Richard O’Brien Smyth was born in Ranelagh, Dublin, Ireland on 18 September 1844 and was articled to Charles Geoghegan (1844-1909) in Dublin. He also attended Dublin Engineering School. From 1869 to c.1879 he worked as an assistant to William Sydney Cox (1836?-1892) in Limerick. He commenced independent practice as an architect in 1880. Later that year he was appointed an inspector in the Land Improvements Branch of the Board of Works, a position he held until his retirement in 1909. During these years he was involved in the design and planning or rural housing schemes throughout Ireland. He served on the council, of the Institute of Engineers, Ireland, for four years, and on the council of the Architectural Association of Ireland for two years.
Smyth was elected a Member of the Architectural Association of Ireland (MAAI) in 1873; a Member of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (MRIAI) in 1866; a Fellow of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (FRIAI) in 1907; and a member of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (RSAI) in 1894.
His address was given as 27 Harcourt St, Dublin, Ireland in 1850; 127 St Stephen's Green West, Dublin in 1866 and 1871; 2, Kenilworth-square, Dublin, Ireland 1880 and 1916; and 9 Morehampton Road, Donnybrook county, Dublin in 1917 and 1923. He died in Dublin, Ireland on 24 March 1923.
Smyth's most significant architectural project was the Church of St. Mary, glebe house, and school houses in Baltinglass, County Wicklow in 1884.
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 2: L-Z. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001
Who's Who in Architecture 1914. London: Technical Journals Ltd., 1914