Early Irish cultural societies were a marked and honoured feature of the intellectual life in urban areas, particularly in the later 18th and 19th centuries.These societies, like their British counterparts, had enormous influence on educational developments in the centres where they were based. In Ireland these societies and institutions were places where Irish Gentlemen, and later Irish Ladies, engaged in intellectual conversations about emerging subjects such as chemistry and natural philosophy (physical sciences). This book brings together, for the first time, the fascinating history of the Irish societies where chemistry was debated and taught. It features (among others) the Royal Dublin Society, the Royal Irish Academy, the UCC Chemical Society, the Chemical Association of Ireland, the Belfast Natural History Society, the Royal Galway Institution, The Royal Cork Institution, The Limerick Philosophical Society, The Waterford Institution and the history of chemistry in Irish Universities.
