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The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) is the name given in 1820 to an organisation which was commonly known as the 'Dublin Society' and which 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.

The Society's activities are directed by the Foundation Programme which is inspired by the 1731 founders aims of improving Ireland's economic condition by promoting the development of Agriculture, Arts, Industry and Science. The Foundation Programme "supports Irish society by acting as a catalyst to ensure that the coming generations can fulfill their potential".

History


The society was originally founded by members of the Dublin Philosophical Society, 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.

In 1843 the Society opened National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin. In an article published 1891 in the Transactions of the Royal Dublin Society, George Johnstone Stoney introduced the term electron to the English language.

Premises
The society purchased Leinster House, home of the Duke of Leinster, in 1815 and founded The Natural History Museum there in 1856. The Society held the first Irish International Exhibition on the lawn of Leinster House in 1853. 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 Contests, in 1981 and in 1988. Simmonscourt is where the show jumping horses are stabled during Dublin Horse Show week.

The Council
The Council is the governing body of the RDS. Its role is to monitor progress on the aims of the society and oversees management of the Society’s activities and resources. The Council consists of the President and the Vice-President, Past-Presidents and 36 elected Council Members. The Council Members are appointed to serve on one of the five Standing Committees or the Membership Committee of Council. The Council is divided into three Sections, each with twelve elected members. The Agricultural Section, the Section for Science and its Industrial Applications, and the Section for the General Purposes of the Society.

Board of Management
The Board of Management's role is to supervise the administration of the Society's business on behalf of the Council, to advise the Council and to exercise the powers delegated to it by the Council. Board Members consist of The President, the Vice-President, the Chairman of the Board of Management which is appointed annually by Council, and one Council member from each of the Standing Committees and the Membership Committee of Council.

Membership Committee of Council
As part of the RDS Strategic Plan, A Membership Committee of Council was established to represent the membership of the Society as a whole. The twevle member Committee is comprised of six Council Members who are appointed by the Council and six RDS Members who were selected by the Nominations Committee.

Standing Committees
The role of a Standing Committee is to propose and advise on policies and activities within its interest to the Council. Each Standing Committee consists of Members of Council appointed by the Council and elected Members of the RDS Membership.

The Society has five Standing Committees:


 * The Committee of Agriculture and Rural Affairs
 * The Committee of Science and Technology
 * The Committee of Arts
 * The Equestrian Committee
 * The Committee of Industry and Commerce

RDS Arena
The RDS Arena (more commonly known simply as the RDS) was developed to host equestrian events, including the annual Dublin Horse Show. 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, 7, 8, 18 and 27X, which stop outside the Main Hall Entrance to the RDS on Merrion Road.

Dublin Horse Show


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.

Concerts
In recent years, the venue has been used as a music venue, for many rock, heavy metal and pop artists.

Bruce Springsteen has played there eleven times since 1988, during The Tunnel of Love Express Tour in 1988, The Other Band Tour 1993, The Reunion Tour in 1999, "The Rising Tour" in 2003, during the "Magic Tour" in 2008 and during the "Working on a Dream Tour" x3 shows 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+. and The Wrecking Ball Tour in 2012 x2 shows.

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, Shania Twain, The Cure and Metallica among others. U2 played 2 dates of their "Zooropa" tour on the 27 and 28 August 1993 in the main Arena.

On 30 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 Austin, John Cena, Kurt Angle, and Rey Mysterio.

Rugby Union
The RDS is the home of Leinster Rugby. 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.

Association Football
Shamrock Rovers F.C. 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 25 and 28 May 2010 against Paraguay and Algeria.

Other
In 1983, the Ireland team 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
The RDS hosts the University College Dublin exams before Christmas and in May/June, and Trinity College Dublin exams in April, among others.

RDS Irish Times Boyle Medal for Scientific Excellence
The Boyle Medal (named after Robert Boyle (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 2013 the medal had been awarded to 38 scientists.

Past recipients of the Boyle Medal: • 2011 Margaret Murnane

• 2009 Luke O'Neill

• 2005 Garret Adare Fitzgerald

• 2003 John McCanny

• 2001 Derek Ernest Gilmor Briggs

• 1999 Thomas Cotter

• 1996 Patrick Cunningham

• 1992 Brendan K. P. Scaife

• 1988 Peter Kevin Carroll

• 1986 James Robert McConnell

• 1982 David Allardice Webb

• 1981 Roy C. Geary

• 1979 Cormac O'Ceallaigh

• 1978 George Francis Mitchell

• 1972 John Lighton Synge

• 1971 Patrick J. Nolan

• 1970 Thomas J. Walsh

• 1969 Vincent C. Barry

• 1967 Edward J. Conway

• 1961 Phyllis E. M. Clinch

• 1959 Robert McKay

• 1950 Edmond J. Sheehy

• 1947 John Hewitt Jellet Poole

• 1945 Thomas J. Nolan

• 1942 Joseph Doyle

• 1939 Joseph Reilly

• 1936 Horace H. Poole

• 1933 Paul A. Murphy

• 1931 Sir John Purser Griffith

• 1928 Walter Ernest Adeney

• 1928 William Ringrose Gelston Atkins

• 1921 George Herbert Pethybridge

• 1917 John Alexander McClelland

• 1916 Henry Horatio Dixon

• 1912 Sir Howard Grubb

• 1911 John Joly

• 1899 Thomas Preston

• 1899 George Johnstone Stoney