The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies is a statutory corporation established in 1940 under the Institute for Advanced Studies Act of that year. It is a publicly-funded independent centre for research in basic disciplines. The Institute has three constituent schools — The School of Celtic Studies, The School of Theoretical Physics and The School of Cosmic Physics (with three sections — The Astronomy Section, The Astrophysics Section, and The Geophysics Section). Each School has an independent Governing Board. The Institute, through the constituent Schools, persues fundamental research in specialised branches of knowledge and trains advanced students in methods of original research. The institute is an academic publisher of monographs, books, and journals in Celtic Studies and on advanced scientific subjects.

The Council consists of a Chairman appointed by the President, on the advice of the Government, three ex-officio members and six members appointed by the governing boards of the constituent schools. The institute is financed by an annual grant from the state.