User:Alannamdevine/sandbox

Career
In 1896, Rudolf Maximillian Butler, became a founding member of the Architectural Association of Ireland (AAI). He became assistant to the architect W.G Doolin in Dublin in 1891. His own career as an architect began in 1899 when he became a junior partner in that same firm. He went on to develop his own successful and extensive practice which included the design of hospitals, schools, libraries; and churches both in Ireland and abroad.

Some examples of his architectural designs for Catholic ecclesiastic projects include: The Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Castletownbere, County Cork and Saint Patrick’s Church in Newport, County Mayo.

When the “Irish Builder” trade journal changed to “Irish Builder and Engineer” he continued as editor until 1935. He was known for his view that modern Irish architecture could be original, and distinct. His designs were simple, bold and vigorous, but very refined and met the modern requirements. In 1925, he represented the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) on the Royal Institute of British Architecture (RIBA) council and board of architectural education and gave evidence before the technical education commission.

He was appointed consulting engineer to Rathdown rural district council in 1902, where he designed over 500 cottages in the area. In 1912, he won his first major architectural achievement when he won first prize in a University College Dublin (UCD) design competition, and then in 1923 he received the Mullins Silver Medal for ICEI for his paper on ‘Architectural Engineering’ in 1926.

As his career progressed he became the architectural examiner for The National University of Ireland in 1923 where he received an Honorary Degree of Master of Architecture in 1931. In 1924, he started his professorship at UCD where he remained in situ until his retirement in 1942, due to ill health.