Science: Stars over Ireland

About 450 A.D. St. Patrick made his headquarters at Armagh, near Belfast in Northern Ireland, where King Daire of Airgialla gave him the ground for a church and a monastery. Armagh is still the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland, with a Protestant and a Roman Catholic cathedral. Both Northern and Southern Irishmen think of it as a symbol of their golden age 1,500 years ago when Ireland was a small bright spot in a Europe plunging down to darkness. The two hostile factions of modern Ireland hold little else in common.

Last week a project was announced that would add to Armagh’s value as a symbol of peace in Ireland. The governments of both the North and the South were backing a planetarium at the ancient See of St. Patrick. His Grace the Most Rev. Dr. D’Alton, Archbishop of Armagh and Catholic Primate of Ireland, and His Grace the Most Rev. Dr. Gregg, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of the Church of Ireland, have given the project their blessings. Ex-Prime Minister Eamon de Valera, now Chancellor of Ireland’s National University, is on the planetarium board. Half of the cost ($200,000) will be raised by popular subscription in Ireland. The rest, it is hoped, will come from Irish well-wishers, of whatever political complexion, in the U.S.

Dr. E.M. Lindsay, director of Armagh Observatory (founded 1790), has faith in the planetarium as a peacemaker. Under its domed ceiling, he said, both Northerners and Southerners can enjoy St. Patrick’s stars, and through them learn to know the real stars, which are common to all Ireland.