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RHSI,
Cabinteely House,
The Park, Cabinteely,
Dublin 18.
Tel/Fax:
++353 1 2353912
Office hours:- Tues.Wed.Thurs.10-1pm
| intro | The history of the RHSI is, not surprisingly, intertwined with the social, cultural and political changes in Ireland |
| 1700+ | Unfortified houses first built, conditions became more favourable to gardening, demesnes developed, some plant collections assembled. |
| 1790s | Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin founded. |
| 1816 | Dublin gardeners meeting in the Rose Tavern, Donnybrook, set up the Horticultural Society of Ireland for gardeners who had served their time and were of good moral conduct for an annual fee of one guinea (equivalent to £70 or 90 euros in the year 2001) |
| 1830 | The society was 'remodeled'; from a society run by gardeners of the gentry it became a body run by the gentry themselves. |
| 1838 | Queen Victoria became patroness, the title 'Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland' came into being; can be taken as an indicator of the society's cultural/social standing and loyalty to the Crown. |
| 1800s | Council was well served by many of the most influential and best known professional and commercial people. Deliberations were mainly concerned with the shows. Council was often called on to adjudicate between rivals. |
| 1849 | As the Autumn Show came to an end there was a sudden rush towards the fruit and vegetable exhibits and a section of the attendance fought with one another to grab as much of the produce as possible. This was one of the calamitous 'Great Famine' years with many dying from hunger and fever and over one million people in workhouses or on relief schemes to avoid starvation. |
| 1869 | Disagreements with 'professional gardeners' which had persisted since the remodeling were resolved. |
| 1891 | A fierce storm wrecked the 1891 show due to be held in Lord Iveagh's garden in Stephen's Green. This was a bad blow to the society as interest had dwindled in its affairs. |
| 1900+ | Membership was small at 500 but support for shows was strong; 2500 dishes of fruit were exhibited at the Winter Show held at the RDS in 1911 Women became active in the society. Support for the war effort during the First World War was evident in the society with only an occasional echo of the historic events taking place on the island itself. |
| 1920+ | The society was slow to adjust to the new political realities even when replies from the Palace authorities were conveyed to it via the Department of External Affairs. It was 1968 before a very well attended annual general meeting resolved that the society was non-political and non-sectarian. |
| 1930+ | A campaign was launched to encourage the commercial growing of fruit and co-operation of the Department of Agriculture was obtained in running of an annual fruit show. |
| 1940+ | During the War vegetable growing in small plots was encouraged with the assistance of RDS and the Allotment Association. |
| 1950+ | Council became more active post-war with specialist groups being encouraged, first dahlias but later for roses, narcissi, primulas, cactus and flower arranging. Small gardeners became more active and the society became classless |
| 2000 | Mr. Ambrose Congreve becomes Patron of RHSI. |
| 2011 | The death is announced of Mr. Ambrose Congreve. |
| Source: | Irish Gardening and Horticulture, RHSI1979, ISBN 0 9506 846 1 9 |
