EPISODE TWO
In Episode 2, the focus shifts to the relationship between Athlone and the Shannon. Ireland’s primary river, which runs through the heart of the town, could pose the greatest threat to the future city version of Athlone or it could be its greatest potential asset – this episode explores both sides of that reality.
Dr Mary Bourke (Associate Professor Geography, TCD) talks about climate change and how bad things could get with the prospect of much more rainfall and much heavier rainfall in the future. The river will flood, that is a reality and so the key questions for the residents of Futureville is what tools can scientific research provide to minimise the impact.
Dr Marcus Collier (Associate Professor of Sustainability Science) shares the new concept of a Sponge city which is an urban areas with abundant natural spaces with trees, lakes and parks etc intended to absorb rain and prevent flooding. Futureville will be designed to mitigate the dangers flooding will bring by using nature as a technology in its own right.
Dr Katrina Thompson (Aeronautical Engineer) has spent her career researching how to make things fly and is now using that expertise to help launch the worlds’ first zero emission Hydrofoil passenger ferry which will begin trials in Northern Ireland next year. Dr Neil Buchanan (Queens University) is part of an incredibly exciting project which is planning on building a giant solar panel in space that will harness the power of the sun and transmit microwaves wirelessly to earth that could provide clean renewable energy for a million homes by 2040.
We also hear from Professor Jamie Goggins, University of Galway, how Irish technology is playing it’s part in the development of River Turbines, a technology that could use the Shannon to provide renewable energy to the future version of Athlone.
From the Athlone perspective, the episode also features father and son, Richie O’Hara snr & jnr, who are keen to see Lough Ree and the Shannon fulfil their potential as amenities for the local community, Liam Sheringham, long-time member of Athlone’s sub aqua club, Navjoti Dala who has moved from Delhi and settled has settled in Athlone with her family – who share their particular stories, the challenges they face and their hopes for the future.
Carla also gets a chance to experience e-foiling on Lough Ree which is both exhilarating and frightening at the same time.
Series overview
Futureville Ireland is an ambitious new 3-part series that offers a vision of a new Irish City for 2050 – what would it look like? what would daily life be like for the residents? And what are the latest innovations from the Irish Research community that will make it possible?
Athlone has chosen to be re-imagined as a near future metropolis, a capital of the midlands and a new home for a quarter of a million people in 2050. This exciting transformation, built on Irish scientific research, could happen just as easily to any other Irish town or urban centre.
The series is the centre piece of RTÉ & Taighde Éireann’s (Research Ireland) broadcast collaboration for National Science week beginning on Sunday, 10th November. It will broadcast across three consecutive nights during Science Week on RTÉ One at 7.00pm each evening – Tuesday 12th, Wednesday 13th and Thursday 14th of November.
Futureville Ireland is co presented by RTÉ’s Carla O’Brien and Dr. Lorraine (Lollie) Mancey (UCD Innovation Academy).
