From Mount Temple to Antarctica

Róisín Moriarty from Mount Temple last month received her PhD in global warming studies from the University of East Anglia. The UEA is one of the top universities in the UK and the premier university in the UK for global warming studies. After graduating with an honours degree in Marine Science from NUIG she was awarded a Marie Curie fellowship to work with the British Antarctica Survey in Cambridge while studying for her PhD in UEA. In December 2009 Róisín was chosen to take part in a voyage to the Southern Ocean, as part of a scientific team from BAS to take water samples at depths of 4,000 metres. The ship left Cape Town on St Stephen's Day and sailed south to commence its work before landing in South Georgia, where two Irishmen, Tom Crean (Kerry) and Ernest Shackleton (Kildare), a century earlier became world famous for their courage and endurance. A stop in the Falkland Islands followed before final landfall was made at Punta Arenas in Chile. Endless days, icebergs, whales, penguins and subzero temperatures made for a memorable experience. She is now working in research at Manchester University and is preparing for her third trip to the Southern Ocean in September. One might well ask how someone from the midlands has such a love for the sea. It is not so strange really as her father Mike Moriarty is from Valentia Island and all his people made their living from the sea. She spent many summers working with her uncle Martin Moriarty at Valentia Island Sea Sports. Fr Gerry Hipwell also deserves some credit for the times he brought them sailing with the Zeus Club in Dún Laoire.