Royal University of Ireland
| Ollscoil Ríoga na hÉireann | |
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| Latin: Universitas Hiberniae Regium | |
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Former names
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Catholic University of Ireland Queen's University of Ireland |
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| Type | Public |
| Active | 1879–1909 |
| Location |
Belfast, Cork, Derry, Dublin, Blackrock College, Galway, Maynooth, Ireland |
The Royal University of Ireland was founded in accordance with the University Education (Ireland) Act 1879 as an examining and degree-awarding university based on the model of the University of London. A Royal Charter was issued on 27 April 1880 and examinations were opened to candidates irrespective of attendance at college lectures. The first chancellor was the Irish chemist Robert Kane.
The university became the first university in Ireland that could grant degrees to women on a par with those granted to men; it granted its first degree to a woman on 22 October 1882. In 1888 Letitia Alice Walkington had the distinction of becoming the first woman in Great Britain or Ireland to receive a degree of Bachelor of Laws. Among the honorary degree recipients of the university was Douglas Hyde, founder of the Gaelic League and later President of Ireland, who was awarded a DLitt in 1906.
The Royal University of Ireland was the successor to the Queen's University of Ireland, dissolved in 1882, and the graduates, professors, students and colleges of that predecessor were transferred to the new university. In addition to the Queen's Colleges, Magee College, University College, Dublin, Cecillia St. Medical School, St. Patrick's College, Maynooth and Blackrock College presented students for examinations as well, and no special status was accorded to the colleges of the former Queen's University. After the 1880 reforms Catholic Colleges such as Carlow College, Holy Cross College and Blackrock College ("The French College") came under the Catholic University, and with a number of other seminaries presented students for examination by the RUI.
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