0:00:03 > 0:00:07For Victorian Britons, George Bradshaw was a household name.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10At a time when railways were new,
0:00:10 > 0:00:13Bradshaw's guidebook inspired them to take to the tracks.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19I'm using a Bradshaw's Guide to understand how trains transformed
0:00:19 > 0:00:21Britain and Ireland -
0:00:21 > 0:00:25their landscape, industry, society and leisure time.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28As I follow its routes 130 years later,
0:00:28 > 0:00:31it helps me to discover these islands today.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58I'm approaching the halfway mark of my journey from southeastern
0:00:58 > 0:01:01to northwestern Ireland.
0:01:01 > 0:01:06On this leg, I hope to find earthy evidence of early civilisations,
0:01:06 > 0:01:08investigate a fishy history,
0:01:08 > 0:01:12discover induction at a Catholic seminary
0:01:12 > 0:01:14and beat the drum for Ireland.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25I began my journey on the coast at Wexford
0:01:25 > 0:01:26and then travelled to Dublin,
0:01:26 > 0:01:29where I beheld the soul of the nation.
0:01:29 > 0:01:30Now I turn west,
0:01:30 > 0:01:34hoping to discover more of Ireland's rich cultural identity
0:01:34 > 0:01:39as I cross this country and end my peregrination on the Atlantic coast.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45Today's route begins at Navan, I then travel to Leixlip,
0:01:45 > 0:01:50make a stop in the university town of Maynooth and end in Mullingar.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57Along the way I get up to speed with modern archaeology...
0:01:58 > 0:02:00- That was excellent. - HE SIGHS
0:02:00 > 0:02:03- That was perfect. - Do you really go at that pace?
0:02:03 > 0:02:07..discover a glorious hidden wonder...
0:02:07 > 0:02:10This is the best chapel in Ireland by a long shot.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13You can't come to Ireland and not see this, can you?
0:02:13 > 0:02:15No.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17..and get my marching orders.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20If you're going to join them, beat.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32I'll be leaving this train at M3 Parkway,
0:02:32 > 0:02:34which was evidently added to the rail network
0:02:34 > 0:02:35after my Bradshaw's Guide
0:02:35 > 0:02:40was published. The book directs my attention to the Hill of Tara
0:02:40 > 0:02:43on which several mounds mark the site where kings
0:02:43 > 0:02:46were crowned on a coronation stone.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48Rock and royal.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57I'm now in Navan, County Meath,
0:02:57 > 0:03:01which is rich in both beautiful landscapes and mythology.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06The Hill of Tara is considered one of the most important
0:03:06 > 0:03:08archaeological sites in Ireland.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14According to tradition, it was the seat of the High King of Ireland
0:03:14 > 0:03:19in the pre-Norman era, when five clans held sway over the country.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23Tara was a sacred site associated with kingship rituals.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28Guiding me through the site is cultural historian
0:03:28 > 0:03:31and archaeologist Mairead Carew.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36Mairead, immediately this open and very tranquil space,
0:03:36 > 0:03:38with its mounds, seems very special.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40Very ancient, very spiritual.
0:03:40 > 0:03:45Yeah, well, it has been a sacred site for over 5,000 years.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49The earliest tomb was built about 3500 BC.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54- What is this, Mairead? - This is the Mound of the Hostages.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56- Why hostages? - Because King Cormac Mac Airt
0:03:56 > 0:03:59was said to have exchanged hostages there.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02There's a passage tomb in there,
0:04:02 > 0:04:06which means there's chambers where the dead were buried.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09The mound has been used for high status burials
0:04:09 > 0:04:11since around 3000 BC.
0:04:13 > 0:04:14The highlight awaits me.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18Is this the Coronation Stone?
0:04:18 > 0:04:23Well, this stone is known as the Lia Fail, or Stone of Destiny,
0:04:23 > 0:04:27and it was believed to play a role in the inauguration of kings.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29The tradition was that the god Lugh,
0:04:29 > 0:04:32you would hear his voice coming through the stone
0:04:32 > 0:04:34if you were the rightful king.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38And those origins, whether mythological or not,
0:04:38 > 0:04:39can they be described as Gaelic
0:04:39 > 0:04:42and how important are they to Irish people?
0:04:42 > 0:04:44During the cultural revival in the 19th century,
0:04:44 > 0:04:48scholars and writers and artists took a huge interest in the history
0:04:48 > 0:04:51and mythology of places like Tara.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54Sounds like it was getting quite political at that time.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58Yeah, certainly it was because you have the cultural nationalists
0:04:58 > 0:05:01beginning to become really interested in their history
0:05:01 > 0:05:04and their language and their culture
0:05:04 > 0:05:07and using that in terms of their identity.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11The Irish Nationalists were not alone in sensing
0:05:11 > 0:05:14the spiritual importance of the site.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18'In the late 19th century, an organisation from Britain staked
0:05:18 > 0:05:20'its claim on the land.'
0:05:20 > 0:05:24This has a different feel to it, the contours are not as clear.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28Yeah, well, you see, it was destroyed by a group in 1899.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30Between 1899 and 1902,
0:05:30 > 0:05:34a group known as British Israelites came to the site,
0:05:34 > 0:05:36they were convinced the Ark of the Covenant was buried here
0:05:36 > 0:05:40and they dug two big trenches across the enclosure
0:05:40 > 0:05:43and they had no archaeological supervision,
0:05:43 > 0:05:46they were just intending on finding the Ark of the Covenant.
0:05:47 > 0:05:52The Ark of the Covenant is a chest said to contain the Ten Commandments
0:05:52 > 0:05:54inscribed on stone tablets.
0:05:54 > 0:06:00The British Israelites believed that it was buried at the Hill of Tara.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04The end of the 19th century, a terribly delicate time
0:06:04 > 0:06:06in Anglo-Irish relations,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09the British come here and dig up the most sacred site in
0:06:09 > 0:06:11Ireland. What was the reaction?
0:06:11 > 0:06:14Well, there was a very strong reaction.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16The poet WB Yeats,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19the nationalist Arthur Griffith, founder of Sinn Fein,
0:06:19 > 0:06:22and Maud Gonne all came here to protest
0:06:22 > 0:06:25and there was a media campaign.
0:06:25 > 0:06:26They wrote to The Times of London,
0:06:26 > 0:06:30and they said that the site has been desecrated and it was probably
0:06:30 > 0:06:33the most consecrated spot in Ireland.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38'Those highly controversial excavations
0:06:38 > 0:06:40'offended cultural sensitivities and
0:06:40 > 0:06:43'would have affronted today's principles of archaeology,
0:06:43 > 0:06:49'which emphasise getting information before digging begins.'
0:06:49 > 0:06:53Rosanne Scott is part of a research project that's been surveying
0:06:53 > 0:06:56the site since the 1990s.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59- Roseanne.- Hello.- Hello, I'm Michael.
0:06:59 > 0:07:00How are you? Nice to meet you.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03What on earth are you doing?
0:07:03 > 0:07:06So we're doing an archaeological survey of the Hill of Tara
0:07:06 > 0:07:08and we are using geophysical prospection methods to find out more
0:07:08 > 0:07:11about what lies beneath the surface of the ground.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13What sort of things are you looking for?
0:07:13 > 0:07:17Well, this type of instrument is very good at picking up the remains
0:07:17 > 0:07:19of features like ditches, pits, gulleys,
0:07:19 > 0:07:22things that have been cut into the surface of the ground
0:07:22 > 0:07:26and we can find, for example, enclosures and burial monuments,
0:07:26 > 0:07:31- graves.- You've obviously marked out the ground here with your strings.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33So, what, you've established a kind of grid, have you?
0:07:33 > 0:07:37Yeah, so we work on a 20 by 20 metre grid system,
0:07:37 > 0:07:41it's very important, of course, when we're collecting this kind of data
0:07:41 > 0:07:43to know exactly the position on the ground
0:07:43 > 0:07:46- that we collect each measurement. - What you're doing looks...
0:07:46 > 0:07:49A, rather bizarre but, B, rather fun.
0:07:49 > 0:07:50- Could I have a go? - You can, of course.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52Yeah, you're more than welcome.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58The magnetic gradiometer collects geophysical data to create digital
0:07:58 > 0:08:01images of what lies beneath the surface.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04The instrument must be walked at a fair speed.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07INSTRUMENT BEEPS
0:08:14 > 0:08:16That was excellent.
0:08:16 > 0:08:17- HE SIGHS - That was perfect.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19- Do you really go at that pace? - Well done.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21- Yeah.- Wow, you must be exhausted.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23Yeah, it's good. It's the only exercise we get.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34The findings of the project are displayed in the deconsecrated
0:08:34 > 0:08:3919th-century church next to the Hill of Tara.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42This is one of the number of different types of imagery
0:08:42 > 0:08:44we have of the Hill of Tara.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46The aerial photo's very useful for getting a better understanding
0:08:46 > 0:08:48of the topography of the hill.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51We also have some more detailed imagery,
0:08:51 > 0:08:53like this, taken from a helicopter.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57What that does is allows us to create a very detailed 3-D modelling
0:08:57 > 0:08:59of the hill. So, for example,
0:08:59 > 0:09:03some of the archaeological features that weren't known to exist before
0:09:03 > 0:09:06- can now be seen. - And what has it led you to discover
0:09:06 > 0:09:09that you might not have known without this technology?
0:09:09 > 0:09:13OK, well, I think the most significant discovery is that of
0:09:13 > 0:09:16a very large enclosure, which came as a complete surprise,
0:09:16 > 0:09:22and we can see the image of it here and what it is is an oval ditch
0:09:22 > 0:09:25and on either side of that is a ring of posts,
0:09:25 > 0:09:28which would originally have held large timber uprights.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31It probably dates from around 2500 BC or so.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34It's a henge-type monument and it can be compared
0:09:34 > 0:09:36to similar monuments, the landscape of Stonehenge,
0:09:36 > 0:09:39and also elsewhere in Ireland, such as a Newgrange.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41Have you found the Ark of the Covenant?
0:09:41 > 0:09:43No, we haven't yet and I expect we never will.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Because this station is on a branch line
0:09:58 > 0:10:00I need to make a short double-back towards Dublin.
0:10:09 > 0:10:14At Clonsilla, I change trains to get onto the mainline heading west.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20My next stop will be Leixlip.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23Bradshaw's tells me it's situated on the Liffey,
0:10:23 > 0:10:25close to the famous salmon leap.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28In the 20th century a barrage was built across the river
0:10:28 > 0:10:34and a reservoir created. I wonder what happened to the dammed salmon.
0:10:47 > 0:10:52The name Leixlip comes from the Old Norse lax hlaup,
0:10:52 > 0:10:54which means salmon leap.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58It's located just ten miles outside Dublin and when the railways opened
0:10:58 > 0:11:03in 1848, Victorian day-trippers came here to take in the waterfalls
0:11:03 > 0:11:06and the spectacle of the athletic fish.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10Today it's home to the Leixlip Hydroelectric Power Station.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15And it's where I'm meeting fisheries biologist Dennis Doherty.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21Well, Dennis, I find the dam a kind of classic piece of industrial
0:11:21 > 0:11:25architecture, but my first question is why do salmon leap?
0:11:25 > 0:11:30Salmon leap to gain access over obstacles and in most cases that'd
0:11:30 > 0:11:33be a natural obstacle like a waterfalls or a tree across a river.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35Where are they headed and why?
0:11:35 > 0:11:39They spawn in freshwater and spend their adult life at sea,
0:11:39 > 0:11:43so they're going upstream to spawn in the month of December.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46Then those eggs will hatch in around Saint Patrick's Day,
0:11:46 > 0:11:48or slightly after, and about two years later
0:11:48 > 0:11:51those young fish would go to sea.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54They would spend one year at sea and they would then come back here to
0:11:54 > 0:11:57Liffey and go upstream to spawn again.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00The fish know to go back to where they were born?
0:12:00 > 0:12:03Yes. A Liffey salmon will not only come back to the Liffey,
0:12:03 > 0:12:06he or she would actually come back to the particular stretch of river
0:12:06 > 0:12:09that they actually spawned in above the station here.
0:12:09 > 0:12:10Extraordinary.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16The Leixlip hydroelectric dam was completed in 1952,
0:12:16 > 0:12:21designed to generate electricity and to provide flood protection
0:12:21 > 0:12:22and drinking water for Dublin.
0:12:24 > 0:12:29Now, the day that this was built was not good news for the salmon,
0:12:29 > 0:12:31at least in principle. What thought was given to them?
0:12:31 > 0:12:32Yeah, quite a lot of thought.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35In fairness to the powers that be at that time,
0:12:35 > 0:12:38they built a fish lift for adult salmon moving upstream.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42Also one of the spillway gates is adapted for downstream lowering.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46- And they come over the top? - They come over the top, that middle gate there,
0:12:46 > 0:12:50which is lowered, and we spill water over that and the fish go down
0:12:50 > 0:12:51on the plume of water and out to sea.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54That must be a ride to remember for the salmon.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56Yes, certainly, yeah, must be exciting for them, I suppose.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02Salmon can leap up waterfalls to a height of around 12 feet but the
0:13:02 > 0:13:08Leixlip dam poses an insurmountable barrier, nearly 80-foot high.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11In order to allow the Liffey salmon to return to their breeding grounds
0:13:11 > 0:13:14further upstream, a fish lift has been built,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17which works in a similar way to a canal lock.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24So, here we are at the top of the dam.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26Where would a salmon that was headed upstream be now?
0:13:26 > 0:13:30So, a salmon is located in the downstream chamber here below us.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32The bottom gate is closed.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35The middle gate is open, filling the chamber.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38The water levels come up until it meets the reservoir level,
0:13:38 > 0:13:40at which point the salmon merely swim out
0:13:40 > 0:13:42through that chamber and out.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48It takes around 20 minutes for the lock to fill up and the salmon
0:13:48 > 0:13:50to reach the top.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53It's not peak season for fish migration but any activity through
0:13:53 > 0:13:57the lift is monitored by Nigel Bond of the Marine Institute.
0:13:59 > 0:14:04Hello, Nigel, I'm Michael. Now, you're counting salmon.
0:14:04 > 0:14:05What's the importance of doing that?
0:14:05 > 0:14:08The importance of counting salmon is so that we know what the state
0:14:08 > 0:14:12of the river is at the current time and we have data that goes back
0:14:12 > 0:14:14for many years so we can see if there's any fluctuations
0:14:14 > 0:14:16in the numbers of fish that are appearing in the river.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19Could you show me a fish that you've seen move through?
0:14:19 > 0:14:23Sure, sure. There's a fish going through in June.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27That's a salmon and he passes all three electrodes,
0:14:27 > 0:14:30he generates a count and we record that on our equipment.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34Water quality is essential for salmon to thrive,
0:14:34 > 0:14:37so keeping accurate track of population numbers
0:14:37 > 0:14:40can tell marine scientists a lot about the waterway.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44With the data, and frankly speaking,
0:14:44 > 0:14:46what is the state of the Liffey at the moment?
0:14:46 > 0:14:50Well, at the moment the Liffey is operating below
0:14:50 > 0:14:52its conservation limit,
0:14:52 > 0:14:55so, like a lot of other rivers in the country,
0:14:55 > 0:14:58care has to be taken not to take fish from a river that's operating
0:14:58 > 0:14:59below its conservation limit.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01So, at the moment,
0:15:01 > 0:15:04no-one is allowed to put their rod into the Liffey for a salmon?
0:15:04 > 0:15:06At the moment, that's correct, yeah.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09Well, let's hope that one day it all changes.
0:15:09 > 0:15:10Please, yeah. Hopefully, yeah.
0:15:15 > 0:15:20This stop by the river Liffey marks the end of today's travels.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23Time to take a rest and to begin again tomorrow.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42This morning I'm taking the train from Leixlip station as I continue
0:15:42 > 0:15:43to journey west.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49My next stop will be Maynooth.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53Bradshaw's recommends Saint Patrick's Roman Catholic College,
0:15:53 > 0:15:58a quadrangular edifice containing "a noble library of 18,000 volumes.
0:15:58 > 0:16:03"Founded in 1795, it has a parliamentary grant
0:16:03 > 0:16:06"of £30,000 per year."
0:16:06 > 0:16:11Interesting, given that England had an established Protestant church.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13But now that Catholics had the vote, they had to be won over.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21Maynooth is a university town 16 miles from central Dublin.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24It grew around its 13th-century castle,
0:16:24 > 0:16:26which in the late medieval period
0:16:26 > 0:16:29was the centre of Irish political power and culture.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35I'm making my way to Saint Patrick's College, mentioned in my Bradshaw's.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38The seminary, where students train for the priesthood,
0:16:38 > 0:16:42today shares the campus with Maynooth University,
0:16:42 > 0:16:46where I'm meeting Dr Niall McKeith, curator of the college's museum.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52Niall, when were Catholic educational establishments
0:16:52 > 0:16:53first permitted?
0:16:53 > 0:16:58They were first permitted in 1795 and this is because it was only
0:16:58 > 0:17:03in 1791 that the penal laws were actually removed from the statute
0:17:03 > 0:17:05books in the Palace of Westminster.
0:17:05 > 0:17:10Westminster gave a small donation to the bishops in order to purchase
0:17:10 > 0:17:12a building for the commencement of the seminary.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16Given that England and Scotland were Protestant,
0:17:16 > 0:17:20why did the government agreed to give a grant to a Catholic college?
0:17:20 > 0:17:23Well, because up until that time there was no Catholic seminary within Ireland,
0:17:23 > 0:17:25so if anybody who wanted to become educated to become a priest,
0:17:25 > 0:17:29then they had to either go to France or Salamanca or to Rome.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32At that time we're talking about revolution in France and those
0:17:32 > 0:17:35priests who were being educated in Paris were then coming back
0:17:35 > 0:17:37to Ireland with the revolutionary ideas,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40so it was in the interests of the British government for there
0:17:40 > 0:17:44to be a seminary built in Ireland for the education of priests.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46There was a fear of radicalisation?
0:17:46 > 0:17:47There was, of course.
0:17:48 > 0:17:52Concerned about links between Catholics in Ireland and France,
0:17:52 > 0:17:55and seeking to improve its own popularity,
0:17:55 > 0:17:58in 1845 the British government tripled the money granted
0:17:58 > 0:17:59to St Patrick's.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07The college expanded rapidly, employing Augustus Pugin,
0:18:07 > 0:18:09famed architect of the Palace of Westminster,
0:18:09 > 0:18:12to design new buildings, including a large refectory...
0:18:15 > 0:18:16..and a new library,
0:18:16 > 0:18:20which now houses the college's collection of pre-1850 books.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25At the heart of the seminary is its chapel.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33Well, this is truly spectacular and huge.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35Victorian Gothic at its very best and it reminds me
0:18:35 > 0:18:38of the Palace of Westminster. Was it Pugin?
0:18:38 > 0:18:39No, it was a pupil of Pugin's
0:18:39 > 0:18:41or an apprentice of Pugin's who designed it
0:18:41 > 0:18:47and that was one JJ McCarthy, and it is the largest choral-type chapel
0:18:47 > 0:18:51in the world where all of the stalls are all facing each other
0:18:51 > 0:18:54and you have the absolute magnificent rose window
0:18:54 > 0:18:56there at the end.
0:18:56 > 0:18:57Fabulous organ.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02And then down the sides of the church facing each other in carving
0:19:02 > 0:19:06and relief, all of the coats of arms of the various bishops.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10This is the best chapel in Ireland by a long shot.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13Well, I mean, really, you can't come to Ireland
0:19:13 > 0:19:15- and not see this, can you?- No, no.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20The chapel is one of the most impressive I've seen.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24And there's another unexpected treasure here at St Patrick's.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29The National Science Museum of Ireland is on the campus.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37Niall, I'm astonished to find a physics museum in what I thought was
0:19:37 > 0:19:40a seminary. Now, what is the explanation for that?
0:19:40 > 0:19:43The explanation is that when the college was originally set up
0:19:43 > 0:19:45in 1795,
0:19:45 > 0:19:48that they brought over seven professors from the Sorbonne
0:19:48 > 0:19:51to start it off. One of those professors was a professor
0:19:51 > 0:19:54of natural philosophy, or physics,
0:19:54 > 0:19:58so physics has been taught in the seminary here since the foundation
0:19:58 > 0:20:02- of the estate.- And in your early days, who would have been your most outstanding scientist?
0:20:02 > 0:20:05The most outstanding would have been Reverend Nicholas Callan.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09He was a seminary student here, he was ordained,
0:20:09 > 0:20:13he then went to Rome to do his divinity and while he was there
0:20:13 > 0:20:18the initial interest that he had in physics was reinforced when he met
0:20:18 > 0:20:20Alessandro Volta and Galvani.
0:20:21 > 0:20:26It was an important moment in our understanding of electricity.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30The Italian scientists had invented the battery and discovered animal
0:20:30 > 0:20:35electricity, transforming theories into practical applications.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40Nicholas Callan returned to St Patrick's as Professor of natural
0:20:40 > 0:20:44philosophy and made an important breakthrough of his own.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48Now, I assume this is a very important object.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51What was it that Callan did?
0:20:51 > 0:20:53Callan invented the induction coil.
0:20:53 > 0:20:58The induction coil is a device to take a low voltage and step it up
0:20:58 > 0:21:00to an extremely high voltage
0:21:00 > 0:21:03of the order of hundreds of thousands of volts.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06So, they already knew how to generate some electricity
0:21:06 > 0:21:09from a battery but this was about getting more voltage.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11Exactly. In 1840,
0:21:11 > 0:21:17he was able to generate voltages of the order of 600,000 volts.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21He didn't have the nice digital voltmeters that we have today,
0:21:21 > 0:21:24but what he did have was clerical students
0:21:24 > 0:21:28and he used to make 15 clerical students hold hands
0:21:28 > 0:21:30and then the last two would have to put their hands on
0:21:30 > 0:21:32the output of the secondary coil
0:21:32 > 0:21:36and he determined the voltage by how high the students jumped.
0:21:37 > 0:21:38What a story!
0:21:38 > 0:21:42The induction coil was the first type of transformer.
0:21:43 > 0:21:48The X-ray, radio transmission and the ignition coil in cars are all
0:21:48 > 0:21:52inventions which owe their origins to Father Callan's work.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55Your own personal assessment of Callan, what would that be?
0:21:57 > 0:21:59I have been known to say that
0:21:59 > 0:22:01Faraday was the father of electricity
0:22:01 > 0:22:03and the Reverend Nicholas Callan
0:22:03 > 0:22:06would be the Reverend Godfather of electricity.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18I'm leaving Maynooth to take the train onwards west.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24It gives me a chance to question my fellow travellers about Britain
0:22:24 > 0:22:26and Ireland's difficult history.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29Hello, ladies, may I join you for a moment?
0:22:31 > 0:22:34I'm using a 19th-century guidebook here
0:22:34 > 0:22:36and it's all about conflict, really,
0:22:36 > 0:22:39between the Irish and British,
0:22:39 > 0:22:41the Hunger and rebellions and executions.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44Just wondered, you know, does that still stick in the Irish mind?
0:22:44 > 0:22:48Yeah, when we were in secondary school we learned an awful lot about
0:22:48 > 0:22:51the Famine. You know, it's only three or four generations ago,
0:22:51 > 0:22:52so it's not that long ago,
0:22:52 > 0:22:55so it is definitely still, kind of, in our minds.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58There was a lot of talk about "Oh, you know,
0:22:58 > 0:23:00"the English aristocracy and the English landlords
0:23:00 > 0:23:03"were living perfectly normal lives
0:23:03 > 0:23:05"while people were starving all around them."
0:23:05 > 0:23:08I mean, it was very raw when we were...well, when I was a child.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11- And now?- Trying to think, you know, it's more holistic,
0:23:11 > 0:23:13that they're shown both sides,
0:23:13 > 0:23:16but I still think there wasn't really another side.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22And would you say this harrowing 19th-century history
0:23:22 > 0:23:26still affects Irish views of the British today?
0:23:26 > 0:23:30Probably as recently as the last decade or so I think the views
0:23:30 > 0:23:32of the British in Ireland has changed.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34Time has been a great healer.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46My next stop will be Mullingar.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49The guidebook tells me that the population is employed in the wool
0:23:49 > 0:23:51and butter trades.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55But I'll find there the ruins of two castles and a large
0:23:55 > 0:23:58infantry barracks for 1,000 men.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01It seems I won't be the first Briton to march into Mullingar.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18Today, the wool and butter trades are long gone,
0:24:18 > 0:24:20but the barracks still stands.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26The British built the huge military compound in the early 19th century.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30Irish military forces took it over,
0:24:30 > 0:24:33and used it until 2012 when it was closed.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40BRASS BAND PLAYS
0:24:40 > 0:24:42Not far from the barracks,
0:24:42 > 0:24:45I can hear what sounds like a regimental band.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01- Bravo. Kim, I'm Michael. - Hi, Michael.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04So, is there a connection between the Mullingar Town Band and
0:25:04 > 0:25:06the military barracks that used to be in the town?
0:25:06 > 0:25:09There is, yeah. While we were officially formed in 1879,
0:25:09 > 0:25:13we actually can trace our roots as far back as the 1800s.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17A lot of the British soldiers were involved in the British barracks
0:25:17 > 0:25:21settled here in Mullingar and they had just civilian bands.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23We're a marching band, we're a concert band
0:25:23 > 0:25:26and we provide music education in our junior bands as well.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29I suppose it's kind of like a mini music school.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33Today, there are over 200 members, starting from the age of eight,
0:25:33 > 0:25:36and this community band has won some top awards
0:25:36 > 0:25:38in Ireland and the United Kingdom.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42Are you in fine form today?
0:25:42 > 0:25:45- Yeah.- I see you got the trombone there,
0:25:45 > 0:25:47when did you learn to play the trombone?
0:25:47 > 0:25:49- About 11 years ago.- Really?
0:25:49 > 0:25:51- I started in the band. - You must've been tiny!
0:25:51 > 0:25:53- Yeah, quite little! - HE CHUCKLES
0:25:53 > 0:25:56And do you get much pleasure out of playing for the band?
0:25:56 > 0:25:58I love playing for the band.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01- You love it. - I've been playing here most my life.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04The band is open to experienced players and beginners.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09I've been invited to arm myself with a bass drum.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16If you're going to join them, beat.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23HE LAUGHS Thank you.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26You look like me, so it must be here.
0:26:27 > 0:26:28Is it the left foot first?
0:26:28 > 0:26:30And then the right hand first.
0:26:30 > 0:26:31Left foot, right hand.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33OK, rolls.
0:27:12 > 0:27:13That was terrible!
0:27:21 > 0:27:23The salmon knows where it comes from
0:27:23 > 0:27:26and returns to the place of its birth.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28At the end of the 19th century,
0:27:28 > 0:27:32nationalists felt the need to explain the origins of the Irish
0:27:32 > 0:27:38people and drew inspiration from the Gaelic legends of the Kings of Tara.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42That left only the question of in which direction to march
0:27:42 > 0:27:44and who would call the beat?
0:27:58 > 0:28:02Next time, I have a go at traditional Irish cuisine...
0:28:02 > 0:28:03How's that looking, Timmy?
0:28:03 > 0:28:05You wouldn't be selling it now.
0:28:05 > 0:28:06Very lumpy, you know what I mean?
0:28:06 > 0:28:09..see the landscape that inspired one of the 20th-century's
0:28:09 > 0:28:12greatest poets, WB Yeats...
0:28:12 > 0:28:16It gave him a sense of where Celtic man had come out of the landscape
0:28:16 > 0:28:19and that drove him to believe that Ireland should have an independence.
0:28:19 > 0:28:20Heel, toe...
0:28:20 > 0:28:23..and step in time, Sligo style.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25One, two, three.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27Michael Flatley better watch out!