Boole Library

The Boole Library was opened by the former Irish President, Patrick Hillery, in September 1983. It is named after George Boole who was the first Professor of Mathematics at Queen's College, Cork (now UCC). Boole was born in Lincoln, England, in 1815, the son of a shoemaker, and although he had no formal education, he opened his own school when he was 18.

Boole also developed a new branch of maths - invariant theory - and is probably best remembered today for his development of Boolean algebra which led to the creation of computer science. In 1855, Boole married Mary Everest, a niece of the man after whom the world's highest mountain is named. In December 1864, Boole died from pneumonia at the tragically early age of 49, having walked four miles through a rainstorm from Ballintemple to his lectures.

George Boole's papers are preserved in the archives section of the Boole Library. The inventor of Boolean logic, in the latter half of the nineteenth century, he laid the foundations of a system of mathematical expression which formed the basis for all modern computer languages.

The collection of papers consists mainly of personal letters to and from Boole, which were collected by his sister Maryann, who had hoped one day to publish a biography of her famous brother. This archive offers us insights into the life of George Boole from the period immediately prior to his arrival in Cork in 1849, until his death in 1864. Boole's letters home to his sister after his arrival in Ireland contain valuable social information about the Cork of the mid-nineteenth century, where lavish banquets were given to the elite while crowds of beggars thronged the streets. In October 1849, he describes one encounter with Cork's poor which "far exceeded in horror anything not only that I had ever before witnessed but that I had even read of". He was present in Cork for the great flood of 1850, and was trapped upstairs in his lodgings by the flood waters, while friends of his were forced to traverse the streets in a boat.

The Boole papers of UCC provide valuable information for social historians of the 19th century in Ireland, researchers interested in the development of Irish university and academic life, and researchers interested in the both the development of Cork city and UCC. They provide a unique insight into the life and mind of one of the most brilliant and respected mathematicians of the 19th century.

To access Boole Library Website, click here.