On Monday, June 14th, hundreds of people packed out the largest theatre in Trinity College Dublin to hear Dr. Cormac O’ Raifeartaigh of Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) speak about black holes, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and the quest to uncover the elusive God Particle.

In his lecture, Dr. O’ Raifeartaigh explained our current understanding of the Universe, while justifying why the world’s leading scientists have spent over 6 billion euro of taxpayers money on an experiment which aims to prove how the fabric of the Universe is built. The experiment which takes place at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) on the Swiss-French border involves smashing particles together at unfathomable speeds using equipment in a 27 mile ring weighing thousands of tonnes.

As the LHC opens new avenues of research into the subtle workings of time and space, it is hoped that scientists will discover the elusive God Particle. However, there are some that are concerned with the side effects of running this experiment. It is expected that the LHC will create microscopic black holes, which will then simply fizzle out. But some people have expressed concern that the black holes will not disappear, but instead, grow and grow, eventually consuming the Earth and everything around it.

In this ground record breaking lecture, Cormac discussed the myths and truths surrounding the LHC, future plans for the controversial experiment at CERN, and in doing so opened guests eyes to the wonders of the Universe around us.

After the lecture, members of the audience accompanied Dr. O' Raifeartaigh to The Lombard for some refreshments. This event was a resounding success and one that will stand out in our events portfolio for years to come.

If you missed the event of the year so far, or indeed if you were there but want to relive the experience over and over again, a DVD is available to order online for just 7euro. Click the link below or call us on (01) 847 0777.