Irish Georgian Society

An earlier Georgian Society had been set up in part by John Pentland Mahaffy and functioned from 1908 to 1913; it had no direct connection with the current body although the society deems it to be its predecessor.

The initial catalyst for the establishment of the modern society was the demolition by the Irish government's Office of Public Works of Georgian houses at numbers 2 and 3 Kildare Place in central Dublin, ostensibly to provide rear access to Government Buildings. While the campaign to save the buildings was ultimately unsuccessful, it did help to highlight the plight of other notable buildings in decline and at risk and ignited the spark which motivated like-minded individuals to found the society. In an open letter to The Irish Times in 1957 Desmond Guinness lamented the lapsing of the older Georgian Society and asked whether anyone would object to him restarting it.

The modern society was hence founded in 1958 by Desmond Guinness and his wife Mariga and since that time, a number of buildings of architectural merit have been saved through their work and the work of members and supporters. Among the first structures restored by the society was Conolly's Folly in County Kildare, the image of which is used as the organisation's emblem.

After Desmond Guinness, the next president of the society was Desmond FitzGerald, Knight of Glin, who died in 2011, followed by Patrick Guinness. Other founding members included Percy Le Clerc, the inspector of Irish National Monuments.

In 2006 the Hon. Desmond Guinness was awarded a Europa Nostra prize for the society's preservation activities.

An illustrated book by Robert O'Byrne on the society's first 50 years was published in 2008.