An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-17
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Aubrey McCarthy (IND), University of Dublin

I will briefly bring up an issue that is a huge opportunity for Ireland and the Houses of the Oireachtas. It is something we could be genuinely proud of and should not miss. On 12 August 2026, there will be a rare and remarkable solar eclipse. It will be a total solar eclipse off the Atlantic coast. While it will not be possible to see it in its totality from the land, an extraordinary Irish-led scientific mission is ready to bring that moment to life for all citizens of Ireland and the world. It is simple. An Irish aircraft would fly west over the Atlantic to capture the first images of the eclipse, working alongside leading scientists from the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, DIAS, the European Space Agency, ESA, Trinity College Dublin and the Technological University Dublin, TUD. They are using specialist imaging equipment that is usually deployed in space. Irish science and Irish aviation will work in collaboration to capture this unique moment. It is an opportunity that should not be missed, but has been paused because the planning cannot move forward without permission from the Department of Defence. That approval is needed for the necessary flight tests to take place. An application was submitted last June and time is now moving on. It is nearly the end of February.
This is not just about the images. It is about curiosity and education and putting Ireland at the forefront of what will be a phenomenon. In moments such as this, we have to act fast and not miss out. I simply ask that the Minister look at this proposal and give it urgent and positive consideration so Ireland can play its full part in capturing a moment of wonder. In August, this will be world news and Ireland can play a key role on the stage.

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Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-17/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:38+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-17