German and French ambassadors visit tomorrow

The German and French ambassadors to Ireland are paying a joint visit to Offaly tomorrow, Friday January 17.

Deike Potzel, the German ambassador, and his French counterpart Stéphane Crouzat's first port of call will be Coolderry National School in Birr. This school is part of the Blue Star Programme, an education initiative for primary school pupils across Ireland. The idea of the Programme is simple: to foster better understanding and knowledge of the European Union and how it affects the lives of Irish citizens among primary pupils through classroom projects and activities.

The ambassadors will then visit the I-LOFAR low frequency radio telescope at Birr Castle. The I- LOFAR is part of an international network of state-of-the-art telescopes used to observe the universe in unprecedented detail at low radio frequencies. The network consists of 12 international stations spread across Germany, Poland, France, UK, Sweden and Ireland, with additional stations and a central hub in The Netherlands.

Speaking ahead of the trip to Offaly, the two Ambassadors said: “We really look forward to this joint trip to County Offaly. The two places we will visit are concrete initiatives of what the European Union can bring to people in Member States. The Blue Star Programme’s goal is to encourage pupils to get creative and to think about what the EU means for them. LOFAR is one of the largest astrophysics programmes in Europe, with seven countries collaborating on this project.”