The RDS Podcast

The RDS was, from its foundation in 1731, a colonial institution, with projects extending from its members' rooms in Dublin to the Irish countryside, and across the ocean to the Caribbean plantation colonies. For over 100 years, the RDS played a crucial role in shaping and disseminating colonial science and focused on issues that directly benefited colonial interests, such as agriculture, industry, and the harnessing of Ireland’s natural resources. In 2024, in collaboration with Research Ireland and Trinity College Dublin, the RDS made an important commitment to address its colonial legacies, joining a growing number of institutions and organisations in Ireland and across the world who have chosen to investigate their ties to enslavement and empire. In this episode RDS Foundation Director Niamh De Loughry, Head of Library & Archives Natasha Serne and Research Ireland Enterprise Fellow Dr Rachael Scally explore the colonial history of the RDS, and touch on the preliminary findings of Rachael’s research into its legacies of empire.  

From 1895 to 1914, amateur Egyptologist and RDS Member Lawrence E. Steele made 4 trips to Egypt, where he visited archaeological digs, ancient temple complexes and the Cairo museum. On his return Steele lectured around Ireland on Egyptology, utilising the photographs he took, and the glass lantern slides he purchased on his travels. The record of his visits, including 1,500 glass lantern slides, several diaries and notebooks and an album of press-cuttings of articles and reviews of Steele’s lectures were left to the RDS in 1946. From 2024-2025 the RDS Library & Archives were fortunate to receive funding from a private donor and the Heritage Council Community Heritage Grant Scheme to digitise this collection. It is now complete and available to view on the RDS Digital Archive. In this episode Foundation Director Niamh de Loughry and Head of Library & Archives Natasha Serne, talk about Steele’s life and legacy and explore the broader RDS digital collections.

During the 18th century the RDS facilitated the planting of around 55 million trees in Ireland. The National Botanic Gardens, founded by the Society in 1795, experimented with different tree species into the 19th century and in 1988 they introduced the first forestry awards in Ireland. In this episode we join RDS Foundation Director, Niamh De Loughry, Head of RDS Library & Archives, Natasha Serne and Head of the RDS Forest and Woodlands Awards judging panel, Dr Mick Keane as they explore the near 300-year-old story of the RDS and Irish forestry. The RDS Forest and Woodland Awards recognise and reward farmers and woodland owners that have adopted Climate-Smart Agricultural practices on their properties. These practices include sound commercial management, environmental protection, and biodiversity. The Awards are now open for entries until Friday, December 19. To apply, visit RDS - Forestry Awards The RDS would like to thank our sponsors and partners for their support and dedication to the Awards; the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Teagasc, and Woodlands of Ireland. 

From its involvement with the Irish linen industry in the 18th century, to the introduction of public exhibitions in the 19th and 20th centuries, to its continuing support of the sector today with the launch of the new RDS Craft Awards, the RDS has always played a pivotal role in the support of native craft and design. Join RDS Foundation Director Niamh de Loughry, Head of Library & Archives, Natasha Serne and Research Ireland Enterprise Fellow, Dr Deirdre Foley, for the latest episode of the RDS Library & Archives podcast series, Bearing fruit: Tales from the RDS Archives, as they explore the rich history of the RDS and its involvement in the support of Irish craft.

In 2025 the RDS celebrates its 150th Dublin Horse Show. This iconic event has been a fixture in the Irish summer calendar for over a century and has influenced and shaped the horse breeding industry in Ireland from its earliest days at Leinster House to the present day at the RDS showgrounds in Ballsbridge.  Join RDS Foundation Director Niamh de Loughry in conversation with RDS Deputy CEO-Finance and Horse Show Director Pat Hanly along with Head of Library & Archives Natasha Serne for this episode of Bearing Fruit: Tales from the RDS Archives where they explore the history of the Show from its beginnings in the 19th century and how it has shaped the mission of the RDS to support the Irish horse breeder and producer by showcasing the best Irish bred horses. 

From the establishment of its first laboratory in 1792 to the introduction of ESB Science Blast in 2019, the RDS has a long and illustrious history of engagement with science education in Ireland.  During the 18th century the RDS disseminated new scientific ideas through its journal publications and introduced professorships in chemistry and physics. In the 19th century it played a pivotal role in the establishment of the National College of Science and introduced a series of public lectures on all aspects of science and technology.  Today the RDS continues its commitment to STEM education in Ireland through ESB Science Blast, a free and fun-filled interactive experience designed and delivered by the RDS that seeks to engage primary school children with STEM, using 21st century skills.  Join RDS Foundation Director Niamh de Loughry in conversation with our Head of Library & Archives Natasha Serne and science communication expert Dr Brian Trench as they explore the rich and fascinating history of the relationship between the RDS and science education in Ireland across three centuries. 

The RDS Library & Archives is one of the oldest and largest independent Libraries in Ireland and has been a part of the Society from its Foundation in 1731. Its remit is to collect material related to the RDS  Foundation areas of areas of art, science, agriculture, enterprise and equestrianism, and to maintain its archives which offer a rich and unique resource for researchers and students of the social, economic and cultural history of Ireland. The Library was housed in several locations across Dublin from its  beginnings in 1731 until the Society purchased Leinster House in 1815. There the Library occupied the first floor of the building sharing space with the RDS museum collections until the opening of the Natural History Museum building in 1856. In 1877, under the auspices of the Dublin Art and Museum Act the RDS Library collections were transferred to the State to form the foundation collections of the National Library of Ireland. The RDS moved from Leinster House to Ballsbridge in 1924 and the new Library was opened in what is now the RDS Concert Hall. The current Library building was designed by the architect Louis Giron and was  opened by Eamon De Valera in 1965. The RDS Library & Archives collections are available for consultation by the public by appointment. Parts of the collections are also to view on the RDS digital archive platform. Join RDS Foundation Director Niamh De Loughry and Head of Library & Archives Natasha Serne as they explore the fascinating history of the RDS Library & Archives from its beginnings in the 18th century to the present day.

In 2024 the RDS celebrate the centenary of the transfer of their headquarters from Leinster House to Ballsbridge. Founded as the Dublin Society in 1731 to promote agriculture, industry, art and science in Ireland the RDS had a presence in the centre of Dublin for almost 200 years. In 1879, the Society leased a parcel of 15 acres of land from the Earl of Pembroke at Ballsbridge to hold their Spring Show and Horse Show. In 1923/24 the Society sold Leinster House to the Irish government for Dáil Éireann, moving their operations out of the city to this leafy South Dublin suburb on the banks of the River Dodder. Join RDS Foundation Director Niamh De Loughry and Head of Library & Archives Natasha Serne as they take a trip around Dublin to explore the various homes and haunts of the RDS from its earliest days at Trinity College Dublin up to its development as Ireland’s premier events venue at Ballsbridge.

From the foundation of the National Botanic Gardens in 1795 to the introduction of ESB Science Blast in 2019, the RDS has a long and illustrious history in engagement with science in Ireland. During the 18th and 19th centuries the RDS disseminated new scientific ideas through public lectures and journal publications, introduced professorships in chemistry and physics and established a laboratory at its premises on Hawkins Street that moved with the Society on its transfer to Leinster House in 1815. In 1899 the Society introduced the Boyle Medal to award excellence in scientific research and in 1914 it founded the Irish Radium Institute that pioneered one of the earliest treatments for cancer in the world. Today we continue its commitment to STEM education in Ireland through ESB Science Blast, which is designed and delivered by the RDS, to inspire primary school children and is one of the largest science education programmes for primary schools of its kind anywhere. Join RDS Foundation Niamh de Loughry in conversation with our Head of Library & Archives Natasha Serne as they explore the rich and fascinating story of the RDS and science in Ireland across three centuries.

First held in 1864, the Dublin Horse Show is a celebration of Ireland's affinity with the horse. From the best show horses to the best international show jumpers, it is one of Ireland's largest events, welcoming tens of thousands of people each year from Ireland and across the globe. In Straight from the Horse’s Mouth: A Short History of the Dublin Horse Show, join RDS Foundation Director Niamh De Loughry and RDS Head of Library & Archives as they explore the rich history of this unique Dublin institution.

Episode from the Library Speaker Series Lieutenant General Seán Clancy, Chief of Staff of the Irish Defence Forces, presents a history of Óglaigh na hÉireann to commemorate and reflect on their one hundred years of service to the Irish State since the foundation of the National Army in 1922. He tells the fascinating story of their evolving role - from key safeguard of early Irish democracy following the Irish Civil War, to their renewed purpose as peacekeepers with the United Nations beginning in Lebanon in 1958, through the violent years of the Troubles in Northern Ireland and the shifting national and international dynamics of the late 20th century. Looking forward, he describes the challenges of a changing and uncertain geopolitical landscape: war in Europe, concerns over energy and food security as well as new threats from disinformation, cyber-crime, state-sponsored terrorism and the subversion of democracy. He concludes by introducing a new documentary on the Defence Forces: In the Service of the State, Óglaigh na hÉireann 1922-2022.

Episode from the Library Speaker Series Recorded in the RDS Library as part of The Dublin Book Festival 2022, journalist, author, and broadcaster David McCullough interviews historian Michael B. Barry and photographer and colourist John O’Byrne, authors of The Irish Civil War in Colour. Barry and O’Byrne’s book brings one of the most defining events in Irish history to life for the first time in painstakingly hand-coloured photographs, many of which originated in private collections and archives and as such have never been available in the public sphere. McCullough investigates how Barry and O’Byrne conceived the book, with Barry explaining his criteria for selecting and captioning photographs so as to form a cohesive narrative of the conflict, while O’Byrne demonstrates his fascinating method for colourising black and white photographs, which he developed over a period of ten years, as well as arguing against criticisms that his work is a form of, as McCullough puts it, ‘historical vandalism’.

Episode from the Library Speaker Series Recorded in the RDS Library as part of The Dublin Book Festival 2022, History Ireland editor Tommy Graham interviews Commandant Daniel Ayiotis, director of the Military Archives in Cathal Brugha Barracks, and Zoe Reid, keeper of public services and collections at the National Archives. In this interview, Graham asks Reid about her book concerning her curation of an exhibition about the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations in 1921, before Ayiotis explains about his book The Military Archives: A History which examines the National Army from its foundation in 1922 up until the present day.

Episode from the Library Speaker Series Dr Orla Fitzpatrick is the winner of the Royal Dublin Society Library & Archives Research Bursary 2021. Dr Orla Fitzpatrick is an academic, educator, researcher and writer who has published and presented internationally in the area of photographic history, design and material culture. She is also a museum professional and a librarian. In this recording Dr Fitzpatrick presents her research about the relationship between the Royal Dublin Society and the National Museum of Ireland through the selection, display and reception of manufactured items for the Society’s exhibitions of the 19th century and their subsequent entry into the collections of the National Museum of Ireland. The findings of the research add to understanding of the history of collections in Ireland and contribute to knowledge of Irish consumer behaviour, art education and exhibition culture and display during an exciting period of modernisation.

Episode from the Vision 2030 Series Series host, Sean O’Rourke, is joined by Simon McKeever, Chief Executive, Irish Exporters Association, Anne Randles, Corporate Affairs Director, Ornua, and John McGrane, Director General, British-Irish Chamber of Commerce, as they discuss the sustainability of Irish-International trade given the current economic, and long-term environmental challenges, we face. Apologies for the audio quality from 0.09 to 7.57 due to a technical problem during recording. Episode recorded in the RDS with a live audience on Tuesday, January 17, 2023.

Episode from the Vision 2030 Series Series host, Sean O’Rourke, is joined by Dr Val Cummins, Operations and Projects Director, Simply Blue Energy Ireland, Dr Paul Deane, senior research fellow in clean energy futures at MaREI, UCC, and Paul Saunders, Senior Investment Director and head of Climate at ISIF (Ireland Strategic Investment Fund) as they discuss how Ireland can deliver on its huge renewable energy potential.   Episode recorded in the RDS with a live audience on Wednesday, November 9, 2022.

Episode from the Vision 2030 Series Series host, Sean O’Rourke, is joined by Professor Phillip Nolan, Director General, Science Foundation Ireland, Professor Orla Feely, Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact, UCD, and Dr John McKeon, Founder and CEO, Allergy Standards, as they discuss how Irish enterprise can maximise its research potential on path to carbon neutrality.   Episode recorded in the RDS with a live audience on Wednesday, October 5, 2022.

Episode from the Vision 2030 Series Series host, Sean O’Rourke, is joined by Cathy Bryce, Managing Director, AIB Capital Markets, Stephen Nolan, Managing Director, United Nations Development Programme - Financial Centres for Sustainability, and Emma Jane Joyce, Senior Business Manager – Sustainability, NTMA (National Treasury Management Agency), as they discuss this important topic and the opportunities it can provide for the Irish Economy.   Episode recorded in the RDS with a live audience on Wednesday, June 22, 2022.

Episode from the Vision 2030 Series Arthur Beesley of the Irish Times is joined by Mairead McGuinness, EU Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Markets Union, to discuss the future of finance. This discussion will also address the importance of a sustainable financial system to support the transition to a low-carbon economy.   Episode recorded in the RDS in December 2021.