Search
23 Oct 2025
Search
23 Oct 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
Offaly/North Tipperary TD and Minister for Health Promotion, Marcella Corcoran Kennedy has welcomed the ongoing progress on Trinity College’s i-Lofar project at Birr Castle with the arrival of the telescope equipment on site in recent days.
In January last year, €1.4 million in funding was announced by the Government for this Trinity College project. "I would like to congratulate Prof Peter Gallagher, Senior Lecturer in Trinity College’s School of Physics who has spearheaded this project from the beginning and worked tirelessly at local, national and international level," Corcoran Kennedy said.
“It is hugely encouraging to see the telescope equipment finally arrive on site after many years of designing and planning, she added.
The facility, which is currently under construction in Birr, will be one of the most advanced and sophisticated systems in the world and will be a part of a network of radio telescopes across Europe.
The i-Lofar project is a very appropriate successor to the Leviathan telescope which was developed by the 3rd Earl of Rosse in 1845. The i-Lofar facility will provide access to Irish students to ground-breaking research and will continue the tradition of innovation and cutting edge science in Birr.
“I along with many parties invested a huge amount of work in this project and I am delighted to see such progress on site. I was determined to ensure that the necessary political support for this project was secured from the beginning. This project is significant for regional enterprise development and will place Birr on the map as a destination for science and astrology enthusiasts which I have no doubt will bring economic benefits to Birr and the region,” Marcella Corcoran Kennedy concluded.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
If you have a story for us, sports news, an event happening in your area, or if you want to submit pictures or videos, contact the Offaly Express team via e-mail to justin.kelly@iconicnews.ie, or through our Facebook.
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
