The history of Engineers Ireland can be traced back to the inauguration of the Civil Engineers Society of Ireland in 1835.
After being renamed the Institution of Civil Engineers of Ireland (ICEI) it received a Royal Charter in 1877, which was a significant milestone in obtaining international recognition for its members.
Cumann na nInnealtóirí (The Engineers Association), known as the cumann, was set up independently in 1928, to "improve and advance the status and remuneration of qualified members of the engineering profession", as it was believed that the ICEI charter prohibited its negotiation of employment conditions and salary. ICEI went on to elect its first female member, international hockey player Iris Cummins, who was also the first female engineer to graduate from University College Cork, in 1927. In time it became evident that an amalgamation of the two societies was necessary to advance engineering in Ireland, with discussions beginning in 1965 and concluding in 1969. The Institution of Civil Engineers of Ireland (Charter Amendment) Act, 1969 then led to the creation of The Institution of Engineers of Ireland – Cumann na nInnealtóirí.
In 1997 the Irish Academy of Engineering was set up by Engineers Ireland at Dublin Institute of Technology, Bolton Street.
Engineers Ireland’s headquarters at 22 Clyde Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, was built in the 1860s as part of the Pembroke Township and in 1955, following a special meeting of central council of the cumann, it was purchased for the princely sum of £4,600. Ten years later, in 1965, ICEI decided to sell its premises at 35 Dawson Street and use the proceeds to kick-start a project to construct a new engineering centre for both ICEI and the cumann.
A joint secretariat of the cumann and the ICEI was inaugurated in April 1967 and in 1969, a Charter Amendment Act established a new professional body, the Institution of Engineers of Ireland, as the sole body licensed to award the title ‘chartered engineer’ within the state and 22 Clyde Road became the permanent home of the unified Engineers Ireland.