PROFESSOR OF PHYSICS, UCC

Prof Callanan is a great supporter of the Kerry Dark Sky Reserve. Paul has served on review committees for both NASA and ESA (including orbiting observatories such as Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer, XMM-Newton, and Chandra and other ESA review committees), and ground based facilities.

LIGHTING ENGINEER

Willie is passionate about light. The title of his talk for the festival is “Light - how it affects our health and that of the environment”. His family-run business has designed commercial and residential lighting for three generations and advocates for the use of lighting design to minimize light pollution. They are sponsors of the 2024 Skellig Coast Dark Sky Festival.

ORBITAL DYNAMICS SPECIALIST

In her talk "Wishing for the Cloths of Heaven: The Emergence of Space Traffic Management Services", Jessica will speak about her work which concerns ‘space junk’ and space traffic management. Originally from Kildare, Jessica moved to Lapland to pursue the Astrophysics, Space Science and Planetology track of a Space Masters Programme. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Theoretical Physics and a Master’s degree in Philosophy of Consciousness.

SCIENCE EDUCATOR

Caoimhín worked for many years at the Blackrock Observatory in Cork. A fluent Irish speaker and a keen linguist, he works in both English and Irish. He business 'Caoimhín's Content' tells us about all things astronomical. Caoimhín gives workshops on astronomy at events and for schools.

FOLKLORIST AND BROADCASTER

Seán has a wealth of Irish folklore knowledge, gleaned from careful study of old Irish texts, recordings and stories. Based on his chapter on Folklore and the Night Sky in the recently published The Book of the Skelligs, he will take us through the stories and tales associated with the evening skies.

ASTROPHOTOGRAPHER

Davy exhibited at last year’s festival and took some stunning local astrophotography. This year, he will give two workshops - one on photographing the night sky and the second on processing your images. An exhibition of his Dark Sky photographs will be on display in the Rathcroghan Centre for Irish Astronomy Week 9-17 March 2024.

ARTIST

A land based artist in Iveragh for over 30 years, Helen has exhibited widely and has work in many national collections. She received a Master’s in Painting from NCAD in 2017 and is passionately interested in colour and place. In this workshop she hopes to build personal connections between participants and the planets while improving technical skills, forging an alliance of the imagination based on the framework of science.

ASTRONOMER

Paddy was the first chairman, and is the current chairman, of the Kerry Astronomy Club, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in February 2024. Paddy leads the observation sessions for KAC using a 12’’ reflector on a Dobsonian mount. He regularly gives talks in schools and at local festivals and events. His main interest outside observational Astronomy is inter-planetary exploration by space probes.

GEOLOGIST

A native of Kerry, Dr Aidan Forde studied geology in Trinity College Dublin and earned a PhD on structural geology from James Cook University in Australia. After 30 years with Saorgus Energy developing renewables, Aidan is now working on distilling projects, development of Valentia Slate and on a low carbon sailing research vessel. An assistant coach of Killarney Judo Club, Aidan has been a member of Kerry Mountain Rescue since the 1980s.

BITHEOLAÍ

Is bitheolaí é Jack Ó Donnabháin Trá a bhfuil taithí aige ag obair chun éin neamhchoitianta na hÉireann ar phortaigh a chaomhnú. Tá suim ag Jack i bplandaí feoiliteach a fhaightear i bportaigh na hÉireann chomh maith leis an gcultúr agus an stair a bhaineann leis an saol ar ár dtailte móna.

DARK SKY GUIDE

Michael Sheehan is a founding member of the Caherdaniel Dark Sky Group and a member of the core team responsible for Kerry's Gold Tier International Dark Sky Reserve award by Dark Sky International in 2014. Michael is fascinated by astronomy and is a keen astrophotographer.

AUTHOR

Join award-winning children’s author, Erika McGann, as she reads from some of her most popular picture books, including It's Too Dark, Puffling (illustrated by Gerry Daly). Learn about Puffling's wonderful home of Skellig Michael with stories, games and fun facts about puffins, fulmars, sharks and loads more!

ZOOLOGIST

A Kerry native with a master's in zoology from UCC, Linda Lyne has a grá for the wilds of Iveragh. Her travels have taken her from Antarctica to the Galapagos and beyond to see a wealth of animals, but she now champions Irish wildlife - from bats to birds and her beloved common lizards.

BAKER - ALL THINGS NICE

Petra’s delicous baking is famous in the greater Caherdaniel area, where her business All Things Nice is based. She will give a ‘star cookie’ workshop where we will bake and decorate astronomical cookies. The decoration workshop will be suitable for children of 2 years and upwards.

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIST

Our Environment and Sustainability Officer, Dee is interested in the relationship between the moon and the natural world.

DARK SKY GUIDE

Steve, above left with John Flannery of Astronomy Ireland to the right, is a Kerry Dark Sky Hero. He submitted the annual reports to Dark Sky International for many years while running Kerry Dark Sky Tourism. With a new woman in his life (his grand-daughter), he is stepping back from Dark Sky Tourism but continues playing traditional music in Tigh Rosie’s, Dungeagan, on Tuesday evenings.