The Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland (SSISI) is a

learned society A learned society ( ; also scholarly, intellectual, or academic society) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and sciences. Membership may be open to al ...

which analyses the major changes that have taken place in population, employment, legal and administrative systems and social services in Ireland. It operates as an

all-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) is a term used to describe organisations and events whose interests extend over the entire island of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Irelan ...

body. The Society was founded in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in 1847 by a group of Irish academics, clergymen, aristocrats and politicians. Its first president was

Richard Whately Richard Whately (1 February 1787 – 8 October 1863) was an English academic, rhetorician, logician, philosopher, economist, and theologian who also served as a reforming Archbishop of Dublin (Church of Ireland), Church of Ireland Archbishop of ...

. From its establishment until the 1920s the overwhelming majority of members were Unionists of the

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

class, who were, generally speaking, more sympathetic to the British administration in Ireland than with the

Irish Home Rule movement The Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for Devolution, self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to ...

. As a result, most papers read to the Society until at least 1870 were in favour of assimilating the laws and practices in Ireland to those applying in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

. Even so, official political or religious endorsement has never been allowed in the Society. During the nineteenth century it frequently provided an important platform for people who were concerned about major social problems, such as the care of orphans and neglected children. The key figures associated with the founding of the Irish

National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is a British child protection charity founded as the Liverpool Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (LSPCC) by Thomas Agnew on 19 April 1883. The NSPCC lobbies t ...

in 1889 were prominent members of the Society. From 1924, several

Irish nationalists Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cu ...

became presidents of the SSISI. In addition, the Society began to enroll a substantial number of senior officials from the new Irish civil service, and as such has formed a close relationship with the Irish state. The Journal of the Society has provided one of the few opportunities to penetrate the official anonymity of the Irish public service; senior civil servants have spoken more freely on crucial aspects of government policy at SSISI meetings than in any other public forum. On the whole the papers presented to the Society have been concerned with practical problems, such as crime, poverty and economic progress, and by a common concern with the condition of Ireland. The current president of SSISI is

Frances P. Ruane Frances P. Ruane, , is an Irish academic economist and former director of the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) in Dublin, Ireland 2006−2015. She is recognised for her research on FDI and its effect on host economies. She has als ...

, who is only the second female president in the Society's history. The Society often meets at the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...

and its journal is printed with the help of

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

, where Honorary Secretary Ronan C. Lyons is based, and disseminated with the help of the Central Statistics Office and the

Central Bank of Ireland The Central Bank of Ireland () is the national central bank for Ireland within the Eurosystem. It was the Irish central bank from 1943 to 1998, issuing the Irish pound. It is also the country's main financial regulatory authority, and since 2 ...

Presidents

Since 1847, the SSISI has appointed numerous notable figures from academia and politics as its president:http://www.ssisi.ie/ssisi_presidents_6_5_2014.pdf SSISI website, 'Biographical Portraits of the Past presidents of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland' *

(1847–1863) * Mountifort Longfield (1863–1867) *

Thomas O'Hagan, 1st Baron O'Hagan Thomas O'Hagan, 1st Baron O'Hagan, KP, PC (Ire), QC (29 May 18121 February 1885), was an Irish lawyer and judge. He served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1868 to 1874 and again from 1880 to 1881. Background and education O'Hagan was bor ...

(1867–1870) *

James Anthony Lawson James Anthony Lawson, PC (Ire), QC (1817–1887) was an Irish academic, lawyer and judge. Background and education Lawson was born in Waterford. He was the eldest son of James Lawson and Mary Anthony, daughter of Joseph Anthony, and was educat ...

(1870–1872) *

William Monsell, 1st Baron Emly William Monsell, 1st Baron Emly, PC (21 September 1812 – 20 April 1894) was an Anglo-Irish landowner and Liberal politician. He held a number of ministerial positions between 1852 and 1873, notably as President of the Board of Health in 18 ...

(1872–1875) * Jonathan Pim (1875–1877) *

John Lentaigne Rt. Hon. Sir John Francis O'Neill Lentaigne CB (21 June 1803 – 12 November 1886) was an Irish administrator, lawyer and Privy Counsellor. Life He was born 21 June 1803 in Tallaght, Dublin. His father was physician Dr. Benjamin Lentaigne o ...

(1877–1878) *

John Kells Ingram John Kells Ingram (7 July 1823 – 1 May 1907) was an Irish mathematician, economist and poet who started his career as a mathematician. He has been co-credited, along with John William Stubbs, with introducing the geometric concept of inve ...

(1878–1880) *Edward Dillon Mapother (1880–1881) *William Neilson Hancock (1881–1882) *

Thomas Spring Rice, 2nd Baron Monteagle of Brandon Thomas Spring Rice, 2nd Baron Monteagle of Brandon (31 May 1849 – 24 December 1926) was an Anglo-Irish politician and landowner, who helped to found the anti-partition Irish Dominion League and was a key figure in the development of Irish c ...

(1882–1884) *James McDonnell (1884–1888) *

Thomas Wrigley Grimshaw Thomas Wrigley Grimshaw (16 November 1839 – 23 January 1900) was an Irish physician, surgeon and statistician who became Registrar General for Ireland from 1879 to 1900. Life He was born in Whitehouse, County Antrim, the only child of Wrigley ...

(1888–1890) *

John O'Hagan John O'Hagan (born 19 March 1822 at Newry, County Down; died 10 November 1890 at Howth, County Dublin) was an Irish lawyer and writer. He was also an Irish Nationalist and Young Ireland, Younger Irelander, and was a founding member of the first Ir ...

(1890–1891) * William Findlater (1891–1894) *

William Huston Dodd William Huston Dodd (1844-17 March 1930) was an Irish politician, barrister and judge. He held the Crown office of Serjeant-at-law (Ireland), Irish Serjeant-at-law, sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom as member for North Tyrone (UK ...

(1894–1896) *Joseph Todhunter Pim (1896–1900) *James Johnston Shaw (1900–1902) *

William Frederick Bailey William Frederick Bailey (9 February 1857 – 16 April 1917), was an Irish lawyer and writer. Bailey was born in Castletown Conyers, County Limerick, Ireland. He was educated in Trinity College Dublin, and called to the Irish Bar in 1881. He p ...

(1902–1904) *Robert Edwin Matheson (1904–1906) *

Arthur Warren Samuels Arthur Warren Samuels (19 May 1852 – 11 May 1925) was an Irish Unionist Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom parliament and subsequently a judge. The Irish Unionists were the Irish wing of the Conservative Party. Biography He was ...

(1906–1908) *

Richard Cherry Richard Robert Cherry Privy Council of Ireland, PC, Queen's Counsel, QC (19 March 1859 – 10 February 1923) was an Irish politician and judge. He was Attorney-General for Ireland from 1905 to 1909, a judge of the Irish Court of Appeal and subse ...

(1908–1911) * Thomas A. Finlay (1911–1913) *Charles Athill Stanuell (1913–1917) *William Lawson (1917–1918) *William John Thompson (1918–1920) * Sir Thomas Molony, 1st Baronet (1920–1924) *

Charles Hubert Oldham Charles Hubert Oldham (1859–1926) was an Irish economics professor. Early life Born in Monkstown, County Dublin, Oldham was educated at Kingstown Grammar School, and then studied at Trinity College Dublin. His sisters were Edith Best (who marrie ...

(1924–1926) *

James Creed Meredith James Creed Meredith (28 November 1875 – 14 August 1942) was an Irish judge who served as a Judge of the Supreme Court from 1937 to 1942 and a Judge of the High Court from 1924 to 1937. He was best known as a nationalist of the early 20th ce ...

(1926–1929) *John Hooper (1929–1930) *J.C.M. Eason (1930–1934) * Joseph Brennan (1934–1938) *Stanley G Lyon (1938–1942) * George O'Brien (1942–1946) * Roy C. Geary (1946–1951) *Joseph Johnston (1951–1953) *Jim P. Beddy (1953–1956) *James Meenan (1957–1959) *William A. Honohan (1959–1962) *M. Donal McCarthy (1962–1965) *Patrick Bourke (1965–1968) * Thomas Kenneth Whitaker (1968–1971) * Thekla J. Beere (1971–1974) *Thomas P. Linehan (1974–1977) *

Brendan Menton Snr Brendan Menton (1911 – 1 August 2002) was an Irish football administrator and economist. Menton was a founding member of Home Farm F.C. and later served as president of the Football Association of Ireland between 1980 and 1982. He also served o ...

(1977–1980) *Robert O'Connor (1980–1983) *Robert Dennis Collison Black (1983–1986) *Jerry J. Sexton (1986–1989) * Kieran A. Kennedy (1989–1992) *Padraig McGowan (1992–1995) *Dermot McAleese (1995–1998) *William Keating (1998–2001) *Brendan Walsh (2001–2004) *Aidan Punch (2004–2007) *Dónal de Buitléir (2007–2010) *Paul Sweeney (2010–2013) *

John D. FitzGerald John Desmond FitzGerald (born 27 October 1949) is the former head of the macroeconomics and resource economics division and former coordinator of the research programme of macroeconomics of the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) in D ...

(2013–2016) *

(2016-2019) *Danny McCoy (2019–2022) *Patrick Paul Walsh (2022–present)

References

{{authority control 1847 establishments in Ireland All-Ireland organisations Learned societies of Ireland Politics of Ireland