John C. McConnell FRAS, who was born in 1946, comes from Maghaberry, Northern Ireland, and is well known among both professional and amateur astronomers, takes a particular interest in observational astronomy and astrophotography, and also in the history of Irish astronomy, where he has amassed a vast collection of material.
The mirror, and some of the initial mounts came from the 36 inch reflector originally mounted in Andrew Ainslie Common's back yard Ealing observatory, who had used it from 1879 to 1886 to prove the concept of long exposure astrophotography (recording object too faint to be seen by the naked eye for the first time).