Behind the mountain of rubbish is a world-class observatory, writes Dick Ahlstrom, Science Editor
Recent riots, illegal dumping, criminality and the inability of the authorities to do anything about it have all served to give Dunsink in north Dublin a bad name. Yet, nestled in the midst of this troubled and neglected area lays a shining jewel of Irish history and heritage.
Long before the tiphead dragged the area down and before the angry rows over road closures erupted, this piece of high ground overlooking the city of Dublin was chosen as the location for a world-class astronomical observatory.
A bequest made by a former provost of Trinity College, Francis Andrews, in 1774 - before the US and the French revolutions - and then a decade-long row over how the money should be used, led eventually to the foundation of the Andrews Professorship of astronomy. The story is told in full by former observatory director, the last to live on site, the late Prof Patrick Wayman, in his definitive history of Dunsink published in 1985 to mark its 200th anniversary.
It was ironic that an astronomy chair was the result of the legal wrangle that dragged the bequest through the courts and the then Irish parliament, given that Andrews was actually a successful lawyer. He did, however, possess a small telescope and two world globes and this, plus the coincident discovery in March 1781 of the first "new" planet, Uranus, with the use of telescopes, was enough to convince Trinity and its authorities that astronomy was the coming thing.
With the chair came the building and completion of Dunsink Observatory in 1785. This same observatory and its gracious Georgian buildings remain, surrounded by the original stone walls and iron gates.
The constant thrum of the M50 drifts across the Tolka river valley that lies below the observatory but the site retains a sense of tranquility, much as it must have when newly built. The Dublin Mountains form a stately march off in the distance and only the artificial "mountain" across from the observatory - formed when the city decided to create the infamous tiphead which for years received all the capital's waste - seems an incongruous addition to this 18th-century scene.
This important piece of Irish scientific history is still in active use today. Run since 1947 by the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS), it organises night-time public viewings of the galaxies and planets twice a month during the winter. It stages seminars, and students use it for classes and project work, explains Prof Luke Drury, director of the DIAS School of Cosmic Physics.
Yet its location puts it in jeopardy today. The Dunsink area has suffered from illegal dumping and criminality by people driving into this quiet backwater simply because it is so quiet. The observatory held its first public viewing night of the autumn season last Wednesday week, the night that protests broke out over the blocking of one end of Dunsink Lane by the local authority.
The observatory was damaged that night in an arson attack, says Drury. "The gate lodge suffered damage in the original rioting and there was some damage done to the grounds keeper's house. A few windows were also broken."
Since then the DIAS has put 24-hour security in place to protect the buildings and the "South Dome", which houses a famous Grubb telescope. It is one of the finest examples in the world of the art of telescope building as practised by this Dublin-based family of lens makers.
"It would have been a significant centre for astronomy in its time," explains Drury. However, better instruments came along over time. "The last serious observational work was done in the 1830s," says Drury.
Nevertheless, Dunsink continued as an important centre for research, largely because of one of its most famous directors, William Rowan Hamilton. He was the third Andrews Professor and he lived and worked at Dunsink from 1827 to 1865.
Hamilton developed a new form of mathematics, called quaternions, and is known by mathematicians and physicists around the world. He is much less well-known in his native Ireland however.
So important is he that the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, won Government approval some months ago to declare 2005 the Hamilton Year.
"Next year is devoted to celebrating all of Irish science, but it is particularly about Hamilton who spent his whole working life at Dunsink," says Drury. Hamilton died there in 1865.
Dunsink continues to play an active role in Dublin life, with free open nights for the public on the first and third Wednesdays of every month from October to March. "This year, for Science Week [November 7th to 14th], we will be doing a special series of open nights," says Drury.
Its rich history demands its continued involvement in things astronomical. "It is the jewel of our science heritage," declares Drury. It is therefore with some alarm that rumours began to circulate that the institute was about to close Dunsink. Nothing could be further from the truth, says Drury. An independent review group was formed for a regular review of the School of Cosmic Physics and this report has been sent to DIAS's governing council and its board.
"The board has not met to discuss the report and no decisions have been taken," states Drury, but Dunsink will not be left behind.
"There is absolutely no question of closing Dunsink or walking away from it. The only real question is how to make best use of it," he says.
His view is strongly echoed by DIAS registrar Cecil Keaveney, who says: "We have a tremendous history associated with Dunsink and the role which Dunsink has played in Irish academia is more than 200 years old. We regard it very much as a working facility and that is something we would like to preserve. It is an active research facility and you do not walk away from such a resource."
"As long as we are responsible for Dunsink, we take that responsibility very seriously," declares Drury. "We would be of the view this is a national treasure that needs to be preserved."
The two speak with conviction as we walk the grounds, which are being tidied up in anticipation of the Hamilton Year. Quaternions came to Hamilton as he walked with his wife from Dunsink to the city along the Royal Canal on October 16th, 1843.
Part of the walk will be retraced this afternoon by mathematicians from NUI Maynooth and members of the public are welcome to come along. Contact Dr Fiacre Ó Cairbre at 08x-xxx-xxx for details of the event.
For details on public nights at the observatory, see www.dias.ie