Blackrock Castle looks to the stars

IT was one small job for the builders - one giant leap for science.

A dome that will house hi-tech telescopes in Ireland’s newest observatory was yesterday hoisted into place atop the 16th-century Blackrock Castle in Cork.

Powerful optical and radio telescopes will soon be installed in the castle as part of a €4 million research and exhibition facility - being developed jointly by Cork city council, Cork Institute of Technology (CIT), and an anonymous Irish benefactor.