The Desmond Guinness Scholarship will be awarded annually by the Irish Georgian Society to an applicant or applicants, either resident in Ireland or registered for a degree in Ireland, engaged in research on the visual arts in Ireland including the work of Irish architects, artists and craftsmen at home and abroad, 1600-1900. Preference will be given to work based on original documentary research.

The Scholarship is intended primarily for applicants who are not yet established at an advanced professional level in research or publication of the visual arts. The Scholarship does not have to be awarded in any one year, and the decision of the assessors, appointed by the Irish Georgian Society, is final. The total value of the scholarship fund available for distribution in 2006 is in the region of €1,200. The award will be made before the end of July 2006.