Limerick Profile - Conan McDonnell PRO for Shannonside Astronomy Club (SAC)

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Written by Rachael Finucane

Wednesday, 11 March 2009

PETER de Vries once said that “the universe is like a safe to which there is a combination, but the combination is locked up in the safe” and Shannonside Astronomy Club is one local organisation aiming to crack the code.
Conan Mc Donnell, the club’s Public Relations Officer said that it is looking forward to a busy few months with events to mark 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy.
The club began in 1986 as Limerick Astronomy Club but as people from neighbouring counties joined, it was renamed Shannonside Astronomy Club in 1993.
“We meet on the first Wednesday of every month in Mary Immaculate College, Room 207, at 8pm. We usually have a guest speaker from the club, a member of another club or an expert. We also go observing on Friday or Saturday nights when the weather is clear. We have about 40 members from age 11 upwards,” he explained.
“We have access to two sites. One is on private land in Boher, County Limerick and the second is in the Burren in Clare. Both are pitch black, which cuts down on sky glow and city lights. The darker the background, the better it is for viewing.”
Conan said that viewing sessions last into the early hours but Irish skies offer quite a few interesting sights.
“There is something happening in the sky every month whether it’s a comet passing by or the international space station flying overhead. Some planets are more visible at different times of the year and there would be three or four meteor showers a year. The club owns a 12 inch Dobsonian telescope and equipment such as binoculars for members to use.”
The club’s main aim us to promote astronomy and help people to understand astronomy.
“It’s been 400 years since Galileo first used a telescope to look at the stars and the sky. They were originally used on ships and the early versions were very rudimentary but the principles are the same. There will be events all over Ireland and the world, including some schools competitions. We are holding free public observing sessions from April 2 to 5,” he said.
“We had the first session last week and the ones next month will take place at the jetty on O’Callaghan Strand. Hopefully the weather will be clear and members of the public can use the club telescope to look at the moon and stars; the planet Venus and the rings of Saturn may also be visible. People can also attend the monthly meeting on April 1. The speaker will be Dave McDonald—the first Irish person in over 160 years to discover an asteroid.”
Conan has been a club member for around three years but became interested in astronomy while growing up in Castleconnell.
“I was always interested in the stars and I got a kiddies telescope when I was 10 or 11. Later on, I decided to take it more seriously and bought a decent telescope. I joined the club to learn how to use it properly; a lot of people buy them because they look nice and never use them. People also think that you can just look through a window or skylight at the stars but light and heat interfere with the view. We hope that the events will help people to learn a bit more about things like that.”
Conan—who also sings with Limerick Gospel Choir and drums with a group called ‘Fobori’—added that the focal point in the club’s annual calendar will be the ‘Burren Star Party’.
“The event will be one day and one night on September 27. We’ll have a minimum of three guest speakers and other side events as well as viewing. We’re running it with Shannon Development, Burren Beo and Burren Connect. Everyone has been absolutely fantastic in helping with it and even wildlife rangers and people from attractions like Ailwee Caves are getting involved.”
For more information on the club, see www.shannonsideastronomyclub.com.

Name: Conan McDonnell
Occupation: PRO for Shannonside Astronomy Club (SAC)
Location: Corbally
Favourite thing about Limerick: The atmosphere and the friendliness of the people.
Worst thing about Limerick: The speed bumps everywhere.

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