On a previous trip I visited the house once occupied by Copernicus. This time I found an interesting connection between Basque Country and Ireland: Antoine Thomson d’Abbadie d’Arrast (1810 – 1897).

He was an explorer, geographer, ethnologist, linguist and astronomer notable for his travels in Ethiopia during the first half of the 19th century. In 1835, he also travelled to Brazil, producing Observations relatives à la physique du globe faites au Brésil et en Éthiopie. He left in November 1836 in the frigate L’Andromède and had as a travelling companion Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, exiled after the attempted uprising of Strasbourg.

He built a château between 1864 and 1879 on a cliff by the Atlantic Ocean – apparently considered one of the most important examples of French Gothic Revival Architecture. It is divided in three parts: the observatory and library, the chapel, and the living quarters. Over the front entrance door of the château is engraved “Céad míle fáilte” in honour of his Irish heritage.

The château still belongs to the Academy of Science to which it was bequeathed in 1895 on condition of its producing a catalogue of half-a-million stars within fifty years’ time, with the work to be carried out by members of religious orders.

Who can I point to in Irish society with an equally interesting CV?