The announcement was made at the Royal Irish Academy of Music by Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan and Minister of State for Higher Education, Mary Mitchell O’Connor. The public funding of €9 million will be combined with €5.5 million already raised by the RIAM to put towards total projected costs of €20 million to redesign the Academy and make it fit for purpose.

Ireland's longest established music conservatoire currently has a huge demand for places with room for 1,500 school-age students and 150 studying classical performance and composition at third level. Numbers will double when the transformation is completed, with 3,000 part-time students and 250 at third level, when the state-of-the-art facilities are reopened in September 2021.

The RIAM announced the good news over social media on Thursday:

We are delighted to let the world know that we have been granted €9 million in public funding from @Education_Ire and @DeptAHG for our redevelopment. Huge thanks to @josephamadigan and @mitchelloconnor for announcing the best of news! pic.twitter.com/a4OgbSaulq

— RIAMDublin (@RIAMDublin) October 25, 2018

Director Professor of RIAM Deborah Kelleher expressed her joy at the news, saying “the conditions for teaching music don’t even come close to reflecting the work that’s going on here”.

The new Westland Row campus will boast a new 300-seat concert hall, a purpose-built opera studio and rehearsal space, 75 teaching rooms, a new library, a 'sonic arts hub' for electronic music composition, and a dedicated music therapy facility as part of a state of the art facility designed by the firm behind recent re/developments such as The Titanic Belfast, Irishtown Stadium, and The Belfast Waterfront.

Commenting on the announcement Josepha Madigan said, "The RIAM has been an important part of Ireland’s cultural world for over a century, providing the training and support that puts Irish musicians center of the global stage. The roll call of names that have passed through its door includes some of the greatest performers on the domestic and world stage. It continues to help produce the best young talent in Ireland, and its redevelopment marks a significant first step towards the future of classical music in this country."

Past alumni include established musicians such as writer Joseph O’Connor, actresses Sinead and Niamh Cusack, mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught, violinist Fionnuala Hunt and pianists Finghin Collins and Hugh Tinney.