Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies

@dias.ie

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Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) is the world’s second, and Ireland’s only, Institute for Advanced Studies. We perform advanced, fundamental, research across our three Schools - Celtic Studies, Theoretical Physics, and Cosmic Physics.

Irish Script on Screen
Established by DIAS in 1999, the Irish Script on Screen (ISOS) is the world's largest digital repository of Irish manuscripts, with more than 450 manuscripts digitised.

These priceless manuscripts are expertly digitised, making centuries of Irish history, literature, law and culture freely accessible online.

Prof Stephen Hawking visits DIAS

In October 1983, renowned physicist Stephen Hawking visited DIAS to attend a Symposium held by our School of Theoretical Physics.

During his visit Prof Hawking delivered a lecture exploring quantum mechanics and recent advances in general relativity and supergravity.

The Irish National Seismic Network

The Geophysics Section of DIAS operates the Irish National Seismic Network (INSN). Established in 1980, the network monitors seismic activity across Ireland - through a series of stations. Seismic data is transmitted in real time to the INSN data centre at 5 Merrion Square and shared internationally.

HAPPY DIAS DAY
Est 19th June 1940

Celtica is the leading peer-reviewed journal of our School of Celtic Studies and has been published as a Diamond Open Access journal since 2024. 📚

Both new issues and the complete archive are freely available on the DIAS Journals Platform, with no subscription or paywall barriers!

The transition to open access was a major milestone for DIAS, ensuring wider access to research for scholars and the public alike – helping to promoting knowledge without barriers.

Dunsink Time
In 1880, Dunsink Time (officially known as Dublin Mean Team) based on observations at Dunsink became the legal time for all of Ireland. Irish clocks ran about 25 minutes 21 seconds behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), reflecting Ireland's position west of London.
Dunsink Observatory kept Ireland’s official time until 1916.

Dr Sheila Tinney Portrait Unveiling

In 2019, DIAS unveiled a portrait of Dr Tinney by artist Judith Henihan. The portrait was acquired with the support of the International Women's Forum (Ireland) and benefactors of the Friends of DIAS initiative, and has hung proudly within the Institute ever since.

Pictured: Mary Mitchell O'Connor, then Minister of State for Higher Education, unveiled the portrait alongside the late Dr Tinney's children, Eithna, Hugh and Deirdre Tinney.

In 1941, Dr Sheila Tinney (neé Power) became the first women Fellow of DIAS - and was one of the first three Fellows to be selected by the inaugural Director of the School of Theoretical Physics.

Dr Tinney later also become an Assistant Lecturer at UCD and was among the first four women elected to the Royal Irish Academy.

Ireland's Extended Continental Shelf

Brian Jacob, along with colleagues from the University of Hamburg, and other institutions, conducted a project that confirms the Irish continental shelf extends through the Porcupine and Rockall Basins, increasing Ireland's economic zone tenfold.
This research initiated in the early 1980's revealed the shelf is twice as large as previously thought, significantly expanding Ireland's rights under the Law of the Sea. These findings were subsequently confirmed with more sophisticated equipment by the Marine Institute and Geological Survey Ireland (GSI).

Ogham in 3D

DIAS's School of Celtic Studies digitizes early medieval inscriptions - some of Ireland's most significant national treasures and our earliest written records, dating back to the 5th century.

This project website was launched in 2013 by then Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Jimmy Deenihan.

QuakeShake Raspberry Seismometers.

These Raspberry Shake seismometers power the QuakeShake programme and they are changing the way we engage with earthquakes and Earth science!

Supported by Research Ireland's Discover Programme and GSI, our Raspberry Shake stations are expanding rapidly - with over 70 devices purchased for use in classrooms,homes and heritage sites throughout Ireland.

QuakeShake is an Irish Citizen Science Programme launched by DIAS and GSI (Geological Survey Ireland) in 2023.

QuakeShake engages the public in monitoring earthquakes with low-cost, real-time sensors - transforming Ireland into a nation of 'Citizen seismologists.

The initiative uses real-time data to detect earthquakes at home and across the world, making Earth science accessible to all ages!

Naming of Seismometers

One of the seismometers was christened "Allód" an ancient name of the Irish God of the sea. Allód was a winning entry in the seismometer naming competition, suggested by Coláiste Phobail Cholmicille in Donegal.

SEA-SEIS Deployment

In 2018, researchers from the DIAS Geophysics Section led the SEA-SEIS (Structure, Evolution and Seismicity of the Irish offshore) project.

This Project saw state-of-the-art ocean bottom seismometers deployed across the Irish offshore area, to the west of Ireland which provide data on a range of activity deep in Irish coastal waters.

EARTH DAY 2026

The Reach for the Stars Astrophotography Competition returns for another year.
Irish Times Graphic

2011 International Congress of Celtic Studies

In 2011, the Fourteenth International Congress of Celtic Studies was held in Ireland, at Maynooth University under the aegis of DIAS.
Est.1959, this quadrennial event has grown to be the largest academic conference focused on Celtic Studies, attracting scholars and researchers from around the world.

The First International Congress of Celtic Studies.

The foremost international gathering of scholars researching the languages, literature and cultural traditions of the Celtic-speaking people, was held at DIAS. The Congress was organized by the late DIAS Professor Brian Ó Cúiv.

Pictured (L-R): Brian Ó Cúiv, David Greene, Cecile O'Rahilly, Carl Marstrander and Angus Matheson.

In 1950, Prof Leo W. Pollak, Director of the School of Cosmic Physics gave a public lecture in UCD, entitled ‘Is the Earth Getting Warmer?’

He outlined early evidence of a changing climate, from the effects of warming latitudes on fish migration, to glacier decay, and noted the growing scientific consensus that gloabl warming was underway.

Prof.Pollak even suggested that Irish coastal towns such as Glengariff in West Cork, or Skerries in Dublin might one day replace the seaside resorts of Southern France!

Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona duit!
Happy St.Patricks Day to you!

Happy International Women’s Day from all of us at DIAS.

A message from our CEO & Registrar, Dr Euchaira Meehan:

“On International Women’s Day 2026, we celebrate the outstanding achievements of the women researchers at DIAS. Their work continues to shape discovery research and inspire future generations.

We remain committed to ensuring women are supported to thrive, lead, and make groundbreaking discoveries.”

The ADH Telescope operated in South Africa until 1980.
Though the working life of the ADH telescope is now over, its memory remains. It made significant contributions to Southern Hemisphere astronomy, in particular to studies of the Magenellic Clouds, Galactic Structure and southern Milky Way. Today original pieces of the telescope, as well as original photographic plates are on display at DIAS Dunsink Observatory.

The telescope was used to study faint stars in the Magenellic Cloud and Orion Nebula, as well as to search for evidence of a black hole in the centre of our galaxy by using early electronic detectors. Pictured is the Eta Carina Nebula as it appears on ADH photographic plate No H20.

The ADH was the brainchild of Harvard Observatory Director, Harlow Shapley who fortuitously met Taoiseach Eamon de Valera at Shannon Airport in 1948, whilst marooned due to fog. Shapley introduced himself and proceeded to discuss ideas for the reopening of Dunsink and the joint telescope project with Harvard and Armagh Observatory.

Image 1.
Once complete the ADH Telescope was installed in Boyden Observatory in Bloemfontein, South Africa in 1950. It was the largest Schmidt telescope in the Southern Hemisphere in the 1950s.

The Armagh-Dunsink-Harvard (ADH) Agreement

In 1948 DIAS Dunsink was central to what was the first ever inter-governmental agreement between the two parts of Ireland, and the first international agreement to operate a shared observing facility in the southern hemisphere. This pioneering collaboration linked Armagh Observatory and Dunsink Observatory with Harvard University under an agreement to build and operate a large Schmidt telescope at the Boyden Observatory in South Africa.

In 1960, John L. Synge, Senior Professor at the DIAS School of Theoretical Physics, published ‘Relativity: The General Theory’, a seminal text that became a standard reference on Einstein’s theory. Renowned for its clarity and depth, the book shaped international research and teaching, reaffirming DIAS as a leading world centre for research in general relativity.

The first all-island gravity survey completed and published by T.F.Murphy

In the early 1950s, T. F. Murphy of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies conducted Ireland’s first systematic gravity surveys, including major projects in central and northern regions. These efforts added hundreds of gravity stations, produced Bouguer anomaly maps, and established reliable gravity bases.
In 1957 Murphy completed and published the first all-island gravity survey, creating a foundational dataset that shaped national interpretations of subsurface geology and guided decades of later geophysical work.

Early DIAS European Collaboration

Through its early international collaborations, DIAS strengthened Ireland’s academic standing by introducing expertise and methods that would have taken fair longer to develop domestically alone. The following slides highlight some of DIAS' collaborations in France, Italy, Austria and Sweden.

The School of Celtic Studies was always intended to have a broader reach than Ireland alone. One of its earliest academic visitors was Ifor Williams, the pioneer of medieval Welsh studies. He delivered his seminal Lectures on Early Welsh Poetry delivered March 1943 in collaboration with UCD. The lectures are still in print today.

Since that time, generations of students have relied on 'y llyfrau cochion' - the little red books of our Medieval and Modern Welsh series. Founded in 1957, the series now has fifteen volumes.

No. 5 Merrion Square was personally selected by Taoiseach Éamon de Valera as the premises for the School of Cosmic Physics. The building had previously been owned by Dr Robert Farnan, a Dáil Deputy and family friend. Apparently the house had been a refuge for de Valera on a number of occasions when he was on the run during the War of Independence.
No.5 now houses the Geophysics section of DIAS.

In 1949 after years of painstaking restoration to the buildings, re-cataloguing of the library and an overhaul of out of date equipment, Hermann Brück head of the Astronomy section instituted monthly ‘open days’ whereby the public could visit the Observatory. The first official visitor was Éamon de Valera in January 1949, who was delighted that his cherished project of rehabilitating the observatory was a success.

Dunsink Observatory was built in 1785, and is considered Ireland’s oldest scientific institution. In 1947 the DIAS Astronomy & Astrophysics section became the caretakers of Dunsink Observatory. Today Dunsink Observatory stands as a physical testament to the evolution of astronomical research and education in Ireland and across the world over more than two centuries. In 2018 Dunsink was designated by the European Physical Society as a “site of historical significance”- the first such designation in Ireland and in 2025 as part of the Astronomical Observatories of Ireland, Dunsink Observatory was added to Ireland’s tentative list for Inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Leo W. Pollak
First Head of Geophysics Section in the School of Cosmic Physics

The School of Cosmic Physics comprises two main disciplines: Geophysics and Astronomy & Astrophysics. Professor Leo Pollak was appointed Director of the School and Head of the Geophysics Section in 1947. Prof Pollak’s history of strong support for the benefits of geophysical research had long been clear, in 1943 he had sent a memorandum to the Department of the Taoiseach, where he stressed the lack of training and research in geophysics, arguing that “to change this situation, not only unworthy of a cultivated and civilised nation but also injurious to its economic life, the establishment of a school for geophysics is proposed.” His vision was realised four years later with the founding of the School of Cosmic Physics and its Geophysics Section.

Osborn J. Bergin was the first director of the School of Celtic Studies. He was a scholar of the Irish language and early Irish literature, who discovered what is now known as Bergin's law. The Bergin Fellowship Scheme, still in place within the school honours him as one of the outstanding Irish scholars of his generation.

In 1947 DIAS staff, visiting researchers and Council members attended a reception at Áras an Uachtaráin, hosted by President Seán T.Ó Ceallaigh and his wife Phyllis Bean Úi Cheallaigh.
Pictured Front Row: Monsignor Patrick de Brún (Council Chair), Prof C.Møller, Prof Heitler, Prof Conway, An tUachtarán (S.T.Ó Ceallaigh), Bean Úi Ceallaigh, Prof Pollak and Prof Janossy.
Back Row: Profs Schrödinger, Powell. J.J. Nolan, Born, Fröhlich and Mr. MacGrianna.

News-clipping from The Irish Press, 27th March 1947 issue.

Established by Govt Order on 26 March 1947, the School of Cosmic Physics became the third constituent school of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.

The School is organised in two broad sections: Geophysics and Astronomy & Astrophysics - their purpose is to use the ideas and methods of physics to understand the world around us, from the interior of the Earth to the edges of the observable universe.

In May 1946 Celtica, the peer-reviewed journal of the DIAS School of Celtic Studies made its first appearance. The first volume of the journal marked the launch of a dedicated outlet for high-level research in Celtic studies, covering linguistics, literature, manuscript studies, history, law, dialect studies and onomastics. The journal examines all of the Celtic languages and periods from the earliest inscriptions to the spoken languages of the present day. Celtica has been a flagship for Celtic Scholarship from the outset.

The Headquarters of DIAS moved to 10 Burlington Rd in 1971. Since then it has housed the School of Theoretical Physics and the Admin sections of the Institute, with the School of Celtic Studies in the adjoining nineteenth century building. No. 10 is considered an outstanding example of early 1970's architecture, designed by Sam Stephenson and is now a protected structure.

First Council Meeting:
The Council for the Institute fir Advanced Studies held its first meeting in Government Buildings on the 15 October 1940. An Taoiseach Éamon de Valera attended the meeting and was pictures with members of the Council.
The Irish Press published an article on this in October 1940.

Caption reads: Establishment Announcement, in 1940, championed by Taoiseach Éamonn de Valera the Institute for Advanced Studies Act was enacted. These newspaper clippings from the Irish Press and the Sunday Express outline the structures and objectives of the IAS Bill as presented to the Dáil.

Pictured: Press Clippings March 1940

Announcing '85 Things About DIAS' a social media campaign aimed at celebrating the work and research of the Institute since it's establishment in 1940 and sharing DIAS facts and history with the public.