The Queen's University of Ireland was established formally by Royal Charter on 3 September 1850, as the degree-awarding university of the Queen's Colleges of Belfast, Cork, and Galway that were established in 1845 "to afford a university education to members of all religious denominations" in Ireland. The university system itself was replaced by the Royal University of Ireland in 1880, which in turn was replaced by Queen's University Belfast, with the Cork and Galway colleges forming the National University of Ireland, along with University College Dublin.