The oldest scientific institution in Northern Ireland

Armagh Observatory was established by Richard Robinson, Archbishop of Armagh, in 1789. This was the 2nd observatory in Ireland to be established after Dunsink in Dublin. He employed two of the finest architects of his day: Thomas Cooley and Francis Johnston to design it. The most ground-breaking aspect of its design was the stability of the instruments which unlike other observatories took priority over aesthetic considerations. In this way, any vibrations originating in the main part of the structure were not transmitted to the instruments. These principles of construction have been employed in most subsequent observatory buildings throughout the world. It still contains some of the best-preserved c.18th interiors in the country and has many unusual features like curved corners to the rooms and bowed chimney breasts. It remains on the cutting edge of technology leading scientific research into stellar astrophysics, the sun, and the solar system.