Mature Route: Potential Increase in Numbers

The paper describes the subsoils of Northern Ireland, the majority of which are of glacial origin. The formation of these glacial materials is outlined and geotechnical properties of typical subsoils are given. The significance of a knowledge of glacial geology to the practice of foundation engineering in Northern Ireland is stressed. Professor I.G. Doran

It was a great surprise when, in December 1988, I was invited by Dr John Dougill, Director of Engineering, to join the Joint Board of Moderators (JBM) as one of the five representatives of the Institution of Structural Engineers. M.L. Manson

What follows is an abbreviation or distillation of my Chairman’s Address delivered to the Northern Ireland Branch on 30 November 1990 in the presence of the then President, David Lazenby. Its purpose was to share a concern (and perhaps an oversimplistic solution) in an attempt to stimulate or provoke some thoughts for the future. It is with some apprehension, and after not a little procrastination, that I eventually agreed to my address being published as a viewpoint. W.H. Walker