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Deirfiúracha na hEolaíochta (Sisters of Science)

Deirfiúracha na hEolaíochta (Sisters of Science) Image Name: Deirfiúracha na hEolaíochta (Sisters of Science) Description: Deirfiúracha na hEolaíochta (Sisters of Science) RTÉ One Episode 3 - Monday July 21st Presenter Róisín Ní Thomáin
Deirfiúracha na hEolaíochta (Sisters of Science) Image Name: Deirfiúracha na hEolaíochta (Sisters of Science) Description: Deirfiúracha na hEolaíochta (Sisters of Science) RTÉ One Episode 3 - Monday July 21st Kathleen Lonsdale

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 3 – Monday July 21st

The third episode focusses on Kathleen Lonsdale, who was born in Kildare and whose cutting-edge work in X-Ray crystallography made her one of the most important chemists of the 20th Century.