The RDS is an iconic, accessible and flexible venue located on a beautiful 42 acre site, close to Dublin City Centre. It is regarded as Ireland's premier venue for exhibitions, conferences, meetings and entertainment events.
The RDS venue offers organisers the flexibility and versatility to create a memorable event no matter how big or small. With 10 multi-purpose conference and exhibition halls, 15 breakout rooms, an outdoor stadium, a variety of concert venues, meeting rooms and 22,000sq m of versatile floor space, the RDS venue offers an extensive breadth of possibilities to event organisers. With an excellent reputation as Ireland’s premier venue the RDS offers an extensive range of catering facilities, technical expertise, as well as the support and advice of the RDS team who are always on hand to ensure a great event is created and experienced.
Hall 1 (Main Hall)
Hall 1 (Main Hall), at size of 3580m² is located at the entrance of the RDS with its main doors facing the Merrion Road. This venue works well as a central hub for large events, up to 5500 people to a conference and up to 2200 for a banquet. While being adjacent to Hall 2 (Shelbourne Hall), Hall 3 (Serpentine Hall) and Hall 4 (Industries Hall) it is often used in conjunction with either one or all of these.
Hall 1 with its spectacular floor-to-ceiling stone walls features a balcony overlooking the ground floor and is one of the most distinguished venues in Ireland. Often used as an anchor venue for large events, Hall 1 is the most popular of the RDS halls. There are also many breakout rooms accessible from the balcony, including the Merrion Room and the President's Room.
Hall 2 (Shelbourne Hall)
Hall 2 (Shelbourne Hall) is a highly versatile purpose-built event hall. This hall provides 2200m² of floored space complete with perimeter draping and can be tailored for use for many types of events such as exhibitions, conferences, concerts and exams.
This second largest hall will accomodate up to 3500 persons for conference and up to 1400 spaces for banquet. This venue has a glass fronted entrance offering plenty of natural light into the hall.
Hall 3 (Serpentine Hall)
Hall 3 (Serpentine Hall) is a flexible space for hosting exhibitions and conferences amongst other events at the size of 1073m². As it can hold up to 1700 people for a reception and approximately 700 delegates banquet style, it is suitable for accommodating large numbers. Hall 3 features lighting in a variety of colours and allows for dim settings to create an ambience for your event and thus create a stunning decorative effect.
Hall 3 is a pillared space with direct access to Hall 1 (Main Hall). It also adjoins the RDS Concert Hall and Hall 6 and can be used as self-contained conference and catering suite.
Hall 4 (Industries Hall)
Hall 4 (Industries Hall) at the size of 2350m² offers unique features including stone walls, exposed wooden roof trusses, cream coloured pillars and glass roof panels which transfer an abundance of natural light into the hall. This hall is used for exhibitions, conferences, large receptions, exams and more. It can accomodate up to 3600 persons for conference and 1000 for banquet.
The Hall is located adjacent to the Anglesea Road entrance of the RDS. It has a Tudor-style exterior and is surrounded by the green areas of the Band Lawn and Ring Two. Also, the Inspire Cafe is located adjacent to Hall 4 (Industries Hall).
Hall 8 (Simmonscourt Complex)
Hall 8 (Simmonscourt Complex) consists of five halls: Hall 8A – Hall 8E, with Hall 8C being the largest of them all.
Located on its own grounds on Simmonscourt Road it has ample car parking spaces to cater for large events. Past events include Top Gear Live, Disney on Ice, Thomas the Tank Engine, Catex, The Boat Show, Funderland, The Eurovision Song Contest, Special Olympics National Games and Trinity College exams.
