National Heritage Week presentation in Longford

Longford's connection to global communication will be recreated as part of a Heritage Week presentation.
On August 17 a team of volunteers will simulate Richard Lovell Edgworth’s Pioneering telegraphic message from Dublin to Galway.

Supported by the Heritage Council and County Longford Libraries, Archives, Arts and Heritage the event looks at early telecommunications methods and and the role played from Edgeworth.
Born in 1744 Richard Lovell Edgeworth was seven years old when his curiosity about science first began to awaken.
The Anglo-Irish inventor, writer and politician lived in Edgeworthstown. He many important contributions to science and technology.

One of his inventions was the optical telegraph, sometimes called the ‘tellograph’. The device was an early form of visual communications, used long before electric telegraphs and telephones were invented.
Edgeworth’s optical telegraph sent messages over long distances using visual signals. With a threat from Napoleonic forces attacking Ireland form the west Edgeworth felt his most likely chance of securing Government support for his system was to set up a line from East to West.
After much lobbying, in 1803 permission was granted to erect a line from Dublin to Galway. The starting point in Dublin was the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, now the Irish Museum of Modern Art, IMMA, and William Street in Galway.
Transmission began in 1804. Claims of rapid transmission speeds appeared in national newspapers, and this marvel of modern science generated great excitement. Its potential for secret military communications was clear.

Nevertheless, his ambition to have a whole network installed across Ireland never came about. The treat of attack resided and the government decided, much to Edgeworth’s disappointment, abandoned the idea.
Despite this, Edgeworth’s optical telegraph was a pioneering attempt at long-distance communication using visual signals. Although it faced practical challenges and was eventually replaced by more efficient technologies, it was an important early effort to connect people across long distances quickly and effectively.
Incidentally many of the towers used by Edgeworth still exist and the team have identified three at, Castleknock, Cappagh Enfield and Merlin in Galway. By bringing the 1904 line back to life we hope interests might be piqued and clues and stories might be uncovered to a hidden history of Irish Telecommunications.

As this years National Heritage Week’s theme is ‘Connections, Routes and Networks’ the team at the Maria Edgeworth Centre felt it was an appropriate occasion to recreate this historical event.
There will be a number of options for the public to participate, members of the public can attend in person at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, the Computer and Communications Museum NUGI or the Maria Edgeworth Centre in Edgeworthstown.

Members of the public and also join on line, details can be found at www.maria edgeworthcenter.com The event is free and takes place at 2.00pm and will last approximately one hour. Further details can be got from the Maria Edgeworth Centre at 0343 6671801 or at 0872241351