"The History of Irish Marine Science: And an Eye to the Future" Joint Meeting of the IrishMarine Sciences Association and the Maritime Institute of IrelandAuthor(s): Timothy CollinsSource: The Irish Naturalists' Journal, Vol. 22, No. 11 (Jul., 1988), pp. 492-494Published by: Irish Naturalists' Journal Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25539277 .

Accessed: 15/06/2014 04:11

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

.

Irish Naturalists' Journal Ltd. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The IrishNaturalists' Journal.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 185.2.32.109 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 04:11:39 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

492 Ir. Nat. J. Vol. 22 No. 11 1988

pharmacosiderite and strashimirite (Morrissey 1970, Sarp et al. 1987, Ryback unpublished). This note concerns the identity of the mineral from Tynagh usually labelled

pyromorphite by collectors and dealers. Examination of several Tynagh samples of supposed pyromorphite by infrared

spectrophotometry has shown the mineral to be mimetite or phosphatian mimetite, and no

pyromorphite (or, indeed, any other mineral with phosphate as a major anion) has yet been encountered. Typically, the mimetite occurs as:

(a) Thin colourless to yellow-green indistinctly crystallized crusts, underlying or

intergrown with malachite and azurite, on iron-stained baryte; P/(P+As) generally <0.01.

(b) Radiating bunches of well-developed, pale greenish-yellow, transparent to translucent

tapering prisms up to 1.5 mm long, in cavities in iron-stained baryte, associated with malachite and/or azurite; P/(P+As) generally 0.1 ? 0.2.

In addition, phosphatian mimetite with P/(P+As) ~ 0.08 ? 0.12 also occurs in

pale-brownish, almost monominerallic, honeycombed masses, grading in places into

patches of yellow-green colour, and consisting of thin ribs of crystalline mimetite coated with <0.1 mm colourless acicular mimetite crystals. Some azurite and malachite is present on the original weathered surface where this has been preserved. Such specimens, several cm across, appear to be from the one boulder collected by the late Richard W. Barstow, who

mistakenly sold them as "dundasite after cerussite". They contain no dundasite, but dundasite pseudomorphous after cerussite has been recorded at Tynagh by Morrissey (1970), and dundasite also occurred there as silky white needles associated with colourless

botryoidal allophane, or embedded in earthy white halloysite. The approximate P/(PH~As) ratios were calculated from the relative intensities of the

infrared absorption bands at c955 (P04) and c 780 (As 04) cm~l, using artificial mixtures of

pyromorphite and mimetite as reference samples.

Acknowledgements

Some of the samples used in this study were kindly provided by the Ulster Museum, Belfast, Maidstone Museum, Kent, Dr R. S. W. Braithwaite, and Mr R. Tayler. I thank Dr R. Nawaz for help with the manuscript.

REFERENCES

Morrissey, C.J. (1970) The mineralogy, structure and origin of the lead-zinc-copper residual orebody at Tynagh, Co Galway, Ireland. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of London.

-& Whitehead, D. (1971) Origin of the Tynagh residual orebody, Ireland. Proc. 9th Commonw. Min.

Metallurgy Cong. 1969. Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

Sarp, H., Perroud, P. & De Haller, A. (1987) Seconde occurrence de rorthoserpierite dans la mine de Tynagh (Irlande). Arch. Sci. Geneve 40: 47-50.

REPORTS OF MEETINGS

"THE HISTORY OF IRISH MARINE SCIENCE: AND AN EYE TO THE FUTURE" JOINT MEETING OF THE IRISH MARINE SCIENCES ASSOCIATION AND THE

MARITIME INSTITUTE OF IRELAND

The joint meeting of the Irish Marine Sciences Association (IMS A) and the Maritime Institute of Ireland was held on 22 March 1988 at the Geological Survey of Ireland, Dublin.

A good attendance heard eight speakers deal with various aspects of the history of Irish marine

science, under the chairmanship of Geoffrey O'Sullivan, who called on Gavin Burnell to welcome

delegates and speakers. Speaking on behalf of the Irish Marine Sciences Association, Bumell outlined

the aims of the IMS A, reviewed some of the Association's recent work and ended with a plea for funds

which would enable planned marine research to continue.

This content downloaded from 185.2.32.109 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 04:11:39 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

lr. Nat. J. Vol. 22 No. 11 1988 493

The first speaker, Dan Minchin, gave a very interesting account of the history of marine activities

at Lough Hyne, Cork. Illustrating his account with slides, Minchin gave a brief description of the

charting of Lough Hyne, from the first survey of 1847 and the Admiralty chart of 1852, to Renouf s

soundings in the 1930s and most recently the Department of Fisheries work in 1985. The first faunal studies were completed during the 1886 cruise of the steamer 'Lord Bandon'. Rowland Southern

worked there in 1916 and Prof Louis Renouf completed some detailed studies in the 1930s, much of it in conjunction with University College Cork zoology courses.

Naturalists from all over Ireland and from many countries have visited Lough Hyne to study its

unique fauna. Looking ahead, Minchin outlined some planned studies which are shortly to

commence, but sounded a note of warning that the ecology of Lough Hyne was changing. Future

sea-level changes will have a major impact, but a more immediate threat is the influence of pleasure

craft, with consequent pollution of the waters, and the very real fear of a major oil spill as

demonstrated most recently after the wreck of the 'Kowloon Bridge'. John de Courcy Ireland showed his mastery of his subject by speaking totally without notes on the

early marine research activities of the Royal Dublin Society. Noting that there were some 109 papers on aspects of marine science published by the RDS between 1731 and 1900, Ireland highlighted some of the more important. A major source of publications was the Fisheries Committee of the RDS, which

was set up in 1887 and used such vessels as the 'FingaF, the 'Harlequin', the 'Saturn', the 'Monica'

and later the first 'Helga'. Topics covered by these early researchers included Wigham's paper on

lighthouse engineering in the 1850s, which lead to the construction of the first Howth lighthouse; John

Joly wrote on navigation by stars; Howard Grubb, the famous periscope maker who was brought to

England at the outbreak of World War I to work for the Admiralty, wrote papers; Lady Franklin, owner of the 'Fox', gave an account of that vessel's voyage to the Arctic in search of her husband; A.

C. Haddon wrote on the fauna of the Torres Straits; another paper gave details of the guano industry in

Peru. There were also reports detailing the results of the 'Challenger' expedition, and other papers

dealing with the fledgeling Irish mackerel fishery as well as the fishing and curing of herring in commercial quantities.

The third speaker, Geoffrey O'Sullivan, gave details of the five Irish marine research vessels

which have been used since 1900. The first 'Helga', which had been bought by the Department of

Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland in 1891, was used both as a fishery protection cruiser

and for fishery research. The 'Helga' was replaced in 1908 by the 'Helga IV which was built by the

Department and had a long and distinguished service. Possessing a custom-built laboratory, she was

especially suited for research work. With the advent of the Great War she became 'HMS Helga', an

inshore patrol boat. During the 1920s and 1930s the Helga II, now renamed the 'Muirchu', continued

fishery research for the new Free State government. In 1939 the 'LE Muirchu' became the largest unit

in the Irish Free State's World War II navy. It was not until 1960 that another research vessel was commissioned. The 'Cu Feasa' a trawler

built in Deest, Holland, did much work in fishery exploration before being replaced in 1975. Another

trawler, the Killybegs-built *Cu na Mara' operated as a fishery exploration vessel from 1965 to 1972.

Following renewed interest in this area and with OECD funding, the 'Lough Beltra', a stern trawler, was commissioned in 1976 and became the country's first multi-purpose fishery research vessel. The

'Lough Beltra' became the responsibility of the Department of the Marine in 1988. Looking ahead it is

essential that plans be made now for another vessel to succeed the 'Lough Beltra' and that a full

programme of research be prepared.

Christopher Moriarty's account of government fisheries research 1890 to 1959 showed clearly how financial and political constraints can drastically reduce the amount of work done, in spite of the

best efforts of various individuals. Starting with the 1890 cruise of the 'Fingal', organised by W. S.

Green and E. W. L. Holt, with financial backing from the RDS, and the 1891 cruise of the

'Harlequin', work continued on fisheries research at a steady pace right up to World War I. The setting

up of the floating laboratory in Ballinakill Harbour in 1898 was to prove extremely useful. With the use of graphs, Moriarty showed how the number of permanent staff varied over the years, the

fluctuations correlating with World War I, the Irish Civil War of the 1920s and Holt's premature death

in 1922. The number and quality of publications also showed a similar variation over the same period, with Went's salmon papers published in the 1950s being the most notable.

Timothy Collins highlighted aspects of Robert Lloyd Praeger's work not generally recognised today. In a paper dealing with Praeger's influence on Irish marine research, Collins identified three

main areas where this influence can be clearly seen. First there was Praeger's early work on marine

deposits and his active participation in various dredging cruises on board the 'Flying Falcon', the

'Granuaile' and the 'Helga II'. Secondly his organizational abilities, especially in later life, led to his

being actively involved in the planning and funding of much of the biological research undertaken in

This content downloaded from 185.2.32.109 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 04:11:39 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

494 Ir. Nat. J. Vol. 22 No. 11 1988

Ireland in this century. Finally there was the influence of his books and other writings on people of his

own, and successive generations.

Praeger's early work on the estuarine clays and gravel beds of the north east of Ireland led to his

taking part in the 1888 cruise of the 'Flying Falcon' in the company of W. S. Green, W. F. de Vismes

Kane, C. B. Ball and Joseph Wright. This cruise was extremely successful with specimens being recovered from depths in excess of 1,100 fathoms. In 1896 Praeger took part in the expedition to

Roc kail on board the 'Granuaile'. Although bad weather prevented an actual landing, dredging was

successfully carried out in the surrounding waters. Following the success of the Lambay Survey of

1905-6, Praeger organized the now famous Clare Island Survey of 1909-11. The results were

startling, with thousands of species of animals and plants being listed, many of them new to science.

Praeger's perseverance of his goals ensured the rapid publication of the results from 1911 to 1915 in 67

lengthy papers by the Royal Irish Academy. Although numbered 1 to 68, paper no. 8 on peat deposits was, unaccountably, never published and Collins appealed to the delegates for any information they

may have come across in their own researches regarding the existence of the missing Clare Island

Survey paper. Later in life as the Grand Old Man of Science, Praeger's work on the Flora and Fauna Committee

and the Committee for Quaternary Research of the Royal Irish Academy, his connections with the

Royal Dublin Society, the British Ecological Society, the Linnean Society and many more, meant that

he was in a position of power and influence when it came to planning research programmes. Praeger was active in this area from the 1880s to the 1950s and his enthusiasm for his subject is very clearly seen in his writings.

Mark Holmes gave a detailed account of the history of Irish marine science as reflected in the

National Museum collections. In a paper compiled jointly by Colm 6 Riordan and himself, Holmes

listed all the major collectors of the 19th and 20th centuries whose specimens are available for

consultation in the Museum. Noting that some of the more active present-day collectors were among the delegates, Holmes finished with the hope that sufficient funding would be made available to

ensure storage space and facilities for future collections.

Noel Wilkins gave a very interesting, lively talk on what is clearly a favourite subject. In dealing with the origins of Irish aquaculture, Wilkins started in the late 18th century with the oyster farming

industry. Illustrating his points with statistics of export tonnages, Wilkins showed that quantites of

Ostrea and Crassostrea exported were initially similar. Citing the Wicklow/Wexford beds as an

example Wilkins showed that, as the Ostrea beds were being fished out, they were re-seeded with

Crassostrea spat. This was borne out by the changing quantities of both being exported over the years. Wilkins also dealt with spatting box development and showed that of all the various people involved in

the developing of this industry over the years, those who were most successful were invariably

Quakers. The keynote address, entitled 'a personal view on the status of Irish marine science' was given by

A. J. O'Sullivan. Stressing that this was a personal view, O'Sullivan highlighted many negative

aspects which could be seen, both in the past and at present, the most obvious one being the lack of

funding. Having noted the problems of the past and the present, O'Sullivan still felt positive regarding the future of Irish marine science. He felt that, with the right advice, the new Department of the

Marine should be able to ensure a healthy ongoing programme of research given adequate funding. The resultant discussion was, at times, rather spirited, with delegates commenting on

O'Sullivan's address and voicing their opinions on a range of topics. When one speaker mentioned the

need for draft discussion documents for the formulation of government policy, he was informed that

such documents did exist. Drawn up by the Marine Task Force, these painstakingly produced documents were unaccountably being sat on by the Government. The discussions concluded with the

recommendation that the IMS A would ask for these documents to be made public, and the meeting ended with the Chairman, Geoffrey O'Sullivan, thanking everyone for their active participation.

The one major criticism which I feel must be levelled at this meeting is the fact that the eight speakers were limited to twenty minutes for each paper. With the topics being so wide in coverage,

speakers rapidly ran over time and it was obvious some had to leave out far too much, making their

talks sound rather disjointed. However, Geoffrey O'Sullivan intends publishing the full texts of all the

papers in a special volume later this year. Although possibly easier said than done, the eight papers could usefully have been read over two days as the subjects were certainly important enough. There is

a growing interest in the history of Irish marine science (and indeed in the history of Irish science in

general) yet very little is readily available on the subject. This forthcoming volume should go a long

way towards filling that gap.

Hardiman Library, University College, Galway TIMOTHY COLLINS

This content downloaded from 185.2.32.109 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 04:11:39 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions