Looking out for an Old Friend

Reaching back into the nineteenth century, the study of earthworms has a long and interesting history in Ireland. The early developments were largely through the work of the naturalist Reverend Hilderic Friend (1852–1940). Born in Kent, England, he made numerous trips to Ireland. As a contemporary of Praeger and Southern, both famous naturalists, he has contributed invaluably to the natural history of the island. A group of earthworm researchers decided to follow in the footsteps of the Rev. H. Friend, by re-visiting his source of specimens and tracing the story of the aptly-named earthworm Lumbricus friendi.