Archbishops and the Observatory

‘The Governors of the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium’ were established with the original 1791 Act of the Irish Parliament entitled ‘An Act for Settling and Preserving a Public Observatory and Museum in the City of Armagh For Ever’ and retained in The Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (Northern Ireland) Order 1995. 

The Board of Governors has retained a role to ensure that the culture and character, history and patrimony embodied in Armagh Observatory and Planetarium are protected and preserved. The Chairman of the Board of Governors is the sitting Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh. 

Below is the full list of the Archbishops of Armagh who have held the role of the Chairman of the Board of Governors at Armagh Observatory (or, since 1995, Armagh Observatory and Planetarium), along with the years of their tenure at the See of Armagh.

Archbishops of Armagh, Chairs of Board of Government of Armagh Observatory, as presented in the Boardroom before 2020 (spiralling outwards from Primate Robinson).