ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 181 



THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOQETY OF 



IRELAND. 



Amongst the great voluntary Societies aiming directly at the improvement 

 of Irish husbandry, an important place must be accorded to " The Royal 

 Agricultural Society of Ireland," founded in the year 1841. The original 

 conception of this body was due to the practical sense, the enthusiasm, and 

 philanthropic spirit of the late Peter Purcell. This gentleman (whose 

 Memorial Tablet may be read in the Roman Catholic pro-Cathedral, Marl- 

 borough-street), was, in addition to being a large landed proprietor, an 

 owner of stage coaches, a mail contractor, and a large employer of labour in 

 Dublin. He was a man of great public spirit, and, in his economic ideas, 

 was ahead of his time. 



In the early part of 1841 a well attended public meeting was held in the 

 Royal Exchange, Dublin, under the presidency of the Duke of Leinster. 



Mr. Peter Purcell gave a brief account of the proceedings that had led up 

 to the formation of the Society, and announced the formation of provisional 

 Committees and gave some details of the work already done. It was 

 resolved that all donations to the Society should be funded at once with a 

 view to securing financial stability, and " that nothing but the interest of the 

 money and the annual subscriptions should be applied to current expendi- 

 ture." The Duke of Leinster suggested the propriety of " giving honorary 

 rewards as much as possible to the gentry, and the money and more sub- 

 stantial prizes to the farmers and the labourers." Mr. Naper, one of the 

 Vice-Presidents of the Dublin Society, said that a resolution had been 

 passed by that Society that it " was ready and wiHing to give such aid and 

 co-operation as its means and premises might afford to the new Agricultural 

 Improvement Society of Ireland." It was further announced that the sub- 

 scriptions and donations promised amounted to £'i,gS2,, of which sum as 

 much as ;^3,i99 had then been lodged in La Touche's Bank, and that forty- 

 six annual subscribers had sent in their names to the Society. A large corres- 

 pondence was then read, including letters from the Bishops of Kildare and 

 Derry and from the Roman Catholic Primate and Archbishop of Dublin 

 and the Roman Catholic Bishops of Elphin, Kildare and Leighlin, Achonry, 

 and Raphoe, besides several of the most influential of the clergy, gentry, 

 and landed proprietors from all parts of the country. 



So great was the desire to communicate with this Society that numerous 

 applications were forwarded from various quarters, particularly from the 

 local Agricultural Societies already in existence, seeking for support. 



A number of letters were read, some describing works of Agricultural 



