258 Royal Irish Academy. 



This year may, I think, be considered to have been an eventful 

 one for the Academy ; not because of its being the sixtieth year of 

 Her Majesty's reign, in which they felt it to be their duty, in common 

 with other Bodies of Her subjects, to adopt an address of congratula- 

 tion, which I, in conjunction with Mr. Garstin and Lord Powerscourt, 

 presented to the Prince of "Wales, on behalf of the Queen, but rather 

 because the Academy's rich collection of Irish Antiquities has passed 

 under the care of a new keeper, after too long an interval since the 

 retirement of Major M'Eniry, who had grown old in the service, 

 and had for some time past been indisposed. 



It is to be hoped that the arrears of work, which are by this time 

 very large, will now be gradually overtaken, and that in the future 

 the collection, properly accommodated, may be put into such a condi- 

 tion for the instruction of those who have made archaeology their 

 special study, and for examination by the general public, as its 

 importance demands. It is to be hoped, also, that there will always 

 be an adequate staff for the proper arrangement and classification of 

 such objects as are continually coming to hand for addition to the col- 

 lection. This collection, being ujiique and of great interest not only to 

 persons from various parts of Ireland, but also to visitors to Dublin, 

 and to Celtic scholars from various parts of the world, deserves to 

 have full justice done to it in the JS'ational Museum. 



It is satisfactory to find that the field for work on Irish Antiquities 

 is by no means exhausted, and that there is still a hope of unveiling 

 some of the mysteries in which the remote periods of ancient Irish 

 history are involved, and into which many of us much desire to 

 penetrate. 



In the late president's address, in 1892, 1 notice the statement that 

 "only sixteen out of seventy-six round towers were illustrated by 

 Lord Dunraven, and about twenty out of a very large number of 

 sculptured crosses by O'Neill. Though much progress may have since 

 been made, yet here there may still be an abundant field for the 

 industrious photographer. Should not all these structures as well as 

 those ancient Irish churches and buildings which have not been 

 properly photographed be taken and printed by some "permanent" 

 process ? 



Last summer a movement was started in London by Sir Benjamin 

 Stone, sr.p. for East Birmingham, an enthusiastic photographer, in 



