About
About
The Discovery Programme is a public institution set up to pursue advanced research in Irish archaeology. The organization has two other associated functions:
- to communicate the results of its work to the general public as well as to the academic community
- to promote the introduction of new technologies and new techniques into the operation of Irish archaeology more generally.
The Discovery Programme pursues its goals by identifying ‘gaps’ in our knowledge or areas where intense research is required or would be valuable. A dedicated project team is then employed for a suitable period to pursue the topic in question.
The Discovery Programme is also required to communicate the results of its projects to the scientific community and to the general public. This task is achieved, mainly, through the publication of its scientific books and papers but also through a variety of outreach publications and lectures, and also by organising community events in the areas where it is working.
The Discovery Programme was set up originally in 1991 on the personal initiative of the then Taoiseach (Prime Minister), Charles J. Haughey, and was funded in its initial phases directly by the government. Now, as an independent body, it is mainly funded by an annual core grant from the Heritage Council (a statutory body that receives it funding directly from the Irish government).
The Discovery Programme sets up investigative projects designed to answer relevant and changing questions that arise from time to time in Irish archaeology. Those questions are identified and agreed by our governing bodies - the Council and Directorate (Board of Directors). The membership of those bodies is made up (mainly) of leading Irish archaeologists from the whole of the country (north and south), who are attached to the principal museums, the universities that teach archaeology, the monuments and archaeology sections of government departments, various learned and representative bodies, and from the growing private archaeological sector.
