2016 Press Releases

UCC unveils George Boole bust

25 Apr 2016
(l-r) HE Dominick Chilcott, the British Ambassador to Ireland, British Ambassador to Ireland; HE Dan Mulhall, the Irish ambassador to Britain; Lord Mayor of Cork, Councillor Chris O'Leary; and Dr Michael Murphy, President of UCC.

University College Cork will today (April 25) honour the legacy of its first Professor of Mathematics and the forefather of the Information Age, with the unveiling of the bust of George Boole.

Britain’s Ambassador to Ireland, HE Dominick Chilcott and Ireland’s Ambassador to Great Britain HE Dan Mulhall will attend the ceremony at 3pm.

Carved by Irish sculptor Paul Ferriter and engraved by Ken and Matthew Thompson, the bust is positioned close to entrance of Boole Library, which is named after him.

“To be the artist chosen by UCC to sculpt George Boole for the Boole 200 celebrations in such a beautiful location was a real honour. I have found fascinating that so many of today's technological advances led back to his genius. I hope in some way that this bronze sculpture helps in giving Boole the recognition he deserves, which perhaps was not achieved during his lifetime,” Ferriter commented.

The unveiling of the bust is part of UCC’s significant year-long celebration of the bicentenary of George Boole’s birth (1815-64), which was marked with a Google Doodle on his birthday, November 2, and reached millions around the world.

Born in Lincoln, Boole was a largely self-taught mathematical genius. He wrote his seminal work An Investigation of the Laws of Thought during his time as Professor of Mathematics at Queen’s College, Cork; now University College Cork. 

University College Cork

Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh

College Road, Cork T12 K8AF

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