All around us science and technology is changing our world. It shapes how we live, how we travel and how we work.
Today, Irish people can be found at the cutting edge of science – making new discoveries, devising new treatments, developing new technologies. But Ireland has a long history of scientific achievement and women have been central to that extraordinary heritage.
In this new series for RTÉ One, presenter Róisín Ní Thomáin embarks on a journey to trace the stories of four remarkable Irish women, who helped shape the world of science. The stories of these pioneers and their groundbreaking work is inspirational, but for all their world class achievements – these Irish women remain largely unknown and uncelebrated.
In each programme, with the help of scientific experts and relatives, Róisín traces the backround of each woman, examines how they developed their interest in science, and explores the discovery or achievement that shaped their careers and lives.
She’ll consider the impact their work had on their respective fields at the time, and the legacy of their achievements in paving the way for further development in specialist areas such as childhood medicine, aviation, chemistry and astrophysics.
Róisín will also explore how each woman strived to make their mark in the male-dominated world of science, as she tells the stories of Dorothy Stopford-Price, Lilian Bland, and Kathleen Lonsdale, and explores if it has become easier for women to pursue scientific careers as she talks to Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell.
Deirfiúracha na hEolaíochta was produced for RTÉ with the financial assistance of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland’s Sound and Vision scheme, and made by DoubleBand Films. The series was produced by Clare McParland and directed by Cathal Ó Cuaig.
EPISODE 2 – Monday July 14th
In the second epiosode of the series Róisín explores and reveals the story of: Lilian Bland, the Ulster-born early aviator, who was the first woman in the world to design, build and fly her own plane