The practice of de Blacam and Meagher, established in 1976, has been highly influential on a generation of young architects. After studying in Philadelphia under Louis Kahn they returned to Ireland in the early 1970s, bringing with them concerns for space, materiality and form. Their work is characterized by the use of wood, an emphasis on light, and a certain elegance of detail, illustrated in buildings such as the Beckett Theatre at Trinity College Dublin and the Cork RTC Library. In this lecture Shane de Blacam discusses the history of the practice before concentrating on some of their recent projects - including the Beckett Theatre and a timber apartment building at Temple Bar - and examining the position of architectural competition in Dublin.