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The Royal Dublin Society (usually known as simply the RDS), or Cumann Ríoga Bhaile Atha Cliath (CRBAC) in Irish, was founded on June 25 1731 by members of the Dublin Philosophical Society, as the 'Dublin Society for improving Husbandry, Manufactures and other Useful Arts'. At a further meeting a couple of weeks later, on July 8, the designation 'and Sciences' was added to the end of its name.

Its aim was to promote the development of arts, agriculture, industry and science in Ireland. The society acquired its current premises at Ballsbridge in 1879, and since then has increased from the original fifteen to forty acres (60,000 to 160,000 m²). The premises consist of a number of exhibition halls, a stadium, meeting rooms, bars, restaurants. The RDS (Royal Dublin Showground) is a major centre for exhibitions, concerts and other cultural events. The Royal prefix was adopted in 1820 when George IV became patron of the Society. The RDS hosts the Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition each January. The first solely Society-run Horse Show was held in 1868 and was one of the earliest "leaping" competitions ever held. Over time it has become a high profile International show jumping competition, national showing competition and major entertainment event in Ireland. In 1982 the RDS hosted the Show Jumping World Championships and incorporated it into the Dublin Horse Show of that year. From September 1990 until April 1996, football club Shamrock Rovers played their home games at the RDS stadium. On the 19th of February 1992 the Republic of Ireland played Wales there. In recent years, the stadium has also been used for the Heineken Cup games of the Leinster Rugby team, and the 2007 FAI Cup final during Lansdowne Road's redevelopment.

In recent years the fairgrounds have been used as a performance venue for numerous Rock and Heavy Metal bands such as Metallica (2003, 2004 and 2006), Iron Maiden, Slipknot, Korn, Linkin Park, Guns N' Roses, The Darkness, Tenacious D, Stereophonics and many more.

Thus many of the followers of this music genre now see the RDS as the primary Metal concert venue in Ireland.

Other popular acts such as Britney Spears, George Michael, Justin Timberlake and My Chemical Romance have played the RDS Arena. Bruce Springsteen typically performs at the RDS when touring with a rock band, and has played there four times since 1988, most recently during 'The Rising' tour in 2003.

• List of Irish organizations with royal patronage

• Official site
• Dublin Horse Show - The Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show is Ireland's leading Equestrian and social event of the Summer.