Laurence Kettle
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Laurence Joseph Kettle
D.Sc. Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...
(27 February 1878 – 27 August 1960) was a key figure in the industrial and scientific advancement of early twentieth-century Ireland, serving as Chief Engineer of the
Dublin Corporation Dublin Corporation (), known by generations of Dubliners simply as ''The Corpo'', is the former name of the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin since the 1100s. Significantly re-structured in 1660-1661, even more sign ...
, before being elected as President of The Institution of Civil Engineers and becoming the first chairman of the Industrial Research Committee. He was a founding member of the World Power Conference, a fellow of the Institute of Fuel and a founding member of the
Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers ( ga, Óglaigh na hÉireann), sometimes called the Irish Volunteer Force or Irish Volunteer Army, was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists and republicans. It was ostensibly formed in respon ...
alongside his brother, the poet and politician,
Thomas Kettle Thomas Michael Kettle (9 February 1880 – 9 September 1916) was an Irish economist, journalist, barrister, writer, war poet, soldier and Home Rule politician. As a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for ...
.


Family background

Laurence Kettle was born in
Malahide Malahide ( ; ) is an affluent coastal settlement in Fingal, County Dublin, Ireland, situated north of Dublin city. It has a village centre surrounded by suburban housing estates, with a population of over 17,000. Malahide Castle dates from th ...
, Co. Dublin, one of twelve children of Land League leader and Nationalist politician Andrew J. Kettle (1833–1916), a founder of the
Irish Land League The Irish National Land League ( Irish: ''Conradh na Talún'') was an Irish political organisation of the late 19th century which sought to help poor tenant farmers. Its primary aim was to abolish landlordism in Ireland and enable tenant farme ...
, and his wife, Margaret (née McCourt). He is the brother of writer, poet, Irish Volunteer and
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
(MP) at
Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
,
Thomas Kettle Thomas Michael Kettle (9 February 1880 – 9 September 1916) was an Irish economist, journalist, barrister, writer, war poet, soldier and Home Rule politician. As a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for ...
, a man widely regarded as one of the greatest minds of his generation, who died in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Andrew Kettle influenced his sons considerably through his political activities, having been involved from an early age in the constitutional movement to achieve
Home Rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...
. Andrew joined
Michael Davitt Michael Davitt (25 March 184630 May 1906) was an Irish republican activist for a variety of causes, especially Home Rule and land reform. Following an eviction when he was four years old, Davitt's family migrated to England. He began his caree ...
in the foundation of the Irish Land League and was one of the signatories of the "No Rent Manifesto". He had adhered to Parnell in the 1890 crisis, and stood for election as a nationalist candidate on several occasions.


Early life and career

He received his early education in the O'Connell Schools, Dublin, at
Clongowes Wood College Clongowes Wood College SJ is a voluntary boarding school for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814, which features prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel ''A Portrait of the Artist as a Yo ...
, and at Faraday House, where he gained the Maxwell Scholarship. His varied practical training and early experience were gained with R. Stephenson, Newcastle upon Tyne,
Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon was a Swiss engineering company based in the Zürich district of Oerlikon (Zürich), Oerlikon known for the early development of electric locomotives. It was founded in 1876 by the industrialist Peter Emil Huber-Werdmü ...
, Switzerland, Société des Forces Électriques de La Goule, Switzerland, and the
General Electric Company The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and defence electronics, communications, and engineering. The company was founded in 1886, was Britain's largest private employer with over 250 ...
. He returned to Dublin in 1906 to join the corporation as works superintendent engineer and became deputy city electrical engineer in 1911 and engineer and manager in 1918. When the undertaking was taken over by the Electricity Supply Board (Ireland) in 1929, he was appointed adviser to the board. From 1934 until his retirement in 1950 he was a member of the board. He also applied his engineering training and judgment towards promoting the development of Irish national resources. His experience as the technical representative in Ireland of the Board of Trade Coal Department led him to give full support to all projects for the economical use of fuel. He acted on the Water Power Board of Ireland Sub-Committee from 1916 to 1918, and during the 1916 Rising was held captive by the insurgents in the College of Surgeons, before resuming his responsibilities for the city’s power supply. In 1912, he took a leading part in the formation of the Irish Volunteers, becoming secretary of its provisional committee together with
Eoin MacNeill Eoin MacNeill ( ga, Eoin Mac Néill; born John McNeill; 15 May 1867 – 15 October 1945) was an Irish scholar, Irish language enthusiast, Gaelic revivalist, nationalist and politician who served as Minister for Education from 1922 to 1925, Ce ...
.History Ireland: Issue 1 (January/February 2014), Volume 22 He was a founder-member of the World Power Conference and secretary of the Irish Committee for many years, a member of the Irish Committee of The Institution of Mechanical Engineers and a Fellow of the Institute of Fuel. He joined The Institution as a Student in 1899 and was elected an Associate in 1902, an Associate Member in 1906 and a Member in 1912. He served on the Dublin Local Centre Committee in 1913—14 and on the Irish Centre Committee from 1926 to 1931, being chairman from 1926 to 1928 and serving as honorary treasurer from 1933 to 1934. In 1933 friends and admirers of his public services made him a presentation, including his portrait by Seán Keating, now in the municipal art gallery. As President of The Institution of Civil Engineers from 1932 to 1934, he delivered an address calling for an investigation into the scientific problems of agriculture, a survey for drainage and a scheme for rural electrification. While president, he organized in 1934 a discussion on the organization of industrial research in Ireland. In that year he was appointed chairman of the newly formed Industrial Research Council and held office until 1957. He became the first chairman of the Industrial Research Committee, resigning in 1947. The movement for industrial research in Ireland owed much to his patient service. On the formation of the Industrial Credit Co. in 1933, to promote and finance by State aid industrial undertakings, he was appointed and remained a director, and in 1938 the National University of Ireland conferred on him the degree of D.Sc. honoris causa.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kettle, Laurence 1878 births 1960 deaths Irish civil engineers People from Malahide People educated at O'Connell School