Marine biologist Maude Delap had been a favoured name among Marine Institute staff when suggestions were being sought last year for a title for the State’s new research ship.
As Afloat revealed last month, renowned polar explorer Tom Crean of Annascaul, Co Kerry, won out, and the 52.8-metre ship will sail into Irish waters under his name after it is completed next summer.
As Times.ie reports today, coincidentally, Delap, who died in 1953, spent much of her life in Crean’s home county of Kerry.
Born in Donegal, she lived on Valentia Island, Co Kerry, from the age of eight as her father was Church of Ireland rector there.
Both Maude and her sister Constance collected marine specimens – many in Dublin’s Natural History Museum. Maude took an interest in jellyfish and pioneered breeding them in captivity.
Her father opposed an offer made to her to work at the Plymouth Marine Biological Association as he is reputed to have said “no daughter of mine will leave home, except as a married woman”.
She was made an associate of the Linnaen Society of London in honour of her work, and had a sea anemone named after her- and she is also remembered by a plaque on Valentia island.
Her name was one of several proposed for the Irish research ship - with the Marine Institute keen to avoid the experience of Britain’s Natural Environment Research Council.
It had been landed with Boaty McBoatface when it sought the public’s opinion on a name for its new polar research vessel several years ago – but opted for RSS Sir David Attenborough.
Tom Crean’s name was confirmed by Minister for Marine Charlie McConalogue earlier this month.
He said Crean’s name on the ship would acknowledge the role of the legendary Irish seaman and explorer who sailed with Sir Ernest Shackleton.
Crean’s three major groundbreaking expeditions to the Antarctic in the early years of the 20th century sought to increase scientific knowledge and to explore unreached areas of the world, at that time, the Marine Institute has noted.
Crean’s family has welcomed the choice, and the Marine Institute said in a statement that several candidate names were shortlisted, “many of which had compelling reasons for selection”.
“These included names such as RV Tom Crean, RV Celtic Discovery, RV Celtic Odyssey, and RV Maude Delap,” it confirmed.
The ship is intended to replace one of two existing marine research ships based in Galway, the 31m RV Celtic Voyager.
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