Corkonians Bag Young Scientist Award

12th Jan 2009

Corkonians Bag Top Science Award
Alan Ger

A glorious Cork win for"The Development of a convenient test method for Somatic Cell Count and its importance in Milk Production"

Cork again triumphed in the BT Young Scientist Competition with Kinsale teenage brainboxes John D O'Callaghan and Liam McCarthy (could they have christened him anything more Cork that that!).

Both sons of farmers, the young Rebels developed an ingenious and cheap method of checking white blood cells in milk. The number of white blood or somatic cells in milk tells farmers whether their cows have mastitis. The current test is expensive but the Cork boys usurped all expensive scientific research with little more than a bottle of fairy liquid. Their test tells farmers far quicker and much more cheaply about the state of their milk.

Now five grand richer the Cork lads will be able to market and sell their new device to the world - yet another stunning victory for the Rebel county. In recent years Leeside has soared ahead of inferior counties in the Leaving Cert points race and the trend looks set to continue with O'Callaghan and McCarthy, frighteningly young at just 14 and 13 years old respectively, beating off opposition from the four corners of the island.

Kinsale girl Ashling Judge wins the prize in 2006 as Mary Hanafin embarassingly weighs in for the photo-op.

And in case you thought they were some thick-spectacled science geeks with no interests beyond litmus paper and their old lades' detergent cupboard think again. Any Corkonian who heard them interviewed on Dublin radio station RTE Radio 1 couldn't help but be proud of the way they conducted themselves.

Brimming with confidence, exhibiting classic Cork humour and managing to squeeze in regular hurling references on the Ryan Tubridy Show the PROC is calling for the boys to held up as examples of exemplary Corkonians and guarded by men with sticks 24/7. While the Irish economy crumbles and the Dublin government pretend the rest of the country's schools are producing quality science graduates let's not be naïve enough to think that the recovery and long term success of Celtic Tiger 2 isn't going to be rooted in Cork.

Even the Irish prime minister Brian Cowen, his own name part bovine, admitted he wasn't surprised tha it was two Cork lads who took the prize. "Cork never surprises me, they all claim the talents down there".

Under no circumstances should these young men be left out of sight and they must be kept in Cork for when the revolution comes and the borders with the Republic of Ireland finally close.

Nice wan lads.