THE LAYING of the first transatlantic cable to Valentia Island, Co Kerry, is an example to all those trying to solve global warming and the US energy crisis, a ceremony to mark the 150th anniversary of the event has heard.
Cyrus Field IV, whose great- great grandfather, Cyrus West Field, set up the company that laid the cable, said the project showed what was possible when people used technology to overcome seemingly insurmountable problems.
He was speaking at a black-tie event at the New York Historical Society in Manhattan, organised by the Hibernia Atlantic cable company, to commemorate the completion of the cable from Newfoundland to Valentia Island in 1858.
Mr Field said those working to fight global warming needed only look at the 1858 cable to see what could be achieved. He was aware that some in the audience were involved in trying to solve global warming and the US energy crisis. "More power to you all," he said.
Hibernia Atlantic chairman Ken Peterson told the audience that the cable brought a huge scientific leap for humanity. The Mayflowertook 54 days to cross the Atlantic in 1620, while the Cunard company reduced the crossing time to nine days in 1855.
The Valentia cable could deliver one word every 10 minutes, slow by today's standards but an enormous achievement for its time. It led the way for Hibernian's own underwater cables, which could handle 100 million phone calls simultaneously, Mr Peterson said.