With her sisters she ran a small hospital on the island but they also found time to continue their collecting and research on marine animals, especially plankton. Several leading marine biologists received much assistance from the Delap sisters. Maude showed a special flair for plankton collecting and she discovered a number of rare and new species of jellyfish and other minute sea animals in her net samples. She went on to become a prominent marine biologist and an expert on the jellyfish.Every day she took off in a boat (wearing bodice, long skirts and straw hat) and scoured the cold waters around her remote island home for jellyfish. She eventually learnt how to breed and rear them in belljars. Jellyfish are notoriously difficult to keep in captivity but Maude had a huge passion for these creatures and proved very skilful at keeping them alive.
Letters from Maude kept by the Natural History Museum in Dublin give vivid details of the specimens she sent to the museum by train. Local children and fishermen knew to bring her any strange sea life they had found. Once the Museum politely declined a huge beached whale that had washed up on the shore, saying that it could only use its bones if they were cleaned and dry. Maude promptly dug up her asparagus patch in order to bury the whale and would periodically dig it up to check whether or not it was ready for dispatch.
Her work led to an offer of a career at the famous Marine Biological Station at Plymouth, England. But Maude preferred to live and work in Valentia. The following is a list of some of her achievements:
| 1899 |
Elucidation of the complex life cycle of an extensive number of hiphroids of jellyfish (Medusa & Hydra). |
| 1899 |
Contributed to the Valentia Harbour Survey directed by Edward T Browne (University College London) and acknowledged in the Survey published in the proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. |
| 1901-1924 |
Numerous publications in the 'Irish Naturalist' on Marine Biology, Flora and Fauna. Contributor to annual reports on the Fisheries of Ireland (1905 & 1906) |
| 1928 |
Carlgen and Stephenson name a Sea Anemone first discovered by her in her honour; Edwardsia Delapiae |
| 1936 |
Made an associate of the Linnean Society |
MEDUSAE
Maude Delap was the inspiration for the MEDUSAE project in 2001. Medusae is the Latin name for jellyfish. The Medusae project was one of 13 winning projects from the SCIART 2001 competition, representing collaboration between scientist Professor Tom Cross of University College Cork and artist Dorothy Cross. The £10,000 prize awarded was used to combine the story of Maude Delap with present-day scientific research on the box jellyfish Chiironex fleckeri the fastest swimming and most deadly jellyfish in the world. A film entitled "Come into the Garden Maude" made by the artist Dorothy Cross was shown at the National Theatre, London in October 2001.
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Chiironex fleckeri are the most venomous creatures in the world. They are extremely fast and active hunters feeding on small fish and shrimps. The venom released from their tentacles on impact results in the victim experiencing a rapid succession of heart attacks; some 70 people in Australia have been recorded as dying from their sting. (There is an antidote that can be dispensed by lifeguards - although it has to be administered very quickly in order to take effect.) The jellyfish are seasonal and breed in the rivers of Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Northern Australia. |
Professor Cross had been investigating the biomechanics of jellyfish as part of general literature survey of biomechanics in the animal world. When he investigated research on the common medusae that occupy the waters of the southern Irish coast, he found that a lot of research had already been done on these species. While on a visit to eastern Australia he became fascinated by the specimens of Chiironex fleckeri (cubanmedusan) the box jellyfish, relatively recently discovered and unresearched, he decided to concentrate on the biomechanics of this species. Chiironex fleckeri is an active swimmer, unlike many current-driven species it propels itself through jet propulsion, it also appears that the tentacles of Chiironex may act as directional forces that could prove additional aids to their swimming 'technique'.
Jellyfish near Valentia Island are also the subject of an underwater film inspired by Maude Delap and by German darwinist Ernst Haeckel. The film explores their respective scientific and emotional obsession with these fascinating, yet often misunderstood, creatures that are 98% water and will not hold their form outside of their element, animals of amazing beauty and grace and horrifying venom.
The forensic nature of collecting memory fragments of the life and work of Maude Delap mirrors the scientific investigations leading to more knowledge of Chiironex fleckeri. The film and the MEDUSAE PROJECT reflect the point of transition between the areas of science and art.
Related interesting websites:
Valentia Island http://indigo.ie/~cguiney/
Medusae http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/
Science-Art partnership http://www.sciart.org/site/
Natural History Museum, Dublin www.museum.ie/naturalhistory |
