Portion of the Glasnevin estate of poet Thomas Tickell was purchased
and this land formed the basis of today's 48 acres (19.5 hectares)
site. In 1795 the Royal Dublin Society was appointed by the Irish Parliament to open a botanical gardens where experiments and research in Irish horticulture and agriculture would be undertaken. Portion of the Glasnevin estate of poet Thomas Tickell was purchased and this land formed the basis of today's 48 acres (19.5 hectares) site. In 1877 the gardens came under state control. Within the grounds there are four ranges of large glasshouses including the Orchid House, the Palm House and Dublin ironmaster Richard Turner's celebrated Curvilinear Range.

Built between 1843 and 1869 the Curvilinear Range was magnificently restored in the 1990s. Turner was also responsible for the main glasshouse in London's Kew Gardens. Over 20,000 species and cultivars are spread around herbaceous borders, rockeries, arboreta, woodlands, lawns, walled enclosures, glasshouses and lakeland settings. In 1844 The Botanic Gardens carried out what is believed to be the world's first attempt to raise orchids from seed to full flowering stage. Other firsts include the hybridisation of insectivorous pitcher plants and the introduction of Pampas Grass to European gardens.

Under the management of Dúchas, the Heritage Service, the National Botanic Gardens will be continuing and active programme of refurbishment and renewal to ensure its role as a primary research and training centre as well as providing the most satisfying public formal gardens to be found anywhere in these islands.

Recently a new visitor centre was built which includes a theatre, lecture rooms, display area and a coffee shop with a magnificent view of the gardens.