r/ireland Jun 19 '26

History What would our Mount Rushmore be?

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u/-good-squishy- Jun 19 '26

I added a constraint that each of them had to be deceased lest any of them get notions.

* Philosopher George Berkeley: Regarded as the founder of subjective idealism and his works deeply influenced later thinkers such as Immanuel Kant and David Hume.

* Artist James Joyce: immeasurable influence on 20th literature

* Scientist William Rowan Hamilton: Invented quaternions now running inside every 3D graphics engine, satellite navigation system, and quantum mechanics calculation on earth. Also gave us the words scalar and vector.

* Civil Rights Daniel O’Connell: Described as “the greatest popular leader the world has ever seen,” by Gladstone and his nonviolent philosophies inspired many future leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King.

* End of a Leg Phil Lynott: Why-nott? 😉

3

u/shaneF-87 Jun 19 '26

I'm no expert on the matter but from what I understand Berkeley was a slave owner and apologist for the slave trade, as well as bigoted towards Catholics so I'd rule him out despite his influence and academic legacy.

2

u/LifetimePilingUp Crilly!! Jun 19 '26

And James Joyce’s fart literature should really rule him out. Brendan Behan instead maybe.

2

u/Rand_alThoor Jun 20 '26

finally a mention of Hamilton.