Under the Microscope: Ireland has a rich heritage in science and technology, and a unique natural history, writes Dr William Reville Unfortunately, most people know little of this heritage and it is rarely celebrated.
Thankfully, recent times have seen the birth of significant efforts to promote the public awareness and understanding of science in Ireland, and the Government now supports science at an unprecedented level.
A notable contribution to the revival of interest in Irish science and technology was made last year with the publication of Mary Mulvihill's book, Ingenious Ireland (TownHouse and CountryHouse Limited, 2002). The book is a celebration and detailed account of Ireland's natural wonders, famous scientists, notable inventions and historic industries, all dealt with on a county-by-county basis. It is well illustrated, cross-referenced, bristles with fascinating information, and is written in a lucid style.
Chapter one sketches the bigger picture, including the geological processes that formed our island, how life initially colonised the island, how bogs formed, what drives Irish weather, and more. Mary lists Ireland's top 10 treasures, and ranks the Burren first for its unique plants, lunar landscape, disappearing rivers, vanishing turloughs, caves, and archaeological remains. She also lists the seven wonders of Ireland, including the 5,000-year-old tomb and astronomical observatory at Newgrange. This wonder of precision engineering, built without the aid of metal tools or wheels, pre-dates the pyramids.
The book is designed for dipping into and many people will, as I did, initially look for details on the areas in which they were born and raised. I'm originally from New Ross, and was delighted to see a piece on the salmon cots that fished the river Barrow when I was a boy. These traditional boats are unique to the Slaney and Barrow estuaries. The type of fishing I remember is snap netting, where two boats drift together on the tide with a net stretched between them. The cots have low sides, flat bottoms, are no more than four metres long, with pointed bows and narrow transoms. They are ideal for estuary conditions. I remember the fishermen sold their catches to Johnny Murphy's shop at the end of the old bridge.
Waterford City is only 14 miles from New Ross. There are several interesting stories entered under Waterford city. Waterford is famous for glass, and the crystal factory that started it all was founded in 1783 by two Quakers, William and George Penrose. Also, the rasher was invented in 1820 by Henry Denny, a Waterford butcher. Until then, pork was cured by soaking lumps of meat in brine. Often the centres of the chunks didn't cure properly and the meat later rotted. Denny solved this problem by cutting long flat pieces of meat and sandwiching them in layers of dry salt, producing well-cured bacon with long shelf-life. Ireland's meat industry was revolutionised, allowing Irish bacon and hams to be exported far and wide. In 1894, Denny's purchased a Danish meat company and introduced Irish techniques to Denmark.
W.R. Jacob operated a bakery in Waterford, and made dry biscuits for transatlantic voyages. He invented the cream cracker in 1885. The Jacobs were Quakers who came to Ireland in the 1670s.
Jacob's cream crackers are now sold in 35 countries. Jacob's also created the Mikado biscuit in 1888, the Kimberly biscuit in 1893, and the Fig Roll in 1903. The Fig Roll, probably the world's first extruded product, is an ingenious biscuit because it has a definite structure and yet is not encased in a skin. How Jacob's "get the figs into the Fig Roll" is a trade secret.
I have vivid recollections of cycling from New Ross to Hook Head as a boy. The lighthouse at Hook Head is one of the oldest working lighthouses in the world.
The Wexford coastline is treacherous, with many offshore sandbanks. A beacon was maintained at the point since the fifth century, and the medieval tower, still in use, was built in the early 1200s. The whitewashed tower stood out by day and a fire was lit on top at night. In 1704 the lighthouse was taken over by the Revenue Commissioners. The coal fire was replaced in succession by an oil lamp, a coal-gas light and finally, in 1972, by electricity. The phrase "by hook or by crook" was coined by Oliver Cromwell when he pondered the approach to Waterford via Hook Head or the village of Crook across the estuary.
Why did our independent Irish State forget our scientific heritage? It may be that, since much Irish science of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries was associated with the Anglo-Irish, the young state shied away from overtly adopting this as part of Irish heritage. I can understand how this sentiment might have arisen, but it was a mistake.
Anyone born, bred and who spent their working lives in Ireland, is fully Irish in every sense, regardless of their social status or political views. Prior to 20th century Ireland, it was highly unlikely that science could have been practised by any outside of a small number from the privileged caste. Nevertheless, the fact that many of those who took up science in Ireland made world-class contributions should be a source of pride to all the Irish.