Displaying items by tag: Louis Brennan

12th March 2014

Taoiseach Honours Torpedo's Inventor Louis Brennan

#Torpedo - Taoiseach Enda Kenny had paid tribute to the Castlebar-born inventor of the steerable torpedo at the unveiling of a headstone on Louis Brennan's grave in London.

As the Irish Independent reports, Brennan - who lived from 1852 to 1932 - was a renowned inventor, credited with developing the world's first practical guided missile that he patented as the 'Brennan Torpedo', and tested at Fort Camden in Cork Harbour in the late 1870s.

Raised in Melbourne, Australia, Brennan spent much of his working life in Britain inventing for the military, developing such concepts as a revolutionary monorail system that attracted the attention of Winston Churchill.

However, following his death in a car accident in Switzerland, Brennan lay in an unmarked grave in Kensal Green, northwest London.

Now a group of history buffs from Brennan's Mayo birthplace have finally marked that spot with a headstone, as well as a plaque commemorating his life and achievements in the cemetery's oratory.

"I am pleased today that we have this opportunity to restore and publicly acknowledge the resting place of Louis Brennan," said the Taoiseach at the unveiling ceremony yesterday (11 March).

"But also, in a sense, to redeem ourselves in that we left him here alone unknown for so long."

The Irish Independent has more on the story HERE.

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The Loughs Agency is a governmental body established under the 1998 Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland. The Agency's goal is to provide sustainable social, economic, and environmental benefits by effectively conserving, managing, promoting, and developing the fisheries and marine resources of the Foyle and Carlingford areas.

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