Dunsink Observatory. Aquatint of the main building at Dunsink Observatory, near Dublin, Ireland, seen from the north-east. This scene dates from 1820, during the time of John Brinkley, the first Astronomer Royal of Ireland. Founded in the 1780s, this observatory is the oldest scientific organisation in Ireland, and the directors of the observatory were the Astronomers Royal of Ireland until that post ended in 1921. The observatory is built on a hill 8 kilometres from Dublin. By the late-20th century, increasing light pollution had meant that the observatory was no longer used for active research, and was instead used mainly for public education programmes. Artwork published in Taylor's History of the University of Dublin.