President Mary McAleese joined members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) yesterday to mark the opening of its new national headquarters in Dublin.
The celebration, which took the form of a special meeting for worship, was held at the newly opened Quaker House at Stocking Lane in Dublin.
The new building contains offices, meeting rooms, a canteen and a historical library containing the society's manuscript records and details of births, marriages and deaths since the 17th century.
The Quaker offices were situated in Eustace Street in Dublin from the 17th century until 1987, when they moved to the premises of the 19th-century Quaker hospital at Bloomfield in Donnybrook.
Quakerism, which stresses living in accord with Christian principles, claims some 370,000 members around the world. In 2004, it celebrated the 350th anniversary of its presence in Ireland.