Éamon Hanrahan
Irish geotechnical engineer and professor of soil mechanics

Edward (Éamon) T. Hanrahan (1917 – 30 November 2012) was an Irish civil engineer, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, and Head of department in the School of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering at University College Dublin (UCD). Owing to his contributions to geotechnical engineering education and practice in Ireland, a biennial lecture at UCD's Geotechnical Society is named in his honour.
Hanrahan undertook studies and research on soil mechanics and foundation engineering, particularly on soft soils such as peat. In 1955, he created the first postgraduate soil mechanics course in for students in Ireland. He published work in Irish and British journals including Géotechnique, and published several works on peat and glacial tills which continue to be cited in soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering research.
Early life and education
Hanrahan was born in Limerick City in 1917. He attended local primary and secondary schools before studying engineering at UCD. He was awarded a BE degree in Civil Engineering in 1939.
Career
After working in England during the 1940s, Hanrahan returned to Ireland and joined the faculty at UCD in 1948, where he remained until his retirement in 1987. He pursued interests in soil mechanics and foundation engineering from early in his career. Hanrahan was awarded an ME degree in 1946, a PhD in 1954, and a DSc in 1983.
“Éamon Hanrahan” enters the record as irish geotechnical engineer and professor of soil mechanics. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Éamon, Hanrahan and Irish can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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