since 1899 and is Ireland's most prestigious scientific honour.
The RDS Primary Science Fair encouraged primary school classes to explore science hypotheses and from 2017 operated in three cities around Ireland, with over 7,000 participating children across all three venues. The RDS Primary Science Fair was cited as a positive example of informal science education by the Government commissioned 'STEM Education in the Irish School System'. In 2019 the RDS developed Science Blast and ESB came on board as title sponsors. Science Blast is managed and delivered by the RDS. In its first year it had over 10,000 primary school pupils engaged with STEM.
RDS STEM Learning is a continuous professional development programme for primary school teachers to gain confidence in teaching science in the classroom.
Premises
The society purchased
Leinster House
Leinster House ( ga, Teach Laighean) is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it is a complex of buildings, of which the former ducal palace is the core ...
, home of the
Duke of Leinster
Duke of Leinster (; ) is a title in the Peerage of Ireland and the premier dukedom in that peerage. The subsidiary titles of the Duke of Leinster are: Marquess of Kildare (1761), Earl of Kildare (1316), Earl of Offaly (1761), Viscount Leinster, ...
, in 1815 and founded a natural history museum there. The society acquired its current premises at
Ballsbridge
Ballsbridge () (from historic Ball's Bridge) is an affluent neighbourhood of the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The area is largely north and west of a three-arch stone bridge across the River Dodder, on the south side of the city. Th ...
in 1879, and has since increased from the original fifteen to forty acres (60,000 to 160,000 m
2). The premises consist of a number of
exhibition halls (at the "RDS Main Hall"), a multi-purpose sports stadium (the "RDS Arena"), meeting rooms, bars, restaurants, and a multi-purpose indoor venue named "RDS Simmonscourt Pavilion".
RDS Main Hall
The RDS Main Hall is a major centre for exhibitions, concerts and other cultural events in Dublin. It hosts, for example, the
Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition each January.
RDS Simmonscourt
The multi-purpose RDS Simmonscourt (also known as RDS Simmonscourt Pavilion or Simmonscourt Main Hall) has a capacity of approximately 7,000 (6,500 theatre style) and is the largest hall in the complex.
It has hosted the
Meteor Music Awards in
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
,
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...
and
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
, touring ice show
Disney on Ice
Disney on Ice, originally Walt Disney's World on Ice, is a series of touring ice shows produced by Feld Entertainment's Ice Follies And Holiday on Ice, Inc. under agreement with The Walt Disney Company. Aimed primarily at children, the shows f ...
, as well as a number of concerts including
Thin Lizzy in 1982 and 1983,
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...
,
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
,
AC/DC
AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and heavy metal, but the band calls it ...
,
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Ch ...
and
My Chemical Romance
My Chemical Romance (commonly abbreviated to MCR or My Chem) is an American rock band from Newark, New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist ...
, and the
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
in
1981 and
1988. Simmonscourt is where the show jumping horses are stabled during Dublin Horse Show week.
RDS Arena
The RDS Arena (more commonly known simply as the RDS) was developed to host equestrian events, including the annual
Dublin Horse Show
The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) ( ga, Cumann Ríoga Bhaile Átha Cliath) is an Irish philanthropic organisation and members club which was founded as the 'Dublin Society' on 25 June 1731 with the aim to see Ireland thrive culturally and economi ...
. It is often used for other sporting events, however – primarily football and rugby. Between September 1990 and April 1996 it was used for home games of
Shamrock Rovers
Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most ...
football club, on 19 February 1992 it played host to a home game between the
Republic of Ireland national football team and
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
, and hosted the 2007 and 2008
FAI Cup
The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...
finals.
In 2007 and 2008 the arena's capacity was expanded to 18,250 (with additional seated stands being built), and the venue is now used by the
Leinster Rugby
Leinster Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Laighean) is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland and the most successful Irish team domestically. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugb ...
team for home games. The club also moved their Leinster Rugby Store to the RDS (between the two parade rings), and it is open on match days.
The covered Anglesea Stand is the oldest stand in the ground below which there is a small amount of terracing. Opposite the Anglesea Stand is the Grandstand which contains the TV gantry and was covered with a roof in 2008. Behind the goals are the uncovered North and South stands which are removed for showjumping events to allow for extra space.
The
DART
Dart or DART may refer to:
* Dart, the equipment in the game of darts
Arts, entertainment and media
* Dart (comics), an Image Comics superhero
* Dart, a character from ''G.I. Joe''
* Dart, a ''Thomas & Friends'' railway engine character
* Da ...
runs close to the RDS premises with Lansdowne and Sandymount being the closest stops. The RDS is served by bus route numbers 4, 7, 18 and 27x, which stop outside the Main Hall Entrance to the RDS on Merrion Road.
Events
Dublin Horse Show
The first Dublin Horse Show took place in 1864 and was operated in conjunction with the Royal Agricultural Society of Ireland. The first solely Society-run Horse Show was held in 1868 and was one of the earliest "leaping" competitions ever held. Over time it has become a high-profile International
show jumping
Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes ...
competition, national showing competition and major entertainment event in Ireland. In 1982 the RDS hosted the
Show Jumping World Championships
The World Show Jumping Championships, or the show jumping competition at the FEI World Equestrian Games, was started in 1953, with individual competition. In 1978 Team competitions began, and men and women began competing against one another. From ...
and incorporated it into the Dublin Horse Show of that year. The Dublin Horse Show has over 130 classes and they can be generally categorised into the following types of equestrian competitions: showing classes, performance classes and showjumping classes.
As a result of
the COVID-19 pandemic, on 20 April 2020, the RDS announced that the Dublin Horse Show—scheduled for 15–19 July—was cancelled, the first time this had occurred since 1940.
Concerts
In recent years, the venue has been used as a music venue, for many
rock,
heavy metal and
pop
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* ''Pop'' ( ...
artists.
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...
has played there eleven times since 1988: The Tunnel of Love Express Tour (1988), The Other Band Tour (1993), The Reunion Tour (1999), The Rising Tour (2003), The Magic Tour (2008), three times for The Working on a Dream Tour (2009), and twice for The Wrecking Ball Tour (2012). He played for 40,000 people during
The Rising Tour
The Rising Tour was a lengthy, worldwide, top-grossing concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band that took place in arenas and stadiums over 2002 and 2003. It followed the release of their 2002 album '' The Rising''.
Itine ...
in May 2003, 115,500 people at the arena during his
Magic Tour in May 2008, and 80,000+ people during his
Working on a Dream Tour
The Working on a Dream Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which began in April 2009 and ended in November 2009. It followed the late January 2009 release of the album '' Working on a Dream''. This was the first ...
.
In June 2008, American band
Paramore played their debut Irish concert in the RDS Arena.
Other notable performers who have played in the main arena include: Iron Maiden
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald. Original bassist Alec John such qu ...
,
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
,
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...
,
Tina Turner
Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...
,
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...
,
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass ...
,
Shania Twain
Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( , ; née Edwards; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and one of the best-s ...
,
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's ...
and
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
among others.
U2 played 2 dates of their "Zooropa" tour on 27 and 28 August 1993 in the main Arena.
On 30 April 1988, the Eurovision Song Contest took place in the Simmonscourt Main Hall and was won by
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...
. Seven years earlier, on 4 April 1981, the venue also hosted the contest with British pop group
Bucks Fizz
Bucks Fizz were a British pop group that achieved success in the 1980s, most notably for winning the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Making Your Mind Up". The group was formed in January 1981 specifically for the contest and compr ...
being the eventual winners.
Professional wrestling
In 2005, the RDS hosted a
WWE SmackDown event as part of the
WWE Summerbash tour of Europe. The event featured wrestlers such as
Stone Cold Steve Austin,
John Cena,
Kurt Angle, and
Rey Mysterio.
Rugby Union
The RDS is the home of
Leinster Rugby
Leinster Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Laighean) is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland and the most successful Irish team domestically. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugb ...
. The RDS hosts Leinster's home matches in the
Pro14 and the
Heineken Cup
The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...
as well as some pre-season games. In March 2008, the final of the
Leinster Schools Senior Cup was played in the RDS due to the redevelopment of
Lansdowne Road, its traditional venue. An
autumn international
Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southe ...
between
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
and
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consis ...
was played 21 November 2009.
Association Football
Shamrock Rovers F.C.
Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most suc ...
played their home matches at the RDS stadium between 1990 and 1996, including against
Górnik Zabrze in the
1994–95 UEFA Cup. The stadium hosted an international between the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...
and
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
in February 1992; the 1994
UEFA Under-16 Championships; the
FAI Cup
The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...
Final in
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...
and
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
; and the
2008–09 UEFA Cup
The 2008–09 UEFA Cup was the 38th season of the UEFA Cup football tournament. The final was played at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, home ground of Fenerbahçe, in Istanbul on 20 May 2009. This season was the final one to use the UEFA Cup ...
match between
St Patrick's Athletic
St Patrick's Athletic Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Lúthchleas Phádraig Naofa) is a professional Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the Irish Premier Division. Founded in May 1929, they played origin ...
and
Hertha Berlin. St. Pat's also played
Steaua București in the Arena on 27 August 2009 in the Play-off round of the opening season of the
Europa League. The Republic of Ireland played two international friendly fixtures on 25 and 28 May 2010 against Paraguay and Algeria.
Other
In 1983, the
Ireland team played in the
World Group of the
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organi ...
for the only time. The match against a
United States team including
John McEnroe
John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. He was known for his shot-making and volleying skills, his rivalries with Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors, and his confrontational on-court beh ...
was played in the RDS rather than the usual venue, Fitzwilliam, to accommodate crowds of 6,000 each day.
Exams
The RDS hosts the
University College Dublin
University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...
exams before Christmas and in May/June, and
Trinity College Dublin exams in April, among others.
Awards
Boyle Medal for Scientific Excellence
The Boyle Medal (named after
Robert Boyle
Robert Boyle (; 25 January 1627 – 31 December 1691) was an Anglo-Irish natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, alchemist and inventor. Boyle is largely regarded today as the first modern chemist, and therefore one of the founders ...
(1627–1691), was inaugurated in 1899 and is awarded jointly by the RDS and the Irish Times for scientific research of exceptional merit in Ireland. By 2014 the medal had been awarded to 39 scientists.
Past recipients of the Boyle Medal:
Boyle Medal Laureates
Royal Dublin Society
See also
* IAYSG
*
* RDS Arena
* List of tennis stadiums by capacity
Notes
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
* ''Scientific proceedings of the Royal Dublin Society'' from the Biodiversity Heritage Library
The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is the world’s largest open access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. BHL operates as worldwide consortiumof natural history, botanical, research, and national libraries working toge ...
1878–1924
1883–1902
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Organisations based in Dublin (city)
Learned societies of Ireland
Organizations established in 1731
Show jumping venues
Indoor arenas in the Republic of Ireland
Sports venues in Dublin (city)
National College of Art and Design
Convention centres in Ireland
1731 establishments in Ireland
Gentlemen's clubs in Ireland
Seanad nominating bodies