The Irish Architectural Archive was established in 1976 by Dr Edward McParland and Nicholas Robinson as the National Trust Archive. Its objective is to collect and preserve material of every kind relating to the architecture of Ireland, and make it available to the public. It is based at 45 Merrion Square, Dublin, and is an independent private company with charitable status. 45 Merrion Square, a Georgian building constructed in 1794, was restored between 2002 and 2004 for use as an archive by the Office of Public Works. The repository serves as the main collection of diverse materials pertaining to Irish architecture.

Ruairi Quinn is an Irish former Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Education and Skills from 2011 to 2014, Leader of the Labour Party from 1997 to 2002, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1989 to 1997, Minister for Finance from 1994 to 1997, Minister for Enterprise and Employment from 1993 to 1994, Minister for the Public Service from 1986 to 1987, Minister for Labour from 1983 to 1986, Minister of State for Urban Affairs and Housing from 1982 to 1983. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin South-East constituency from 1977 to 1981 and 1982 to 2016. He was a Senator from 1976 to 1977, after being nominated by the Taoiseach and again from 1981 to 1982 for the Industrial and Commercial Panel.