The Royal Zoological Society of Dublin was established at a meeting held at the Rotunda Hospital on 10 May 1830 and the zoo, then called the Zoological Gardens Dublin, was opened to the public on 1 September 1831. The animals, 46 mammals and 72 birds, were donated by London Zoo. initial entry charge per person was sixpence, which was a sizable sum at the time and limited admission to relatively wealthy middle-class people. What made Dublin Zoo very different from some of its contemporaries was a decision to reduce the charge to one penny on Sundays. This made a day at the zoo something that nearly every Dubliner could afford once in a while and it became very popular.