Royal Institution Christmas Lectures Royal Institution Christmas Lectures The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures are a series of lectures on a single topic each, which have been held at the Royal Institution in London each year since 1825, missing 1939–42 because of the Second World War. The lectures present scientific subjects to a general audience, including young people, in an informative and entertaining manner. Michael Faraday initiated the first Christmas Lecture series in 1825. This came at a time when organised education for young people was scarce. Faraday presented a total of nineteen series in all. The Royal Institution's Christmas Lectures were first held in
Davy Group association with Arts & Business. The main prizes total €19,000 and were awarded by a judging panel of Royal Hibernian Academy President Stephen McKenna, Royal Ulster Academy President Rita Duffy and international art critic and writer Gemma Tipton. The 2010 Davy Portrait Award was won by Ian Cumberland, a Northern Ireland-based artist. The 2008 Davy Portrait Awards was won by Joe Dunne, a portrait artist based in Dublin. The "Mahon Tribunal" established that Davy, throughout the 1980s and 1990s, made a series of payments to the corrupt politician Liam Lawlor. In 1992, Davy made a political donation of £5,000 to