Eur. Phys. J. H 35, 123–132 (2010)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjh/e2010-00011-4

Regular Article

MacCullagh’s Ireland: the institutional and cultural space for geometry and physics

Museum of the History of Science, Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3AZ, UK

^a e-mail: jim.bennett@mhs.ox.ac.uk

Received: 7 April 2010
Revised: 24 July 2010
Published online: 5 October 2010

Abstract

The origins and settings for James MacCullagh’s work in physics are traced from his education in Tyrone and Dublin to his positions in Trinity College Dublin and the Royal Irish Academy. The engagement of MacCullagh and his circle with national political issues in Ireland is examined and a cultural interpretation offered for his work in optics.