Archbishop Richard Robinson

Richard Robinson, 1st Baron Rokeby, was a rich and influential man who embodied the spirit of the Age of Enlightenment. He resolved to use his wealth and power – stemming from both the Church of Ireland and his parentage – to found and maintain charitable and educational institutions, particularly in his Primatial City of Armagh. He employed some of the foremost architects of his day, Thomas Cooley and Francis Johnston, to design buildings and plan his cathedral city.

Lord Rokeby was not the first person to conceive of a plan to build a university in Armagh, or the first Primate of All Ireland to be interested in astronomy but it was his wealth and vision through which Armagh Observatory was founded.