University College Cork is to restore one of its undisputed jewels - the 19th century Crawford Observatory. The €500,000 project will reinstate UCC to its historic status as the only university in Ireland with its own working observatory. It will be used as a teaching facility for the astrophysics degree programme.
The observatory is a listed building and is considered very much part of the Queen's College legacy. It is also the only facility of its kind in the country containing all original instruments.
Ms Virginia Teehan, director of UCC's heritage office, said the restoration was to be fully funded by private donations.
Dr Paul Callanan, of the department of physics, said the project team was at the early stage of identifying suitable contractors for the delicate work.He said considerable restoration work had already been carried out on the instruments, particularly the equatorial telescope in the dome.
The instruments in the observatory were fashioned by Howard Grubb, of the famous Dublin firm founded by his father, Thomas. In the 19th century, Grubb was regarded as the foremost scientific instrument-maker of his day.
Grubb broke from the usual practice of merely supplying instruments. At UCC, he built the entire observatory, including the telescope, dome, clocks, as well as three major astronomical instruments and ancillary equipment.
In 1901, at a cost of £1,500, W.H. Crawford funded alterations to the telescope, completed by Grubb, which allowed users to photograph the night sky.
The project had grown out of the concern that Ireland should not fall behind in "trained brain power, the highest kind of technical skill".
Staff at UCC hope the restoration will renew interest in astronomy and science.
"Grubb built the instruments and we intend to use them," said Dr Callanan. "The telescope is capable of monitoring large regions of the sky and it will be a great teaching aid. When they were made, these instruments were the very best in high technology."
It is also intended that the restored observatory will be open to the public.