Fergus J. O'Rourke was an Irish scientist whose publications included contributions to myrmecology

Myrmecology

Myrmecology is the scientific study of ants, a branch of entomology. Some early myrmecologists considered ant society as the ideal form of society and sought to find solutions to human problems by studying them. Ants continue to be a model of choice for the study of questions on the evolution of...

 and medical entomology

Medical entomology

The discipline of medical entomology, or public health entomology, and also veterinary entomology is focused upon insects and arthropods that impact human health. Veterinary entomology is included in this category, because many animal diseases can "jump species" and become a human health threat,...

. Educated at Belvedere College

Belvedere College

Belvedere College SJ is a private secondary school for boys located on Great Denmark Street, Dublin, Ireland. It is also known as St. Francis Xavier's College....

, and subsequently at University College Dublin

University College Dublin

University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...

, he graduated from University College Dublin both as a medical doctor and with a Masters in Science. He subsequently earned a PhD in Zoology.
O'Rourke's 1948's survey of Irish ants built on the earlier work of Stelfox

Arthur Wilson Stelfox

Arthur Wilson Stelfox was an Irish architect and naturalist. He wrote many papers on Botany, Malacology and entomology.Arthur Wilson Stelfox was born in Belfast. He is best known for his work on Hymenoptera, on vertebrate bones from caves and on non-marine Mollusca especially the genus Pisidium....

 and provided an authoritative description of Irish ants. O'Rourke (1956) provided an early consideration of the importance of ants as disease vectors. He was appointed Professor of Zoology at University College Cork and was elected a Member of the Royal Irish Academy

Royal Irish Academy

The Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...

 and Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society of London

Royal Entomological Society of London

The Royal Entomological Society of London is devoted to insect study. It has a major national and international role in disseminating information about insects and improving communication between entomologists....

.

Publications

• Corridan, J. P., F. J. O'Rourke and M. Verling (1969). 'Trichinella spiralis in the Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) in Ireland', Nature, 222, p. 1191.
• Griffiths, R. B. and F. J. O'Rourke (1950). 'Observations on the Lesions Caused by Cnemidocoptes mutans and their Treatment, with Special Reference to the Use of 'Gammexane, Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, 44, pp. 93–100.
• Haen, P. J. and F. J. O'Rourke (1968). 'Proteins and Haemoglobins of Salmon-Trout Hybrids', Nature, 217, pp. 65–67.
• Keenan, E., E. MacWhite
  Eoin MacWhite
  Eoin MacWhite was an Irish diplomat, archaeologist and scholar. He was born in Geneva where his father, Michael MacWhite, was sent as a representative of Dáil Éireann to the League of Nations. He attended University College Dublin from 1940, ultimately earning a PhD in Archaeology...
  
  and F. J. O'Rourke (1944). 'An extended burial at Fassaroe, Co. Wicklow. ' Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, p. 146–54.
• O’Rourke, F.J. (1970a) The Fauna of Ireland. Cork: Mercier
• O'Rourke, F. J. (1970b). 'Rheotanytarsus Bause (Diptera: Chironomidae), A Genus Not Previously Recorded From Ireland, with Notes on the Question of the Species Occurring in Great Britain and Ireland', Entomologist's Gazette, 21, pp. 285–288.
• O'Rourke, F. J. (1968). 'A New Host for the Metacercaria of the Fluke Bucephalopsis Gracilescens (Rudolph)', Irish Naturalists' Journal, 16.
• O'Rourke, F. J. (1961). 'Presence of Blood Antigens in Fish Mucus and its Possible Parasitological Significance', Nature, 189, p. 943.
• O'Rourke, F. J. (1960a). 'Zoonoses: The Diseases of Animals Transmissible to Man', Irish Journal of Medical Science, pp. 443–452.
• O'Rourke, F. J. (1960b). 'The Future of Insect Control: Biological or Chemical', The Journal of the Institute of Chemistry of Ireland, 5, pp. 28–41.
• O'Rourke, F. J. (1956). 'The medical and veterinary importance of the formicidae', Insectes Sociaux, 3, pp. 107–118.
• O'Rourke, F. J. (1952). 'A preliminary ecological classification of ant communities in Ireland', Entomologist's Gazette, 3, pp. 69–72.
• O'Rourke, F. J. (1955). 'Arthropods and human health ', Irish Journal of Medical Science, 30, pp. 78–82.
• O'Rourke, F. J. (1950). 'Myrmecological notes from Narvik, northern Norway', Norsk Entomologisk Tidsskrift, 8, pp. 47–50.
• O'Rourke, F. J. (1948). 'The Distribution and General Ecology of the Irish Formicidae', Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. Section B: Biological, Geological, and Chemical Science, 52, pp. 383–410.
• O'Rourke, F. J. (1945a). 'A Further Extension of the Range of Myrmica Schenki, Emery', Entomologist's Record, VII, pp. 85–86.
• O'Rourke, F. J. (1945b). 'A kitchen-midden at Dog's Bay, Roundstone, Co. Galway (note)', Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 75, p. 115–8