Laser show tribute to North Mon innovator

THE skies over Cork will be lit up by a spectacular laser show this week to honour the father of vocational education in Ireland.

The event to honour Brother James Burke, which takes place as part of the North Monastery 200 celebrations, will be a modern re-enactment of a stunning 1877 light show which he created to demonstrate the potential of electricity.

Br Burke, who taught the inventor of the modern submarine, connected a battery of 120 callan cells to a massive lamp he mounted to the front wall of the monastery, and then flashed beams of light into the sky, stunning the city’s occupants.

The display, which was staged to celebrate the jubilee of Pope Pius IX, took place two years before Thomas Edison was credited with inventing the light bulb.

Organisers of the school’s bicentennial celebrations are hope to recreate the magic on Friday next.

Their laser display will take place on the school grounds at 4.30pm and, depending on the weather, it should be visible all over the city.

James Burke was born in Limerick in 1833 and entered the Christian Brother novitiate aged 18.

He was posted to the North Monastery in 1852 and went on to make it a centre of excellence in scientific and technical education.

He pioneered vocational and practical education and introduced subjects such as trigonometry, navigation, physics and astronomy.

He encouraged students to experiment for themselves and used his contacts to amass a vast collection of scientific equipment for the school.

The collection included electric dynamos, gas and steam engines, lathes, agricultural equipment, geological, botanical and zoological specimens, some of which survive to this day.

His methods were replicated in Christian Brothers schools across the country.

One of his students was John Philip Holland, who invented the modern submarine.

Br Burke is believed to have made scale models of early submarine prototypes for Holland in the late 1850s and early 1860s as he experimented at the school.

But Br Burke also took his love for science and education into the community, organising Sunday science lectures for the public at the school and delivering lectures in the Crawford Gallery.

He was also appointed the first principal of another famous Cork school, Christians Brothers College.

In 1889, to help fund developments at the Mon, he organised a huge bazaar at the Corn Exchange, tickets for which were sold worldwide, with prizes including jaunting cars and pianos.

He ran a newspaper called ‘Shandon Bells’ for the bazaar, which was printed on site by Guys.

A small electric tram carried eight passengers at a time around the exhibition hall — some years before electric trams arrived on Cork’s streets. The opening concert was transmitted live to Limerick by telephone.

In 1902, as Br Burke celebrated his 50th year as a Christian Brother, he was made president of the newly-formed Scientific Association in Cork. Two years later, the Irish government asked him to help represent the nation at the World Fair in St Louis, Missouri and he sent various exhibits to show how progressive Irish education was.

Br Burke died in March 1904, a week after being knocked down by a horse and carriage as he crossed St Patrick’s Street.

It was only then that the authorities were beginning to recognise how influential and pioneering his practical approach to education was.