Over its history the Royal Society of Antiquaries has had 37 Presidents. The names and backgrounds of the individuals tell us of the history of the Society, and indeed of society in general since 1849.
The 38th and current president of the RSAI is Ms Aighleann O’Shaughnessy.
Aighleann O’Shaughnessy studied Architecture at University College Dublin and joined the Office of Public Works on graduating in 1971. Early years in OPW involved her in design of public buildings including schools. In 1973 she moved to the National Monuments Service and was Senior Conservation Architect since 1988. She was in charge of National Monuments in 2 of the 6 regions into which the country is divided, together covering an area roughly defined by drawing a line just south of Glendalough, across almost to Limerick city and down to Bantry Bay. She undertook various studies during her time there, such as a short course in conservation studies in York in England, an archaeology course in UCD and qualification in Health and Safety at Work, also in UCD.
Aighleann was a visiting lecturer with the MUBC (Masters in Urban and Building conservation) in University College Dublin, and occasional lecturer and for 3 years external examiner for the Conservation Course in the School of Engineering in Trinity College Dublin.
After retiring from OPW, she maintained her interest in heritage by membership of groups such as Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, the Institute for the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works in Ireland and ICOMOS Ireland.
She has been recently involved in a small number of projects with Margaret Quinlan Architects in Dublin, contributing to the formulation of Conservation Plans for a number of heritage sites.