Royal Dublin Society
Encyclopedia
The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) was founded on 25 June 1731 to "to promote and develop agriculture, arts, industry, and science in Ireland". The RDS is synonymous with its main premises in Ballsbridge
in Dublin, Ireland
. These premises include the "RDS Arena
", "RDS Simmonscourt", "RDS main hall" and other venues which are used regularly for exhibitions, concerts and sporting events, including regular use by the Leinster Rugby
team.
, chiefly Thomas Prior and Samuel Madden
, as the 'Dublin Society for improving Husbandry, Manufactures and other Useful Arts'. On 8 July 1731 - a couple of weeks after initial foundation - the designation 'and Sciences' was added to the end of its name.
The stated aim of the "Dublin Society" was therefore to promote the development of arts
, agriculture
, industry
and science
in Ireland
and in 1792 the Society purchased the Leskean Cabinet
to further this ambition. The "Royal" prefix was adopted in 1820 when George IV
became Society patron
.
, home of the Duke of Leinster
, in 1815 and founded a natural history museum there. The society acquired its current premises at Ballsbridge
in 1879
, and has since increased from the original fifteen to forty acres (60,000 to 160,000 m²). The premises consist of a number of exhibition halls (at the "RDS main hall"), a stadium
(the "RDS arena"), meeting rooms, bars, restaurants, and a multi purpose venue named "RDS Simmonscourt Pavilion".
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.
The Simmonscourt Pavilion has a capacity of approximately 7,000, and hosted the Meteor Music Awards in February 2008, as well as a number of concerts including The Smashing Pumpkins and My Chemical Romance, and two Eurovision Song Contest
s, in 1981 and in 1988. Simmonscourt is where the show jumping horses are stabled during Dublin Horse Show week.
. 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 football club, on 19 February 1992 it played host to a home game between the Republic of Ireland national football team
and Wales
, and hosted the 2007 and 2008 FAI Cup
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
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. Beind the goals are the uncovered North and South stands which are removed for showjumping events to allow for extra space.
The DART
runs close to the RDS premises with Lansdowne and Sandymount being the closest stops. The RDS is serviced by bus route numbers 4, 5, 7 and 45, which stop outside the Main Hall Entrance to the RDS on Merrion Road.
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
competition, national showing competition and major entertainment event in Ireland. In 1982 the RDS hosted the Show Jumping World Championships
and incorporated it into the Dublin Horse Show of that year.
and pop
artists.
Bruce Springsteen
has played there five times since 1988, during "The Rising Tour" in 2003, during the "Magic Tour" in 2008 and during the "Working on a Dream Tour" in 2009. He played to 40,000 people during The Rising Tour
in May 2003, returned to play to 115,500 people at the arena, during his Magic Tour
in May 2008 and returned in July 2009, during his Working on a Dream Tour
to an audience of 80,000+.
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: Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson, Radiohead and Metallica among others.
U2 played 2 dates of their "Zooropa" tour on the 27th and 28th of August 1993 in the main Arena.
On 30th April 1988, the Eurovision Song Contest took place in the Simmonscourt Pavilion and was won by Celine Dion.
, John Cena
, Kurt Angle
, and Rey Mysterio.
. The RDS hosts Leinster's home matches in the Magners League and the Heineken Cup
as well as some pre-season games. In March 2009, 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
between Ireland
and Fiji
was played 21 November 2009.
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
and Wales
in February 1992; the 1994 UEFA Under-16 Championships
; the FAI Cup
Final in 2007
and 2008
; and the 2008–09 UEFA Cup match between St Patrick's Athletic and Hertha Berlin. St. Pat's also played Steaua Bucureşti 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 25th and 28th of May 2010 against Paraguay and Algeria.
played in the World Group
of the Davis Cup
for the only time. The match against a United States team including John McEnroe
was played in the RDS rather than the usual venue, Fitzwilliam, to accommodate crowds of 6,000 each day.
exams before Christmas and in May/June, and Trinity College Dublin exams in April, among others.
Ballsbridge
Ballsbridge is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, named for the bridge spanning the River Dodder on the south side of the city. The sign on the bridge still proclaims it as "Ball's Bridge" in recognition of the fact that the original bridge in this location was built and owned by a Mr...
in Dublin, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. These premises include the "RDS Arena
RDS Arena
RDS Arena is a multi-purpose sports stadium, owned by the Royal Dublin Society and located in the Dublin suburb of Ballsbridge, Ireland.The arena was originally developed to host equestrian events, including the annual Dublin Horse Show, which was first held there in 1868. The site was acquired in...
", "RDS Simmonscourt", "RDS main hall" and other venues which are used regularly for exhibitions, concerts and sporting events, including regular use by the Leinster Rugby
Leinster Rugby
Leinster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Leinster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Dublin, representing the Irish province of Leinster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro 12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup...
team.
Name and origins
The society was originally founded by members of the Dublin Philosophical SocietyDublin Philosophical Society
The Dublin Philosophical Society was founded in 1683 by William Molyneux. It was intended to be the equivalent of the Royal Society in London, with which it maintained cultural ties. Among its most prominent members were William Petty, Archbishop Narcissus Marsh, Archbishop William King and Bishop...
, chiefly Thomas Prior and Samuel Madden
Samuel Madden
Samuel Madden was an Irish author. His works include Themistocles; The Lover of His Country, Reflections and Resolutions Proper for the Gentlemen of Ireland, and Memoirs of the Twentieth Century. Dr...
, as the 'Dublin Society for improving Husbandry, Manufactures and other Useful Arts'. On 8 July 1731 - a couple of weeks after initial foundation - the designation 'and Sciences' was added to the end of its name.
The stated aim of the "Dublin Society" was therefore to promote the development of arts
ARts
aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
, agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
and science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and in 1792 the Society purchased the Leskean Cabinet
Leskean Cabinet
The Leskean Cabinet is an 18th century mineral and natural history collection conserved in the Natural History Museum in Dublin.-Purchase:Early in 1792 a committee of the Royal Dublin Society was appointed to bid for the purchase of the cabinet of mineralogy...
to further this ambition. The "Royal" prefix was adopted in 1820 when George IV
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
became Society patron
Patrón
Patrón is a luxury brand of tequila produced in Mexico and sold in hand-blown, individually numbered bottles.Made entirely from Blue Agave "piñas" , Patrón comes in five varieties: Silver, Añejo, Reposado, Gran Patrón Platinum and Gran Patrón Burdeos. Patrón also sells a tequila-coffee blend known...
.
Premises
The society purchased Leinster HouseLeinster House
Leinster House is the name of the building housing the Oireachtas, the national parliament of Ireland.Leinster House was originally 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, which house Oireachtas Éireann, its...
, home of the Duke of Leinster
Duke of Leinster
Duke of Leinster is a title in the Peerage of Ireland and the premier dukedom in that peerage. The title refers to Leinster, but unlike the province the title is pronounced "Lin-ster"...
, in 1815 and founded a natural history museum there. The society acquired its current premises at Ballsbridge
Ballsbridge
Ballsbridge is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, named for the bridge spanning the River Dodder on the south side of the city. The sign on the bridge still proclaims it as "Ball's Bridge" in recognition of the fact that the original bridge in this location was built and owned by a Mr...
in 1879
1879 in Ireland
-Events:*20 April - First of many "monster meetings" of tenant farmers held in Irishtown near Claremorris, County Mayo.*8 June - Charles Stewart Parnell at Westport, County Mayo meeting.*16 August - Land League of Mayo founded at Castlebar....
, and has since increased from the original fifteen to forty acres (60,000 to 160,000 m²). The premises consist of a number of exhibition halls (at the "RDS main hall"), a stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
(the "RDS arena"), meeting rooms, bars, restaurants, and a multi purpose venue named "RDS Simmonscourt Pavilion".
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.
The Simmonscourt Pavilion has a capacity of approximately 7,000, and hosted the Meteor Music Awards in February 2008, as well as a number of concerts including The Smashing Pumpkins and My Chemical Romance, and two Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
s, in 1981 and in 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 Show2008 Dublin Horse Show
The 2008 Dublin Horse Show was hosted by the Royal Dublin Society at Ballsbridge, Dublin, Ireland, taking place between August 6 and August 10. The competition was named after its main sponsor, Fáilte Ireland....
. 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 football club, on 19 February 1992 it played host to a home game between the Republic of Ireland national football team
Republic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, and hosted the 2007 and 2008 FAI Cup
FAI Cup
The Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cup, known as the FAI Ford Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland...
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
Leinster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Leinster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Dublin, representing the Irish province of Leinster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro 12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup...
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. Beind the goals are the uncovered North and South stands which are removed for showjumping events to allow for extra space.
The DART
Dublin Area Rapid Transit
The Dublin Area Rapid Transit is part of the suburban railway network in Ireland, running mainly along the coastline of Dublin Bay on the Trans-Dublin route, from Greystones in County Wicklow, through Dublin to Howth and Malahide in County Dublin.Trains are powered via a 1500V DC overhead catenary...
runs close to the RDS premises with Lansdowne and Sandymount being the closest stops. The RDS is serviced by bus route numbers 4, 5, 7 and 45, which stop outside the Main Hall Entrance to the RDS on Merrion Road.
Dublin Horse Show
Show jumping
Show jumping, also known as "stadium jumping," "open jumping," or "jumpers," is a member of a family of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes commonly are seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics...
competition, national showing competition and major entertainment event in Ireland. In 1982 the RDS hosted the Show Jumping World Championships
Show Jumping World Championships
The Show Jumping World 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 1990, show jumping was brought together along with...
and incorporated it into the Dublin Horse Show of that year.
Concerts
In recent years, the venue has been used as a music venue, for many rock, heavy metalHeavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
artists.
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
has played there five times since 1988, during "The Rising Tour" in 2003, during the "Magic Tour" in 2008 and during the "Working on a Dream Tour" in 2009. He played to 40,000 people during The Rising Tour
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...
in May 2003, returned to play to 115,500 people at the arena, during his Magic Tour
Magic Tour (Bruce Springsteen)
The Magic Tour was Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's 2007–2008 concert tour of North America and Western Europe.The tour began October 2, 2007, in Hartford, Connecticut, and concluded August 30, 2008 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin...
in May 2008 and returned in July 2009, during his Working on a Dream Tour
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...
to an audience of 80,000+.
In June 2008, American band Paramore
Paramore
Paramore is an American rock band from Franklin, Tennessee, formed in 2004. The band consists of lead vocalist Hayley Williams, bassist Jeremy Davis, and guitarist Taylor York...
played their debut Irish concert in the RDS Arena.
Other notable performers who have played in the main arena include: Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson, Radiohead and Metallica among others.
U2 played 2 dates of their "Zooropa" tour on the 27th and 28th of August 1993 in the main Arena.
On 30th April 1988, the Eurovision Song Contest took place in the Simmonscourt Pavilion and was won by Celine Dion.
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 AustinStone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...
, John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
, Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion...
, and Rey Mysterio.
Rugby Union
The RDS is the home of Leinster RugbyLeinster Rugby
Leinster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Leinster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Dublin, representing the Irish province of Leinster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro 12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup...
. The RDS hosts Leinster's home matches in the Magners League and the Heineken Cup
Heineken Cup
The Heineken Cup is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the six International Rugby Board countries in Europe whose national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship: England, France, Ireland,...
as well as some pre-season games. In March 2009, the final of the Leinster Schools Senior Cup
Leinster Schools Senior Cup
The Leinster Schools Senior Challenge Cup is the premier rugby union competition for secondary schools affiliated to the Leinster Branch of the IRFU. First held in 1887, the Cup celebrated its 120th anniversary in 2007....
was played in the RDS due to the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union that has been the location of a number of sports stadiums. It was used primarily for rugby union and for association football matches as well as some music concerts...
, its traditional venue. An autumn international
End of year rugby tests
The End of year rugby tests, known as Autumn internationals in the Northern Hemisphere or Guinness Autumn Series in the Republic of Ireland, are a series of rugby union matches contested approximately each November...
between Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
and Fiji
Fiji national rugby union team
The Fiji national rugby union team is a member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance formerly along with Samoa and Tonga. In 2009, Samoa announced their departure from the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance, leaving just Fiji and Tonga. Fiji are ranked sixteenth in the world by the IRB as of 26...
was played 21 November 2009.
Association Football
Shamrock Rovers F.C.Shamrock Rovers F.C.
Shamrock Rovers Football Club are a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. They compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland and are the most successful club in Irish football history. The club have won the League of Ireland title a record 17 times and the FAI Cup a record 24...
played their home matches at the RDS stadium between 1990 and 1996, including against Górnik Zabrze
Górnik Zabrze
Górnik Zabrze is a Polish football club from Zabrze. The club has won numerous championships, and was a dominant force in the 1960s and 1980s. For now Górnik has the most titles in Poland. The club plays in white or dark blue - red kit, and is based at the Ernest Pohl Stadium...
in the 1994–95 UEFA Cup. The stadium hosted an international between the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....
and Wales
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
in February 1992; the 1994 UEFA Under-16 Championships
UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship
The UEFA U-17 Championship is an annual football competition organised by the sport's European governing body, UEFA. From 1982 to 2001 it was an Under-16 event.This meeting serves as a preliminary competition for the FIFA U-17 World Cup every other year....
; the FAI Cup
FAI Cup
The Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cup, known as the FAI Ford Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland...
Final in 2007
FAI Cup 2007
The FAI Cup 2007 was the 84th staging of The Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cup or FAI Cup. It was the first FAI Cup to be sponsored by Ford....
and 2008
FAI Cup 2008
The FAI Cup 2008 was the eighty-fifth staging of The Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cup, or FAI Cup for short. This season was the second one sponsored by Ford....
; and the 2008–09 UEFA Cup match between St Patrick's Athletic and Hertha Berlin. St. Pat's also played Steaua Bucureşti 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 25th and 28th of May 2010 against Paraguay and Algeria.
Other
In 1983, the Ireland teamIreland Davis Cup team
The Ireland Davis Cup team represents the whole of Ireland in Davis Cup tennis competition and are governed by Tennis Ireland. Ireland competed in its first Davis Cup in 1923.Ireland currently compete in the Europe/Africa Zone of Group II...
played in the World Group
Davis Cup structure
The Davis Cup tennis competition is structured around a number of groups, with promotion and relegation between them.At the top is the World Group, which competes in a knockout competition. Below that it becomes regional, with an American Zone, Euro/African Zone and Asia/Oceania Zone. Each of these...
of the Davis Cup
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
for the only time. The match against a United States team including John McEnroe
John McEnroe
John Patrick McEnroe, Jr. is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. During his career, he won seven Grand Slam singles titles , nine Grand Slam men's doubles titles, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title...
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 DublinUniversity College Dublin
University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...
exams before Christmas and in May/June, and Trinity College Dublin exams in April, among others.
External links
- Official site
- The Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show is Ireland's leading Equestrian event of the Summer
- BHL The Scientific proceedings of the Royal Dublin Society 1878-1924
- BHL The Scientific transactions of the Royal Dublin Society 1883-1896