Pictured at the forum (l-r): RIAI President Sean Mahon FRIAI; Muyiwa Oki PRIBA; Sheila Carney; Ambassador Martin Fraser; Angela Brady OBE; Shane Lincoln; and Duncan O'Kelly. Photo Malcolm Mc Nally.

Founded in 1985 by Irish architectural graduates in London, the forum has been an important voice for the profession in the UK as well as a fantastic support and networking group.

Pictured at the forum (l-r): RIAI President Sean Mahon FRIAI; Angela Brady OBE; and Paul Drechsler. Photo Malcolm Mc Nally.

Speaking at the event, RIAI President Sean Mahon FRIAI reflected on the strong bond between Ireland and the UK:

“Irish architects have played a role in shaping London, just as British architects have hugely influenced Ireland. The exchange of ideas, of cultures, of talent, has enriched both our nations – in Ireland we think of historical figures such as James Gandon’s work at the Four Courts and the Custom House in Dublin or Dean and Woodward who designed the Oxford University Museum of Natural History.  In more recent times we think of Paul Koralek’s work at the Berkely Library in Trinity or RIBA Gold Medal Winners, Grafton Architects, who won both the Stirling Prize and the EU Mies Award for their multi-disciplinary Town House at Kingston University among many others.

Our shared links and bonds are not  just a story of the past, it is an even greater reality today. Long may this continue, because together we are facing the challenges of displacement, climate migration, and rapidly changing urban environments – all of which demands that Architects lead with empathy, with creativity, and with a deep commitment to making spaces that welcome, that endure, and that inspire.         

Our professional bodies are also close and continue to share knowledge and learning between us. The five Presidents of  the RIAI, RIBA, RSUA, RIAS and RSAW continue to meet and develop ways in which we can work closely with each other. These longstanding links and trust we have developed between us is, I believe, unrivalled between countries.” 

Pictured at the forum (l-r): Paul Leonard; Tamiko Onozawa; Angela Brady; and Rob Cowan. Photo Malcolm Mc Nally.

Speaking on the beginnings of the forum, co-founder Angela Brady OBE, a Past President of RIBA and and former RIAI Council Member, said:

“In the 1980’s when we graduated from DIT Bolton Street and UCD, many architectural graduates came to London seeking jobs and experience as there was a building boom in the UK, and a recession in Ireland. Jobs were a plenty in London, but we soon found out that our degrees and diplomas were not being recognised by the RIBA nor by the Registration Body, ARCUK. We thought this was very unfair as under EU Law we were entitled to equal recognition, so we formed a group – which included Shane Lincoln, Duncan O’Kelly, Sean Madigan, Mary Larkin, Grace Galligan, Marianne Keane and myself. Meetings were held on the last Friday of every month at the Bunch of Grapes in Knightsbridge and we contacted Irish graduates by having a letter published in The Irish Times, asking people to write to us.

With the support of the RIAI, we brought the RIAI Professional Practice Exam course over to London to allow graduates sit the exam in Dublin at the end of the year. The RIAI also approved a formal RIAI London Forum, which has been an active group for networking, support and maintaining links between the architectural professions in Ireland and the UK ever since.“

The current RIAI London committee is Shane Lincoln, Sheila Carney, Sophie El and Angela Brady which they will expand this year.