[2] In 1982 the university appointed a board of trustees tasked with establishing and maintaining a national collection which would reflect a broad spectrum of the visual arts across the island.
In addition to creating a national reference collection, the process aims to formally recognise the contributions made by Irish artists in their own lifetime.
Each year the Board invite a small number of distinguished artists to add their portraits to the collection for a nominal fee.
[3] The Kneafsey Gallery was officially opened on 6 March 1982, with the inaugural exhibition comprising the fifteen initial purchases and a further thirteen self-portraits by artists admired, and approached by Thomas Ryan.
Dr Edward Walsh presented the same selection of works from the collection in a visiting exhibition at the Boston University Art Gallery in 1992.