The Royal College of Science for Ireland (RCScI) was an institute for

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after comple ...

in Dublin which existed from 1867 to 1926, specialising in

physical sciences Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together called the "physical sciences". Definition Phy ...

and applied science. It was originally based on St. Stephen's Green, moving in 1911 to a purpose-built "Royal College of Science" building on

Merrion Street Merrion Street (; ) is a major Georgian street on the southside of Dublin, Ireland, which runs along one side of Merrion Square. It is divided into Merrion Street Lower (north end), Merrion Square West and Merrion Street Upper (south end). It ...

, now known as

Government Buildings Government Buildings ( ga, Tithe an Rialtais) is a large Edwardian period, Edwardian building enclosing a quadrangle on Merrion Street in Dublin, Ireland, in which several key offices of the Government of Ireland are located. Among the offices o ...

. In 1926 it was absorbed into

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

(UCD) as the faculty of Science and Engineering.

Foundation

The Museum of Economic Geology was founded by the

Dublin Castle administration Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

in 1845, with chemist Robert Kane as curator, and a focus on mining in Ireland similar to the

Museum of Practical Geology The Geological Museum (originally the Museum of Economic Geology then the Museum of Practical Geology), started in 1835 as one of the oldest single science museums in the world and now part of the Natural History Museum in London. It transfe ...

in London.Select Committee (1864
p.ix
In 1847, Kane was promoted to director, expanding its remit, and renaming it the Museum of Irish Industry (MII). In 1853 a new

Science and Art Department The Science and Art Department was a British government body which functioned from 1853 to 1899, promoting education in art, science, technology and design in Britain and Ireland. Background The Science and Art Department was created as a subdivis ...

was created within the Whitehall administration, and in 1854 the MII placed under its remit.Select Committee (1864
p.xiv
A School of Science applied to Mining and the Arts was created, modelled on the

Royal School of Mines The Royal School of Mines comprises the departments of Earth Science and Engineering, and Materials at Imperial College London. The Centre for Advanced Structural Ceramics and parts of the London Centre for Nanotechnology and Department of Bioe ...

in London, with four professorships shared jointly by the MII school and the Royal Dublin Society (RDS). The MII and School shared premises at 51, St. Stephen's Green, acquired in 1846 and fitted out by 1852. In 1864, a select committee of the

UK parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

recommended that the MII and School be entirely separated from the RDS and broadened into a government-supported College of Science for Ireland. In 1865,

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ...

agreed and in 1867 a commission was appointed by the education committee of the Privy Council. The commission, headed by

William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse (17 June 1800 – 31 October 1867), was an Irish astronomer, naturalist, and engineer. He was president of the Royal Society (UK), the most important association of naturalists in the world in the nineteenth ...

, outlined the scope and functions of the proposed college, and the RCScI mission statement on 11 September 1867 was: :The object of the Royal College of Science is to supply as far as practicable a Complete Course of instruction in Science applicable to the Industrial Arts, especially those which may be classed broadly under the heads of Mining, Agriculture, Engineering, and Manufactures, and to aid in the instruction of Teachers for the local Schools of Science George Sigerson complained in 1868 that the RCScI was less open to Catholics than the MII had been.

Later development

The RCScI's remit was later changed to exclude agriculture and include "Physics and Natural Science". The number of students enrolled increased gradually. By 1898 the RCScI had chairs of Mining and Mineralogy, Physics, Chemistry, Zoology, Botany, Geology, Applied Mathematics and Mechanism, Descriptive Geometry and Engineering. In 1900, control was transferred from the Science and Art Department in London to the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction in Dublin, headed by

Horace Plunkett Sir Horace Curzon Plunkett (24 October 1854 – 26 March 1932), was an Anglo-Irish agricultural reformer, pioneer of agricultural cooperatives, Unionist MP, supporter of Home Rule, Irish Senator and author. Plunkett, a younger brother of Jo ...

. A new building was proposed in 1897 and a site from

Kildare Street Kildare Street () is a street in Dublin, Ireland. Location Kildare Street is close to the principal shopping area of Grafton Street and Dawson Street, to which it is joined by Molesworth Street. Trinity College lies at the north end of the ...

was chosen in 1898; in 1899 the plan was extended to include government administrative offices as well as the new college. The new building was designed by Sir

Aston Webb Sir Aston Webb (22 May 1849 – 21 August 1930) was a British architect who designed the principal facade of Buckingham Palace and the main building of the Victoria and Albert Museum, among other major works around England, many of them in pa ...

; the

foundation stone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over tim ...

was laid in 1904 by

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

and it was opened in 1911 by

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

. In 1926 the RCScI was absorbed into UCD where it became the UCD Science and Engineering faculties. Science moved to UCD's Earlsfort Terrace building, and on to Belfield in the 1960s; Engineering moved from Merrion Street to Belfield in 1989. The RCScI building was then absorbed into

with the rest of Aston Webb's complex, lavishly renovated by

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach on three occasions – 1979 to 1981, March to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. He was also Minister for the Gaeltacht from ...

and used to house the

Department of the Taoiseach The Department of the Taoiseach ( ga, Roinn an Taoisigh) is the government department of the Taoiseach, the title in Ireland for the head of government.Article 13.1.1° and Article 28.5.1° of the Constitution of Ireland. The latter provision re ...

References

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Footnotes

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