Press

THERE WAS standing room only at the Wexford Co. Council, specially erected conference room during the recent Wexford Chamber Business Expo as the keynote speaker delivered his address.

Wexford ex-pat Walter O'Brien has been everywhere for the past year after his story was turned into a TV series. The genius, who has the fourth highest IQ ever measured, joined those at the Expo by video link and delivered an intriguing lecture on how the future is shaping up.

The tech genius was credited with helping to catch the Boston bombers in 2013 by writing an algorithm that tracked motion on all the cameras within a two-mile radius of the blast. He had, from a young age, displayed a talent for computers, hacking into NASA at the age of just 13.

Speaking over a Skype connection, Mr. O'Brien, who was a few minutes late, remarked that ironically, he had had some technical problems. Indeed, it was a something which reared its head again later in the talk when, as if by design, when asked what he could do to help Wexford, the connection collapsed!

The Wexford native went on to stress the importance of internet bandwidth and connections.

O'Brien spoke to the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton students and also some of their family members, as it was "Generations Day" when grandparents and other relatives visit the school. O'Brien's talk was followed by a question-and-answer session.

[Full story and coverage of Wexford Business Expo in this week's Echo]