The RHSI began with a meeting held on 30 September 1816 at the Rose Tavern, Donnybrook, Dublin. A group of estate gardeners met to drink beer and to worry about “the art of gardening falling away and rapidly declining”. Resolving to exchange expertise and new ideas, these men (they were all men) set up the Horticultural Society of Ireland for gardeners who had served their time and were ‘of good moral conduct’. The RHSI was distinguished throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries for its social cachet and it focused on Shows and Exhibitions. The modern RHSI, a mixture of amateur and professional gardeners, continues to be committed to education.

The RHSI Journal is posted to members 3 times a year. The summer issue comes out in May. We have an autumn issue in September and the December issue closes out the season. We always welcome members’ contributions. Alternatively, if you have a horticultural story you think we should follow, please contact the Journal team through the RHSI office. Queries about copy dates and guidance on the structure of proposed articles can also be answered by the RHSI office. The Journal is written, proof read and prepared for mailing entirely by RHSI volunteers.

The RHSI Journal is free to members. But if you know of someone living overseas who would like to be kept up to date on Irish horticultural matters or someone who is too frail to be able to attend the lectures and garden visits they once enjoyed, the Journal delivered to their door might fill a gap. An annual subscriptionto the RHSI Journal costs €25 (including packing and postage).  Please contact the RHSI office on 01 4937154 or email info@rhsi.ie to place your order

In August 2019 Helen Dillon stepped down after eight years as patron of the Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland (RHSI) when she generously supported every aspect of the Society’s  work. The RHSI sincerely thanks Helen for her engagement with the Society and wish her and Val good health and many years of active gardening.

Diarmuid Gavin is the Society’s new patron.  An award winning garden designer and one of Ireland’s leading horticulturists, Diarmuid looks forward to working with the RHSI to promote sustainable gardening and a vibrant future for Irish horticulture. He began his tenure as RHSI patron by giving a lecture entitled 'Diarmuid Gavin's Gardening Tales' on September 25, 2019.