Murrogh OBrien:MURROGH OBRIEN, who has died aged 89, was a former director of the Geological Survey of Ireland and later became general manager and chief executive of Tara Exploration and Development Company.
He consistently, and ultimately persuasively, argued that Ireland had potential mineral wealth, an idea that defied conventional wisdom. Undaunted, he continued to argue his case, and his theories and encouragement led to much exploration activity, the resultant discovery of Tynagh mines and the birth of modern mining in Ireland.
Seán Finlay, president of the Irish Mining and Quarrying Society, paying tribute to OBrien’s “visionary work”, highlighted his contribution to the knowledge and understanding of mineral deposits in Ireland and his leading role in developing the mining industry.
Gordon L Herries Davies in his historical study, North from the Hook – 150 Years of the Geological Survey of Ireland, wrote that OBrien had made "himself, the survey, and Ireland, familiar to economic geologists from all corners of our globe", and cited his "outstanding work" in championing exploration.
While working for the survey, he was also responsible for the geological investigations that resulted in the choice of Turlough Hill in Co Wicklow for the ESB’s pumped storage facility, and for the location of the now landmark chimneys of the Poolbeg Ringsend power generating station (there were foundation problems due to the deeply eroded channel of the river Liffey).
Born in Parteen-a-Lax, Parteen, Co Clare, in 1919, Murrogh OBrien was one of three children of Hugh MV and Margaret OBrien, Foynes Island. Educated at home until the age of 10, he was then sent to Newtown School in Waterford. He took a year off school to work as a stores clerk and timekeeper during the construction of the Foynes reinforced concrete jetty in the mid-1930s.
This sparked his interest in engineering, which he went on to study at Trinity College, Dublin. He graduated in 1941, and afterwards continued his studies at the Royal School of Mines, London University. He secured a first-class degree in mine geology and a BSc.
Working for Mianraí Teoranta at the Avoca mines in Wicklow as an engineer and mine geologist, he met Suzanne (Zsuzska) Karolyi from Budapest, who was in Ireland to improve her English. They married in June 1945.
In 1952 he became director of the Geological Survey of Ireland. His primary interest was in geology applied to mineral exploration and as a base for agricultural soil maps. Headhunted by Tara Exploration and Development, he was in 1964 appointed general manager. Driven by his insights and work, the company found the Navan zinc and lead ore body in 1970, the biggest lead and zinc deposit in Europe.
Expanding his horizons, OBrien applied his scientific knowledge to a new area when the first “Sputnik” was launched in 1957. As “Mooncharter” he wrote a series of articles for the Evening Press newspaper predicting the paths of the early satellites and manned spaceships through the night sky over Ireland. The articles were illustrated by his hand-drawn diagrams.
In retirement he returned to Foynes Island, while continuing to work on a consultancy basis. For his own pleasure and enjoyment, over a 30-year period he made drawings of the ships that docked at Foynes port. He also documented the ships’ cargoes, provenance and destinations.
The drawings reflect Foynes’ role in the economy of the region, while the cargoes mirrored changing times. They show the importance of barytes and beef exports, and the need for fuel oil, animal feed and fertilizer imports.
The construction of the Aughinish alumina plant, the largest building site in Europe in the early 1980s, is seen through the procession of ships to the Aughinish jetty. The colourful drawings also depict national regattas, visits by Asgard II, Irish Lights and Naval Service vessels, and the return in his flying boat of Captain Blair, husband of Maureen O'Hara, in 1976.
The 900 drawings are now in the National Library of Ireland. Ornithology was another interest. He took part in bird counts and contributed to breeding and winter bird atlases.
In 1968 OBrien was one of the first people to leave Czechoslovakia after the Russians invaded. He had been attending an international geological conference in Prague, and hearing of the invasion jumped into his rented car and headed for the German border. He drove past Russian tank columns with a map of Europe highlighting Ireland stuck to the inside of his windscreen.
He was proud of his OBrien ancestors, going back to Brian Boru. A great-grandson of the patriot William Smith O’Brien, he was a nephew of the famous sailor Conor OBrien, the first yachtsman to circumnavigate the globe south of both the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn. An honorary fellow of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, he was in 1958 a founding member of the Irish Mining and Quarrying Society and subsequently twice president of the society.
He is survived by his wife Suzanne, son Stephen, daughters Sylvia, Iseult and Charlotte, and 12 grandchildren; his son Colm predeceased him.
Murrogh Vere OBrien: born December 15th, 1919; died September 13th, 2009