Royal Astronomer of Ireland

The Royal Astronomer of Ireland was a title attached to the Andrews Professorship of astronomy in Trinity College, Dublin, and the directorship of its astronomical observatory at Dunsink, near Dublin. The eight title-holders included three men who were knighted: Professor Sir William Rowan Hamilton, Professor Sir Robert Stawell Ball, and Professor Sir Edmund Taylor Whittaker. The title of Royal Astronomer of Ireland was introduced by Letters Patent of George III in 1792, so John Brinkley was the first Royal Astronomer. The appointments were discontinued in 1921 as a result of Irish autonomy.