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Church, state and astronomy in Ireland: 200 years of Armagh Observatory
Vistas in Astronomy, Vol~34, pp. 367-368,1991 Printedin GreatBritain. All fightsreserved.
0083-6656/91$0.00+ .50 © 1991PergamonPresspie.
CHURCH, STATE AND ASTRONOMY IN IRELAND: 200 YEARS OF ARMAGH OBSERVATORY J. A. BENNETT Armagh Observatory/Queen's University of Belfast, 1990
It was in 1790 that the Primate of the Church of Ireland, Archbishop Richard Robinson, realised a long-held ambition by founding an astronomical observatory in the cathedral city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. Over the two centuries that followed its fortunes have waxed and waned: indeed there were times when its very survival was in doubt. But after many years of stagnation the last fifty years have brought about a strong revival. Today the observatory is again recognised as a lively, active centre of research, as was evident to those who came to the recent R.A.S. meeting there, summarised in the present issue of Vistas in Astronomy. The story of Armagh reveals the growth of a scientific institution, but also how it has been affected at every turn by the complex of social and political factors that have created modern Ireland. Changes in Church and State law, and even the growth of the railway system, all posed threats to a small and struggling Observatory. We do not usually think of astronomy as a political science; but no-one, surely, can have had greater need for skill in the arts of politics and persuasion than the successive Directors of Armagh. Without those skills there can be little doubt that the institution would not have survived. Archbishop Robinson's original generous endowment was based on the rents and tithes from Church lands. Successive rent revisions and finally the disestablishment of the Church led to continued erosion in the real value of the Observatory's income, so that by the second half of the nineteenth century it became more and more difficult to sustain its work or even to find an adequate salary for the Director. Repeated applications to the London Government for support were rejected. As Dr Bennett writes, "The Observatory's fortunes closely paralleled those of this party and this church, thriving in periods of stability, (but) eventually facing apparently terminal decline... Partition gave an astute Director the opportunity to turn this around by providing in Belfast a potential source for the recurrent support that his predecessors had consistently failed to find in London... While the wider argument about partition continues in Ireland, there can be little doubt that it rescued Armagh Observatory." And it is fair to add that the Observatory itself has played a significant part in maintaining cultural links between North and South in often difficult times.
367
368
Book Review
The Observatory has been fortunate in its choice of biographer. J. A. Bennett (as it happens, a Belfast man himself) is Curator of the Whipple Museum for the History of Science at Cambridge University, and he has tackled his task with a professional historian's skills - but with none of the dryness that too often accompanies such studies. By contrast, his account reads like a good historical drama, with a stage crowded by fascinating and well-drawn characters. This well-produced volume is a pleasure to read, and will interest not only addicts of science history, but all concerned with the interaction between science and public policy. Peter Beer
0083-6656/91$0.00+ .50 © 1991PergamonPresspie.
CHURCH, STATE AND ASTRONOMY IN IRELAND: 200 YEARS OF ARMAGH OBSERVATORY J. A. BENNETT Armagh Observatory/Queen's University of Belfast, 1990
It was in 1790 that the Primate of the Church of Ireland, Archbishop Richard Robinson, realised a long-held ambition by founding an astronomical observatory in the cathedral city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. Over the two centuries that followed its fortunes have waxed and waned: indeed there were times when its very survival was in doubt. But after many years of stagnation the last fifty years have brought about a strong revival. Today the observatory is again recognised as a lively, active centre of research, as was evident to those who came to the recent R.A.S. meeting there, summarised in the present issue of Vistas in Astronomy. The story of Armagh reveals the growth of a scientific institution, but also how it has been affected at every turn by the complex of social and political factors that have created modern Ireland. Changes in Church and State law, and even the growth of the railway system, all posed threats to a small and struggling Observatory. We do not usually think of astronomy as a political science; but no-one, surely, can have had greater need for skill in the arts of politics and persuasion than the successive Directors of Armagh. Without those skills there can be little doubt that the institution would not have survived. Archbishop Robinson's original generous endowment was based on the rents and tithes from Church lands. Successive rent revisions and finally the disestablishment of the Church led to continued erosion in the real value of the Observatory's income, so that by the second half of the nineteenth century it became more and more difficult to sustain its work or even to find an adequate salary for the Director. Repeated applications to the London Government for support were rejected. As Dr Bennett writes, "The Observatory's fortunes closely paralleled those of this party and this church, thriving in periods of stability, (but) eventually facing apparently terminal decline... Partition gave an astute Director the opportunity to turn this around by providing in Belfast a potential source for the recurrent support that his predecessors had consistently failed to find in London... While the wider argument about partition continues in Ireland, there can be little doubt that it rescued Armagh Observatory." And it is fair to add that the Observatory itself has played a significant part in maintaining cultural links between North and South in often difficult times.
367
368
Book Review
The Observatory has been fortunate in its choice of biographer. J. A. Bennett (as it happens, a Belfast man himself) is Curator of the Whipple Museum for the History of Science at Cambridge University, and he has tackled his task with a professional historian's skills - but with none of the dryness that too often accompanies such studies. By contrast, his account reads like a good historical drama, with a stage crowded by fascinating and well-drawn characters. This well-produced volume is a pleasure to read, and will interest not only addicts of science history, but all concerned with the interaction between science and public policy. Peter Beer