Historic observatories unite in bid to obtain global heritage status

By Jonathan McCambridge, Press Association

Three historic observatories on the island of Ireland are teaming up in a bid to gain Unesco World Heritage status.

The Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, the Birr Scientific and Heritage Foundation in Co Offaly, and the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (Dunsink Observatory) are collectively known as the Historic Astronomical Observatories of Ireland (HAOI).

Together, they have agreed to a formal partnership to advance research, education, outreach, and astronomical heritage recognition.

We are proud to be the oldest scientific institution in Northern Ireland and the longest continuously operating astronomical research institute in the United Kingdom and Ireland

Achieving Unesco World Heritage status provides legal protection for buildings or sites that are considered to have outstanding universal value so that their conservation is important.

Professor Michael Burton, director of Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, said the bid was a “landmark step”.

He said: “We are delighted to see our Unesco ambitions moving forward and look forward to this exciting bid progressing in the months ahead.

“Being designated as a Unesco World Heritage Site would truly put Armagh Observatory and Planetarium on the map and give it global recognition as a world-class site of outstanding scientific importance.

“We are proud to be the oldest scientific institution in Northern Ireland and the longest continuously operating astronomical research institute in the United Kingdom and Ireland.”

Armagh, Birr and Dunsink contain a number of preserved historic observatories, their supporting domestic buildings and grounds, along with several original telescopes fixed within their domes or structures.

HAOI is seeking to appoint a project co-ordinator on a five-year term to take the proposal forward.

The role will be to organise the activities required in the development of the nomination process.

World Heritage UK’s annual conference will be held in Portrush, Co Antrim, in October.

The Unesco nomination bid will feature the story of Romney Robinson, who was director of Armagh Observatory from 1823 until his death in 1882.

Robinson, who invented the cup anemometer for measuring wind speed, was president of the Royal Irish Academy and won a Royal Medal in 1862.

The Leviathan Telescope at Birr will also play a central part in the Unesco bid.

Ireland’s EU presidency logo is inspired by Birr’s astronomical heritage.

The official logo is based on the spiral structure of the whirlpool nebula, first identified in the 1840s using the Great Telescope at Birr Castle.

Each individual arm of the spiral features 27 discs which symbolise the 27 EU member states.

The space at the centre forms a five-point star, a symbol from the EU flag, while the blue, green and orange colours symbolise both the Irish state and the European Union.