Discourse Series
The Royal Irish Academy’s Discourse Series are the oldest and most renowned series of public talks in Ireland.
About the Discourse Series
The Royal Irish Academy’s first discourses were presented in 1786. Historically, Academy discourses were the occasion reserved for the most distinguished academics to first reveal and discuss their research in public. Robert Mallet revealed his pioneering work on earthquakes and William Rowan Hamilton talked about quaternion algebra first at RIA discourses.
Continuing in this tradition, the modern Discourse Series brings international experts to the Academy to discuss important contemporary issues in front of a public audience.
Latest Discourse Series videos
- Discourse Series | The future of the EU: Bigger and Better?
Discourse Series | The future of the EU: Bigger and Better?
31 May 2024
- Discourse Series | Explaining Unionism panel discussion
Discourse Series | Explaining Unionism panel discussion
23 April 2024
- Discourse Series | The Geometry of Chaos: From Climate Change to Foundations of Quantum Physics
Discourse Series | The Geometry of Chaos: From Climate Change to Foundations of Quantum Physics
12 February 2024
- Grangegorman: From the Era of Neglect to the Era of the Asylum and Back?
Grangegorman: From the Era of Neglect to the Era of the Asylum and Back?
19 December 2023
Watch recordings of the Discourse Series
Our Discourses have been filmed since 2020 and are available to watch on the RIA YouTube channel.
Audio recordings of the Discourse Series (2017-2019)
We began filming our Discourses in 2020, and these can be found on the RIA YouTube channel.