Daramona House, Streete, Co. Westmeath, ca. 1895

Ireland is in danger of losing yet another important part of its scientific heritage. Daramona House at Streete, Co. Westmeath was the location of the private observatory of William E. Wilson (1851-1908) and is comparable in importance with Parsonstown (Birr), Co. Offaly and Markree Castle, Co. Sligo.

Wilson erected two Grubb telescopes at Daramona - a 12-inch reflector in 1871 and a 24-inch in 1881. He also used solar equipment on loan from the Royal Society of London. Wilson is noted for:

1. The first accurate determination of the temperature of the solar photosphere; his final value of 6590C compares favourably with modern values;

2. The first series of photo-electric measurements of the brightnesses of stars made at Daramona with Fitzgerald and Minchin in 1885-6;

3. A series of superb celestial photographs made with the 24-inch Grubb reflector at Daramona.

Wilson was a Fellow of the Royal Society (1896) and Member of the Royal Irish Academy (1888).  He collaborated closely with some of the leading scientists of the day including George Francis FitzGerald of Trinity College Dublin, George Minchin of London and Arthur Rambaut of Dunsink Observatory.  He was a respected member of the scientific community and was awarded a DSc by Trinity College Dublin in 1901.

Daramona is also notable as the birthplace of Wilson's nephew, Kenneth E. Edgeworth (1880-1972) who in July 1943 in the Journal of the British Astronomical Association
predicted the existence of a reservoir of cometary material beyond the orbit of Neptune; this was seven years before the Oort Cloud was proposed and eight years before Kuiper presented his paper on this topic.

Daramona was for many years owned by the Dunne family. Within the past year it has been purchased by a firm of builders. There is an immediate threat to Daramona House and estate from a proposal to build 38 houses in the grounds. Already the orchard and many trees have been removed. The Streete Historical Society has been formed to try to protect the heritage of Daramona and these efforts are being co-ordinated by Mr Bill Murphy of Streete, E-mail: mbill@oceanfree.net

The Westmeath County Council (www.westmeathcoco.ie) is due to take a decision soon on the planning application. Objections to the proposed development may be sent to the Senior Planner (planning@westmeathcoco.ie).

A Word file of eleven A4 pages with detailed information about the photometric measurements made in 1885-6 is available from Ian Elliott, E-mail: ie@dunsink.dias.ie