Donard de Cogan is an engineer who teaches computing at the University of East Anglia in Norwich. He is currently the Chairman of the Institution of Electrical Engineers History of Technology Professional Network whose website is
http://www.iee.org/Oncomms/pn/history/
Donard's main research is into the history of submarine telecommunications cables. His wife is the great-great grand-daughter of the first superintendent of the Valentia island cable station in Ireland.
Donard's researches in this area have opened up unexpected areas such as the true nature of the netutrality of the Irish Free State during WW2. One of the main discoveries was the exclusive provision of weather information to the Allies. Another was the flying boat base at Foynes on the River Shannon. Before D-Day this was an essential component in the avoidance of long-range fighters from the French coast. Details about this can be found in "Ireland, the Irish Meteorological Service and The Emergency" D. de Cogan & J.A. Kington, Weather (published by the Royal Meteorological Society) vol. 56 (2001) pp 387 - 397. It would appear that Churchill was prepared to assist the Free State Government in the protection of this facility from German surface raiders and Donard's father, an engineer officer in the Free-State army was involved in the construction of the "Fort Shannon" complex. Details of this may be downloaded from
http://www2.cmp.uea.ac.uk/~ddc/History%20papers/
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