The Royal Irish Academy/Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann champions research. They identify and recognise Ireland’s world class researchers. They support scholarship and promote awareness of how science and the humanities enrich their lives and benefit society. They believe that good research needs to be promoted, sustained and communicated. The Academy is run by a Council of its members. Membership is by election and considered the highest Academic honour in Ireland.
A history of The Royal Irish Academy, The contents of this piece are based on an entry in the Encyclopaedia of Ireland*, reproduced with kind permission from the publisher and author.
The Royal Irish Academy (RIA) is Ireland’s premier learned body. It was founded in 1785, with the Earl of Charlemont as first president. Its royal charter, granted the following year, declared its aims to be the promotion and investigation of the sciences, polite literature, and antiquities, as well as the encouragement of discussion and debate between scholars of diverse backgrounds and interests. The early academy was concerned to provide an opportunity for the development of antiquarian studies and was the first Irish society to successfully balance the requirements of the sciences and the humanities. From the outset, the academy’s council was composed of eleven members representing the scientific disciplines and ten representing the humanities, led by a president. The presidency rotates between a representative of the sciences and of the humanities on a three-yearly basis.At the annual general meeting, members elect the president, officers and members of the council who oversee the academy’s business. An all-Ireland body, the academy organises conferences, arranges discourses and public lectures, and conducts research, with the assistance of a staffing complement of c. 80. In addition to the approximately 400 members there are also more than 60 distinguished honorary members, who in the past have included Edmund Burke, Charles Darwin, Enrico Fermi, Max Planck, Maria Edgeworth, Theodor Mommsen, Albert Einstein and Max Born.
WHAT THEY DO
They are an all-island independent forum of peer-elected experts. Drawing on their Members’ expertise they make a significant contribution to public debate and policy formation on issues in science, technology and culture. They bring together academia, government and industry to address issues of mutual interest by providing an independent forum.They lead important national research projects, particularly in areas relating to Ireland and its heritage. They represent the world of Irish learning internationally, have a unique globally recognised library, and are a leading academic publisher.
