Birr STEAM Festival

Following the showing of the documentary movie ‘The cable that changed the world’ on Thursday evening, 16^th October, which also appeared on RTE on 12^th August 2024*, Peter Cox will provide an oversight of the Cable Station (located in Knightstown), the Slate Yard (where the first trans-Atlantic message was broadcast from) and the Valentia Island Slate Mine.

The small village on the northern tip of Valentia Island underwent a major boom in the late 1800’s as a result of technological advancement in communications between Europe and America. The influx of people with the specialist decoding skills from across Europe to Ireland’s first ‘Call-Centre’ in Knightstown 150 years ago is reflected in the Ireland of today in cities like Cork, which also has a diversity of peoples from all over the world working in the electronics and data management industries. Peter’s stories will shine a light on the challenges of the day, the transformative impact of becoming a major technology hub in the 1800’s and what is being done now to protect this amazing part of Ireland’s industrial heritage.

Peter will provide an update on the status of the Trans-Atlantic Cable Project’s application for UNESCO Industrial World Heritage Status.

Emily Anderson, a polyglot, that is to say a pentalinguist who had mastered 5 languages was esteemed for her works on classical musicology. She was furthermore the greatest female codebreaker of the last century.  Devoting her life to secrecy, she served in Britain’s interests in both the First and Second World Wars. Dr Jackie Uí Chionna, who shines a new light on Anderson in her recently published “Queen of Codes: The Secret Life of Emily Anderson, Britain’s Greatest Female Codebreaker”, will further reveal the extraordinary depths of genius to this enigmatic Galway woman. 

Dr Glass is the author of Victorian Telescope Makers, the book that traces the history of Thomas and Howard Grubb, two of the most successful scientific instrument makers of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He will recount the lives and achievements of these two men and their business in Rathmines, Dublin.

Following the first World War, the company came under the control of Sir Charles Parsons, the youngest son of the telescope-making Third Earl of Rosse, famous himself as the developer of the steam turbine.

The resultant Grubb Parsons Company was moved to Newcastle, where, until 1985, it manufactured many of the largest and most successful telescopes of the twentieth century.

This talk will outline some of both companies’ innovations and achievements in the field of telescope manufacture, which unites extreme precision with massive machinery.

John Holland, who most likely never met the famous Grubb scientific instrument makers, played an indirect but influential role in the relocation of the Grubb Telescope Company to St. Albans, London. John Burgess will provide a recap of the amazing career of Ireland’s renowned submarine designer, his education by some far-sighted and inspirational scientists in the Christian Brothers in Limerick and Cork, and how his submarine designs were finally adopted by the admiralty of the British Royal Navy. An awe-inspiring scientist who hailed from Liscannor, Co. Clare.

David Hughes, FRAS, will recount his days working with the formidable stalwart of telescope manufacture and refurbishment, David Sinden. 

David Sinden’s work at the Howard Grubb and Parsons Telescope Company included the Anglo Australian Telescope, the Isaac Newton Telescope and the United Kingdom Infra-red Telescope (UKIRT). David Sinden set up his own company, Sinden Optical Company in Byker in the late 1970’s shortly before the Grubb Parsons Telescope company closed in 1985. He continued to deliver optical instruments of the highest quality albeit of a smaller scale. 
David Sinden’s passions also included the repair and refurbishment of old telescopes. One of David’s last projects before he died in 2005 was to restore the original Grubb 15” reflector telescope for the Armagh Observatory of 1835. 

Another instrument, the 24” Calver telescope used by Reverend T. H. E. C. Espin to view and catalogue over 4000 red, variable and double stars, was restored by David in the early 70’s, and whilst this instrument was abandoned not long after David’s death, there have been renewed efforts in recent months to rescue and restore the telescope.

David Hughes will present an informed lecture on this chapter of the Howard Grubb & Parsons Telescope Company’s history and the phenomenal work and craftsmanship of David Sinden, the last maker of large diameter reflector telescopes using the same techniques developed in the 1830’s by the 3rd Earl of Rosse, William Parsons, and Thomas Grubb.

In order to meet Ireland’s climate action plan targets for 2030 and longer-term goal of a net zero power system no later than 2050, Ireland’s electricity system is undergoing an unprecedented transformation. Decarbonising at pace poses significant challenges for the electricity system. EirGrid has an obligation to plan and operate the power system in a reliable and secure way while also being cognisant of legislated carbon targets. The transformation of the grid is needed to support and facilitate unprecedented levels of renewable energy generation and significantly increased demand for electricity while maintaining a secure and reliable power system.

This presentation will outline potential pathways to decarbonisation to 2030 and beyond and the challenges posed for the grid.

As Ireland accelerates its transition to a decarbonised electricity system, Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) is emerging as a critical enabler of resilience, flexibility, and affordability. Moving beyond short-duration solutions, LDES technologies, capable of storing energy for up to 100 hours, offer the ability to time-shift bulk renewable energy from periods of surplus to times of peak demand or low generation. It can also contribute to providing 24/7 carbon free energy and capturing otherwise lost energy. FuturEnergy Ireland are working with Form Energy to bring their Iron Air solution to the Irish system. 

The presentation will cover the technology and state of play of LDES in Ireland. 

Siemens Energy celebrates 100 years of work in Ireland in August 2025. Siemens’ first project was the design and construction of ESB Ardnacrusha, the largest infrastructure project in Ireland up to that time. Daniel will share the story of Ardnacrusha with us, inform us on some of the initiatives Siemens Energy are currently undertaking, and then highlight some of the challenges Ireland faces in transitioning the electricity grid away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy technologies.

Siemens Energy has a long historical association with Birr through the founding of the Parsons Marine Steam Turbine company by Sir Charles Parsons in 1894 at the Heaton Works in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. The CA Parsons site is now owned by Siemens Energy, where they continue to design and manufacture major electrical equipment for the electricity grid networks of Europe.

In setting the context for national electricity grid organisations dealing with the regulation of monopolies and the introduction of competition, John will explore the challenges for innovative companies in a slow-moving industry where large capital investments are needed to support strategic development. This all against the backdrop of exponential growth in the electricity market which is also undergoing a transition away from centralised fossil fuel plant to distributed renewable energy generation.

 John will outline some of the new technologies under consideration for a trans-European network and single electricity market SEM. The recent power outage on the Iberian Peninsula shows how important grid security and resilience is to our everyday lives. Supernode are developing superconducting cables that could form the backbone of the future SEM.

John will also take a moment to remember Eddie O’Connor (RIP 6^th January 2024), founder of SuperNode and author of the book titled ‘Supergrid Super Solution: The key to solving the energy crisis and decarbonising Europe’.

Ireland stands at a pivotal moment in its energy transition. With bold climate commitments and ambitious renewable energy targets, the nation faces a critical bottleneck: the electricity grid.

Margaret Nee will explore the central role of grid infrastructure, processes, and policy in enabling Ireland’s low-carbon future.

Delivering on Ireland’s energy ambitions will require collaboration, innovation, and decisive action from system operators, regulators, policymakers, and industry leaders.

The grid is not just a technical challenge - it’s a national opportunity. We are all part of the solution.