The National Concert Hall (NCH) (An Ceoláras Náisiúnta) is a national cultural institution, sometimes described as "the home of music in Ireland". It comprises the actual concert hall operation, which in various chambers hosts over 1,000 events each year, as well as Ireland's National Symphony Orchestra and three choirs: the National Symphony Chorus, Cor na nOg and Cor Linn. Originally built for the Dublin International Exhibition of Arts and Manufactures of 1865, the structure was converted into the central building of University College Dublin (UCD) at the foundation of the National University of Ireland in 1908. When UCD began to relocate to a new campus at Belfield in the 1960s, part of the building was converted, and reopened as the NCH in 1981. As a national cultural institution, the NCH falls under the aegis of the Irish Government’s Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, as such, is grant-aided by the Irish Government. The NCH is a statutory corporate body, with a management team, and a Government-appointed Board. History The history of Earlsfort Terrace, where the National Concert Hall is based, dates back to 1865 when it was originally known as the Exhibition Palace. The Guinness Family purchased the buildings in May 1871, agreeing that ‘popular entertainment’ continue as before for a further ten years. Dublin Musical Society made its debut at the Exhibition Palace in May 1876. On its first visit to Ireland, the Hallé Orchestra gave two concerts at the Exhibition Palace on 26 October 1878. The stone structure and glass and steel Winter Garden proved expensive to run and was later dismantled and sold in May 1882. The Royal University of Ireland occupied the premises from 1883 to 1909. Concerts and small exhibitions continued. The Irish Universities Act 1908 brought the establishment of University College Dublin (UCD) and the RUI was dissolved on 31 October 1909. Several members of staff and students of UCD were involved in Easter Week 1916 Rising, including Professor Eoin MacNeill and student Richard Mulcahy who became Chief of Staff of the Volunteers (Óglaigh na hÉireann). Thomas MacDonagh, one of the signatories to the Proclamation of the Republic, was a lecturer in English at UCD. He was executed in Kilmainham Jail on 3 May 1916. The building also has significant links to the War of Independence. A Dublin Corporation scholarship brought Kevin Barry, who had joined the Irish Republican Army in