Ireland's Historic Science Centre
About
Seven galleries in the demesne stable block telling the story of what the Parsons family actually did, which is more than one telescope. The Third Earl of Rosse built a three-foot reflector in 1839 before the Leviathan. His wife Mary, the Third Countess, was a serious early photographer, and the centre holds what it describes as the oldest intact darkroom in the world, with a hologram of Mary Rosse inside it. The Fourth Earl measured the radiant heat of the Moon in 1868 with a thermopile, and the machine he used is here in Gallery 5. The Third Earl's youngest son Charles Parsons invented the compound steam turbine in 1884, the one that took his name to sea in Turbinia ten years later, the technology that still turns in jet engines and power stations, and the engineering gallery covers that. It is the indoor half of a demesne ticket, included in general admission, and the obvious answer to a wet afternoon in a town where the castle is closed and the parkland is soaked. A certified wheelchair lift runs from ground level to the first floor.
Photos
Highlights
- ✓Seven galleries
- ✓The oldest intact darkroom in the world
- ✓Hologram of Mary Rosse, the Third Countess
- ✓The Lunar Heat Machine of 1868 in Gallery 5
- ✓Charles Parsons and the marine steam turbine
- ✓Wheelchair lift to the first floor
Tips
- →Included in general admission to the demesne; there is no separate ticket.
- →The Gallery Challenge sheet from reception is free and turns the galleries into a hunt for children.
- →This is the best wet-weather option in Birr, so it fills on a bad afternoon in high season.
Best Season
More Attraction Activities
Birr Castle Demesne
120 acres of parkland, gardens, rivers and a working science site behind the wall on Rosse Row. The demesne is the visitor offer; the castle is a private home.
The Great Telescope, the Leviathan of Parsonstown
The 72-inch reflector the Third Earl of Rosse finished in 1845, the largest telescope in the world until the 100-inch Hooker went up at Mount Wilson in 1917.
Birr Theatre and Arts Centre
The Oxmantown Hall of 1888, opened in January 1889, restored by the town and reopened in 2000 as a 220-seat theatre and the hub of Birr's festivals.