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The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) (Institiúid Ard-Léinn Bhaile Átha Cliath in Irish) Dublin, Ireland was established in 1940 by the Taoiseach of the time, Eamon de Valera under the Institute For Advanced Studies Act, 1940.

The Institute was initially located at 65 Merrion Square and comprised two schools - the School of Theoretical Physics and the School of Celtic Studies - to which the School of Cosmic Physics was added in 1948. Currently the Institute has its schools located at two premises on the Southside of Dublin at 10 Burlington Road and 5 Merrion Square. It also maintains a presence at Dunsink Observatory in north County Dublin.

The founding of the Institute was somewhat controversial, since at the time only a minority were successfully completing elementary education, and university education was for the privileged. By this reasoning, the creation of a high-level research institute was a waste of scarce resources. However, Eamon de Valera was aware of the great symbolic importance such a body would have on the international stage for Ireland. This thinking influenced much of de Valera's premiership (see history of the Republic of Ireland).

As to the apparently odd pairing of the subjects to be covered - Theoretical Physics and Celtic Studies, these probably appeared less odd at the time. The Institute is of course modelled on the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, New Jersey, which was founded in 1930, and Theoretical Physics was still the research subject in 1940. Most importantly, Erwin Schrödinger was interested in coming to Ireland, and this represented an opportunity not to be missed. The School of Celtic Studies owes its founding to the great importance de Valera accorded to the Irish language. He considered it a vital element in the makeup of the nation, and therefore important that the nation should have a place of higher learning devoted to this subject.

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