In 1992 Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Governor of Dubai and Minister of Finance and Industry in the United Arab Emirates, agreed to finance a piece of land including a building to house a school and later on agreed to sponsor the construction of an Islamic Centre on the same site.[2] At the time, 4,000 Muslims lived in Ireland.[3] Construction of the ICCI began in 1994 and it was officially opened on November 16th 1996 by President Mary Robinson and Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum. It is located next to University College Dublin. The mosque and cultural centre include a main prayer hall, a restaurant, a library, meeting rooms, mortuary facilities, Nurul Huda Qur'anic school, youth club room, events hall for sporting activities/conferences, administrative offices and a shop.