At the President’s Dinner held at the RHA to mark the opening of the 195th Annual Exhibition in association with McCann FitzGerald on May 23rd, 2025, the President of the Academy, Dr. Abigail O’Brien announced that Patrick T Murphy, the Director of the Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts will step down from his post at the end of the year, bringing to a close his 28 year tenure as the first Director of the RHA.
In 1998, Murphy returned from a decade at the helm of the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, to assume his position with the RHA. Murphy said
“It’s been a marvellous three decades at the RHA, a period that has seen the Academy completely transform as an organisation at all levels. My mantra at the beginning was to make the RHA relevant to all artists at each stage of their career – emerging, established and senior and to curate an exhibition programme that was truly diverse and reflected the many strategies now available to artmaking”.
Murphy acknowledged the support of Academy members and colleagues in the achievement over these years,
“working so closely with the group of talented artists that make up the Academy has proven the wisdom of the collective creative mind. And I have been blessed by colleagues, current and past, who contributed their insights and commitment to widening and deepening our operation. Murphy particularly acknowledged “a group of private individuals who believe in the Academy and its mission and who have been essential to aiding us to achieve our ambitions”
and he praised the continuing and fundamental support of the Arts Council to the Academy’s annual operations.
Under Murphy’s leadership, the Academy’s annual budget grew tenfold and now nears €1.5 million annually. He oversaw the €9.5m refurbishment of the Academy’s premises, the Gallagher Gallery in 2007 and negotiated the troubled economic waters just after that re-build during the financial collapse of 2008/9.
He has curated many exhibitions at the RHA working with Irish based artists from all generations and curating such thematic exhibition as ‘I not I – Beckett, Nauman and Guston’, ‘SKIN an Atlas’, ‘A Growing Enquiry – art and agriculture’, ‘In and Of Itself – Contemporary Abstraction’ and most recently ‘BogSkin – myth and science’.
Dr. Abigail O’Brien, President of the RHA, said
“ We extend our deepest gratitude to Patrick T. Murphy for his exceptional service as Director of the Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts during the past 28 years. Above all, Patrick has been our greatest enabler and trailblazer. Patrick is full of ideas, always bridging, linking and unifying art and society through his deep understanding and insights into both.
His remarkable tenure at the RHA has been a pivotal factor – it is a tremendous commitment, and a period that will always stand out, in the RHA’s long and storied history. Patrick’s sustained leadership of more than a quarter of a century has granted us stability when we needed it most. Because of Patrick’s intense curiosity and interest, there was never a risk of growing stale or complacent, yet we benefit enormously from the continuity and institutional memory and expertise he has afforded us.
We recognise Patrick as a truly transformational leader. The RHA as it stands today is a testament of his vision, integrity, and enduring legacy”.
The RHA will commence its search for a new Director towards the end of the summer with a view to an appointment by the end of the year.
