The children really enjoyed an interactive webinar with the inspirational speaker, astronaut, musician and author Chris Hadfield. Chris has strong ties with Ireland.

The first time Chris Hadfield looked down at Earth from space, in November 1995, he saw Ireland. His shuttle, en route to helping build the Mir space station, had launched from Cape Canaveral, flew up the Florida coast and across the Atlantic. By the time they reached orbital height, engines were shut down and Hadfield could float to the window, they were crossing over this island.

“I was looking down at Cork and Kerry,” the astronaut recalls, “then across to London, then the southern half of Europe. It was overwhelmingly beautiful.”

In February 2013, he sent the first Irish-language tweet from space — “Tá Éire fíorálainn!”

His daughter Kristin did her doctoral studies at Trinity College Dublin and now works as assistant professor in its school of psychology.

Chris Hadfield is one of the most seasoned astronauts of the modern day. Not only did he fly up in the Space Shuttle twice—to help build the Mir space station, and the International Space Station (ISS)—he then became a resident and commander of the ISS for 5 months.

Chris Hadfield’s life lessons boil down to being the best that you can be through hard work and preparation – set your goals and work towards them. This approach has taken him from being a child dreaming of being an astronaut to being a fighter pilot and test pilot right through to a 20-year astronaut career.