The Science Society

Item

Format

JPEG

Title

The Science Society

Identifier

VHG0101

Depiction

Picture 1: Nine people in two rows (two women and seven men) in formal dress
Picture 2: Seven men standing and two women and one man sitting, and all in formal dress

Description

The Scientific Society, later renamed the Science Society, was founded by Seán Óg (J.J.) McHenry, in 1928 (UCG College Annual, 1927-28). McHenry was appointed as Assistant Examiner in the Dept. of Experimental Physics & Mathematical Physics in 1922 (O’Connor, 1999) and became a Lecturer in 1929. He was awarded a D.Sc. degree in 1931. He went to University College Cork in 1933, becoming Prof. in Experimental Physics and later becoming President.
The Science Society later became known as ‘an Cumann Éargna Aicionta’. According to the UCG College Annual of 1957-58), ‘membership of the Science Society is confined to members of the Science Faculty proceeding to a purely scientific degree who pay one shilling subscription before the 1st of December’.
The ‘sister’ Cumann Ceimice na Gaillimhe was founded in 1949. The Cumann Ceimice was first to organise educational trips / tours abroad, with the first one taking place to Belgium in 1959. A tour to France in 1960 included members from the Science Society. The Science Society organised their first tour to the Continent (to Vienna) in 1965. This was followed by trips to Germany in 1966 and in 1968.
The inaugural Science Dress Dance took place in the Warwick Hotel in 1966. A picture of the Dress Dance Committee is shown with names given below the picture. The Science Dress Dance Committee in 1967 is also shown with names given below the picture.
Unfortunately, the Science Society became ‘extinct’ in the late 1980’s with the advent of new Societies which were more discipline oriented, such as the Physics Society formed in 1988.

References

UCG College Annual, 1927-28.
Tom O’Connor, 'Natural Philosophy / Physics' in Tadhg Foley (ed.), From Queen’s College to National University (Dublin, 1999), pp 184-217.
Archives & Collections, University of Galway Library

Contributor

Bibliographic Citation

S.G. Jennings, ‘The Science Society’, Visual History Retired Staff Collection, University of Galway Digital Collections, Asset Id 14843, Archival Record Id VHRS

Spatial Coverage

Temporal Coverage

Period

1960s

Category

b&w
group
off-campus
indoors

Language

English
Irish

Publisher

University of Galway Library

Rights

This image may be used for non-commercial purposes under CC BY-NC-SA
see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/