Scéal Dún-na-nGall ar an Idirlíon / County Donegal on the Net News Vol.7 No.2 April, 2006 Holiday In Donegal! Hire a Guide to Donegal
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Scéal Dún-na-nGall ar an Idirlíon / County Donegal on the Net News Vol.7 No.2 April, 2006 Holiday In Donegal! Hire a Guide to Donegal |
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Death of Donegal's Computing Pioneer The death has occured of Kathleen 'Kay' McNulty Mauchly Antonelli, aged 85, at Keystone Hospice in Wyndmoor PA on April 20th. A computer pioneer, one of the original programmers of the first electronic computer, ENIAC, she was the wife of John W. Mauchly who died in 1980, and of Severo Antonelli, who died in 1995. Kathleen was born February 12th, 1921, in Creeslough. She was one of six children, the daughter of Anne Nelis and James McNulty, commandant of the Doe Battalion of the Irish Volunteers during the Irish Rising. On the night Kay was born, her father, James, was arrested and imprisoned in Derry Gaol for two years for his republican activities. On his release the family emigrated to the United States and settled in Pennslyvannia where James McNulty established a successful stone masonry business. Kay grew up in Wyndmoor and Chestnut Hill, an affulent suburb of Philadelphia speaking only Irish until she started school at Hallahan Catholic High School in Philadelphia. Kathleen was graduated from Chestnut Hill College in 1942 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics. The army wanted women with mathematics degrees to calculate the firing trajectories of artillery for the war effort. Consequently Kay was recruited as a human 'computer' and went to work at the Moore School of Engineering at the University of Pennslyvania. In the basement of the Moore School Kay's future husband and colleague, John Mauchly, was, with co-inventor Presper Eckert, building the world's first electronic computer, the ENIAC. She was quickly promoted and was invited to work on the ultimate in high-speed machines, being developed at Penn in secret as part of the war effort. This was the ENIAC, the first general-purpose electronic computer, able to do calculations 1,000 times faster than the fastest machines of the day. Kathleen was part of a team of six women who were commissioned to program this computer, literally the first programmers of the first electronic computer. She figured out how to design programs by studying the block diagrams of the new machine. She helped program the ENIAC with its first major problem, the feasibility of the H-Bomb, a calculation problem brought to Penn by the scientists from the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos. In the autumn of 1945 six women computers were chosen to program ENIAC - Kay McNulty; Jean Bartik; Betty Snyder; Marlyn Meltzer; Ruth Teitelbaum and Frances Spence. Initially they were not allowed into the ENIAC room because of the secrecy of the project and instead they had to program the computer from blueprints in an adjacent room. Once they had devised the program on paper, the women were allowed into the ENIAC room to physically program the ENIAC.Using their program ENIAC could add 5,000 numbers or do 14 10-digit multiplications in a second. The ENIAC was 10 feet tall, 80 feet wide, and weighed 30 tons. This computer was programmed by Kay and her fellow computers. In February 1946 the US Army unveiled ENIAC in a series of public demonstrations. However the women's central role in ENIAC was already being forgotten as their names did not appear in any official US Army records of the demonstrations nor were they mentioned in the US War Department press releases. After the War, the ENIAC was moved to Aberdeen Proving Ground, and Kathleen moved with it, helping with the complicated process of dismantling and reassembling a behemoth that used some 18,000 vacuum tubes to do the work of calculation at electronic speeds. In 1948 she married Mauchly, and in 1950 they moved to Ambler, PA where they raised seven children at Little Linden Farm. Kathleen participated in future computer developments as a sounding board for her husband's ideas. After John Mauchly's death in 1980, Kathleen married Severo Antonelli, a world-renowned photographer of the Italian Futurist School and founder of the Antonelli Schools of Photography. Honored for many years as the widow of inventor John Mauchly, she eventually achieved recognition for her own role in computer history as someone who created and helped define the work of software programming. In 1997 she was inducted into the Women in Technology International (WITI) Hall of Fame. She has received numerous awards, including an honorary doctorate from her alma mater, Chestnut Hill College. A Medal in computer science is named in her honour at the Letterkenny Institute of Technology. She is survived by seven children: James Mauchly of Warren, NH; Sidney Mauchly Reed Nelis of Reading; Sally Mauchly FitzSimmons of Flourtown; Kathleen Mauchly McNulty of Ambler; J. William Mauchly of Berwyn; Virginia Mauchly Calcerano of York, and Eva Mauchly Moos of Ambler. She leaves 29 grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren. One of six children herself, she is survived by one sister, Cecilia McNulty Gray (husband Harry J. Gray) of Springfield, Delaware County, and a great multitude of nieces and nephews.  Cnoc Fola - Bloody Foreland by Aoife Vallely Aoife Vallely Aoife Vallely, a Donegal based artist has launched a new website see Aoife Vallely. Donegal News on Air If you are in Sydney you can listen to Sydney Irish Radio 107.3FM on Sundays from 7.30 to 9.00am local time (see Sydney Irish Radio) while Brisbane listeners can catch Mike Cunningham's show on 4EB 98.1 FM with Donegal on the Internet's own Patricia Sharkey on Saturdays between 12.30 and 1.30pm. Patricia can also be heard in Pennslyvannia on 'Echoes of Erin' WEDO 108FM on Sundays from 1.00-2.00pm. The 'Echoes of Erin' show is hosted by Diane Byrnes, former Grand Marshal of the Pittsburgh St Patrick's Day Parade and the doyen of everything Irish in Pittsburgh. If you want your Irish Goods or Services to reach the Pittsburgh Irish then advertise on 'Echoes of Erin' by emailing . Newtoncunningham Community Development Initiative NCDI in partnership with Inishowen Partnership Company are planning to run a Next Step programme in Newtowncunningham from September. The programme has been designed to support young lone parents between the age of 16 to 30 year in developing their skills that will help them to return to work or education. The course runs for 12 weeks, three mornings from 10am to 2pm. All the courses are fully accredited allowing participants to receive qualifications which will enhance their job prospects. The course is free and there is a child care allowance provided, the course will take place in the NCDI centre. Please call into the NCDI office or contact Mary Mc Geehan, Inishowen Partnership for more details. NCDI tel. no. 07491 56898 or Inishowen Partnership on 07493 62218. Computer Courses for Men A computer course for men is commencing on Monday 24th April in St. Columba’s Hall, Burtonport from 7.30pm to 9.30pm. The cost is €10 euro and booking is essential as places are limited. Contact the Rosses CDP on 074 9561686.  the View from the Hills... |
 Kay McNulty Mauchly Antonelli (1921-2006) Cumann na mBan in Donegal Eithne O'Donnell (nee Coyle) was born in Falcarragh in 1897. In 1918 she founded the first Cumann na mBan unit in West Donegal and during the War of Independence she kept an IRA 'safe house' in County Roscommon where she was arrested by the Black and Tans in 1921. O'Donnell was court-martialed and sentenced to one year's imprisonment for 'activities prejudicial to the Defence of the Realm'. She was imprisoned in Mountjoy Gaol from where she, together with Linda Kearns MacWhinney, May Burke and Eileen Keogh, escaped in October, 1921 by using duplicate keys to get out of the Wing and then scaling the prison wall. O'Donnell went to Donegal where she enforced a Sinn Féin ban on Northern Ireland manufactured goods by holding up trains and was dubbed the 'Donegal Amazon' and 'the gunwoman' in local newspapers. O'Donnell opposed the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty and on hearing of the Free State attack on the republicans in the Four Courts she returned to Dublin in June, 1922. She was arrested in November, 1922 and interned in Mountjoy Gaol and in the North Dublin Union Internment Camp with Mary MacSwiney and Margaret Skinnider, among others. O'Donnell was released in December, 1923. She remained a member of Cumann na mBan and was that organisation's President in the 1930's. She married Donegal man and fellow republican activist, Bernard O'Donnell in 1935. Eithne O'Donnell died in 1987 aged 90 years old. © Searc's Web Guide  A to Z of the Best Irish Sites Doherty to address Rosses Martyrs Commemoration Sinn Féin Vice-President Pat Doherty will be the main speaker at the commemoration in memory of the Rosses Martyrs, four IRA volunteers who died between 1921 and 1924 - Mary McBride, Owen Boyle, Comdt. Neil 'Plunkett' Boyle, and Capt. Con 'Beezer' Boyle. A large attendance is expected at the event this Sunday 30th April in Dungloe. Comdt. Neil 'Plunkett' Boyle, was the last man to be killed in the Civil War, being shot dead by Free State soldiers. Eoin Boyle died on Hunger strike in Newbridge Internment Camp, aged 21. Mary McBride and Capt. Con 'Beezer' Boyle died shortly after release from prison, due to the harsh conditions they were held in. The march, will leave from Ostan Na Rosann, Dungloe at 2.30pm and proceed up the main street. Wreaths will be laid at 1p.m on Sunday, on the grave of Comdt. Neil 'Plunkett' Boyle in Kincasslagh graveyard and Eoin Boyle in Cruit Graveyard. Everyone is welcome. Bealtaine Festival The Bealtaine Festival for older people will take place across the County during the month of May. The Bealtaine 2006 programme contains extensive listings of over one hundred events that will take place in Donegal throughout the month of May, with the majority of events free and open to all. The listings are divided into Library and Day Centre / Day Hospital events Highlights of this year’s festival include, a Gala Performance of traditional music inspired by the theme of ‘Passing on Traditions’. This concert will feature older and younger musicians playing together at An Grianán Theatre. Another major highlight is the publication of an anthology of Donegal cooking entitled 'O Lamh go Laimh'. Compiled from submissions made by older people from throughout the county, it boasts some seventy recipes to and presents a milestone of Donegal culinary knowledge. For full programme details see Bealtaine Festival. Ceili & Oldtime Social A Ceili and Oldtime Social Night will be held in the Ozanam Community Centre, Dunfanaghy on Friday 12th May with dancing from 10-12.30pm. Music is by the Anvil Ceili Band. Admission is €5. Come along and enjoy a cup of tea, dancing and friendship. Support the Sisters of Charity Outreach Race Day Michael Lyons invites you to 'Come along for a Great Day's Craic' and support the Sisters of Charity Outreach Race Day at the Royal Randwick Race Course, New South Wales on June 24th, 2006. Initial enquires to . Country Market The Ramelton Country Market will be held on Saturday April 29th from 11am to 12 noon in the Town Hall. New producers of food, crafts and plants would be most welcome. If interested please contact Clare Hutton on 074 91 52006 or come along to the market for information. It is hoped to have the market returned to its original 11am slot on Friday morning soon. Information Morning for Women in Buncrana An information session in conjunction with the Citizen’s Information Service will be hosted by Donegal Women’s Network in the Gateway Hotel, Buncrana, on Wednesday 26th April from 10.30am to 12.30pm. Facts on work, education, rights and entitlements for women will be covered. All ages welcome to attend.  Available for Holiday Rental in 2006 Mountain View Cottage, Derrylougháin, Gweebarra, Donegal Ireland lags behind in Broadband Stakes According to new survey from the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), the number of broadband connections in the world's industrialised nations increased by 22 million in the second half of 2005, growing at an annual rate of 15 percent. There are now 13.6 broadband connections per 100 people in the OECD. However, there are only 6.7 broadband connections in Ireland for every 100 people. Iceland leads the table with 26.7 broadband connections per 100 people, followed by Korea, the Netherlands, Denmark and Switzerland. The UK is 13th on the table with 15.9 broadband subscribers per 100, while Ireland took 23rd place. Women’s Mini Marathon 2006 A group of ladies from Dungloe intend to participate in this year’s Women’s Mini Marathon in Dublin on Bank Holiday Monday June 5th. The charities they are collecting for are the Letterkenny Oncology Unit, North-West Cancer Support Group and St Luke’s Radiotherapy Unit, all who have impacted greatly on many Donegal families. If you would like to help by running a function, taking a sponsorship card or just by donating what you can, your help would be greatly appreciated. Please contact Grace Greene at (074) 9542143 for further details. |
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