Ireland History Cont.

Science & Achievements

 

Hook Lighthouse is thought to be the oldest working lighthouses in Europe, or possibly in the world. Located at Hook Head, in County Wexford, the present structure was completed either in 1172 or in 1245, although the first lighthouse on that spot dates back to the 5th century.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) was founded in 1824 by Richard Martin, an Irish politician and one of the first animal rights activists.
 
The Anglo-Irish physicist John Tyndall (1820-1893) was the first to prove the Greenhouse Effect, the first to discover why the sky is blue (Tyndall effect), as well as a number of other discoveries about processes in the atmosphere. He was also the first scientist to be referred specifically as a physicist.
 
In 1830, Col. Edward Joshua Cooper created the Markree Observatory on the grounds of his ancestral home, Markree Castle. It was possibly the most advanced private observatory of its time, and featured the world's first cast-iron telescope and the largest refractor lens (34 cm / 13.5"). In 1848, Copper's assistant, Andrew Graham, discovered the asteroid 9 Metis - the only asteroid ever discovered from Ireland.

In 1845, William Parsons (1800-1867), 3rd Earl of Rosse, built the Leviathan of Parsonstown, a reflecting telescope of 72 in (1.8 m) aperture. It was the largest telescope in the world until 1917. His youngest son, Sir Charles Algernon Parsons (1854-1931) invented the steam turbine and built the world's first turbine powered battleship and passenger ship. In 1879, Charles's elder brother, the 4th Earl of Ross, installed a water wheel equiped with a turbine on the River Camcor to provide electricity to Birr Castle and the town, making Birr (Parsonstown) the first town in the world to be lit by electricity.
 
John Philip Holland (1840-1914) invented the first functional self-propelled submarine in 1877. He later developed the first submarines used by the U.S. Navy (1900), the Royal Navy (1901), and the Japanese Imperial Navy (1904). The latter played a decisive role in the victory of Japan over Russia in 1905, for which Holland was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun by Emperor Meiji.
 
The astronomer William Edward Wilson (1851–1908) took some of the earliest photographs of the stars, the moon, the sun and a solar eclipse. In 1889, he became the first person to measure the temperature of the sun, reaching an estimation of 6590°C, remarkably close to the modern value of 6075°C.

Louis Brennan (1852-1932), an Irish mechanical engineer who emigrated to Australia, invented the steerable torpedo in 1874. It was the first weapon in history that could be remotely directed to its target. He later invented the gyroscopically-balanced monorail system and the gyroscopic helicopter, which performed the world's first unmanned (but controlled) helicopter flight.

Owing to its strategic position at the western fringe of Europe, Ireland played a decisive role in early long-distance communications with North America. In 1907, Irish-Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi set up the world's first permanent transatlantic radio station in Derrigimlagh Bog near Clifden, in County Galway. It operated until 1918. The next year, John Alcock and Arthur Whitten completed the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic. They took off on 14th June 1919 from St John's in Newfoundland and landed the next day right next to Marconi's station, bringing with them the first transatlantic mail. On 12-13 April 1928, Dublin-born pilot Captain James FitzMaurice flew from Dublin to Newfoundland, in what was the first Trans-Atlantic aircraft flight from East to West.

Heritage Sites

 

The Neolithic site of Newgrange (3200 BCE), County Meath, is the best-preserved passage grave in Europe. The monument's central room was designed to be aligned with the rising sun on the winter solstice, which makes it the oldest 'solar observatory' in the world.
 
A few km from Newgrange, the passage grave of Knowth contains more than a third of the total number of examples of megalithic art in all of Western Europe.

The passage tomb cemeteries in Carrowmore, County Sligo, are the largest group of megalithic tombs (30 of them) in Ireland or Britain.

The Céide Fields in County Mayo are the most extensive Stone Age site in the world. It contains the oldest known field systems in the world (6,000 years old), as well as Europe's largest stone enclosure (77 km).

The Hill of Uisneach, in County Westmeath, marked the traditional centre of Ireland. Although its lies 20 km away from the true geographic centre of Ireland (just south of Athlone), the location of this 182-metre tall hill is exceptional in the fact that 22 counties, two-third of Ireland, can be seen from the top. In medieval times, the hill was the site of the main bonfire of the Beltane festival (1st May), symbolising the beginning of summer.

Until the 11th century, the Hill of Tara (near Navan, County Meath) was the seat of the High Kings of Ireland, the country's political and spiritual capital, as well as the hub of Ireland's ancient road network.

In 1854, three workmen clearing the way for the Ennis railway line stumbled across the remains of the late Bronze Age Mooghaun Hillfort, which turned out to be the largest hillfort in Ireland. On the site was a stone box containing 150 objects, most of them made of gold. It was the largest discovery of assorted gold objects in Western Europe, and is known as the Great Clare Gold Find.

Ships & Navigation

 

The world's first recorded open yacht race was held in Dublin Bay in 1663.

The Royal Cork Yacht Club was founded in 1720 and is the world's oldest yacht club.
First held in 1903 in Queenstown (Cobh), County Cork, the Harmsworth Cup was the first annual international award for motorboat racing.

Cork Harbour claims to be the second largest natural harbour in the world by navigational area, after Sydney's Port Jackson. The claim is contested by Halifax Harbour in Canada, and Poole Harbour in England though.

Government & Economy

 

One of the most successful beer brands worldwide, Guinness was once the largest brewery in the world (from 1914), and remains the largest brewer of stout in the world.

Ireland is the only EU country where abortion is still illegal (except to protect the mother's life).

The Republic of Ireland has experienced a dramatic economic boom since the late 20th century. Until the 2009 financial crisis, Ireland had the 2nd highest GDP per capita in the EU (after Luxembourg), the 4th highest Human Development Index in the world, the 3rd highest economic freedom worldwide. As of 2012, these rankings have fallen respectively to 5th, 7th and 9th.

American hi-tech companies have been investing massively in Ireland. 25% of Europe's computers are now made in Ireland. Ireland is the world's largest exporter of software. The European (or regional) headquarters and/or customer service operations of Google, Microsoft, Apple, IBM, Dell, Intel, Motorola, Oracle, Lotus, and Boeing Computer Services are all located in Ireland.  (The tech support for Allstate Insurance is based in Northern Ireland and only recently Google opened an office in Dublin producing many jobs.)