Heritage Week 2020 carries on despite Covid-19 restrictions
Digital heritage trails, short films and online exhibitions - Heritage Week 2020 is in full swing, despite Covid-19.
Last month, The Heritage Council announced plans to adapt the event by focusing on smaller local projects instead of large public events.
In West Cork, Ireland's first female botanist - Ellen Hutchins - is being celebrated with a virtual trail that follows her life through Ballylickey, Glengarriff Nature Reserve and the Caha Mountains, to name a few. The trail can be completed in person or on their website, where pictures, maps and an audio guide are provided.
In keeping with this year's theme "Heritage and Education: Learning from our Heritage", A Smashing Times Theatre and Film Company have produced two short films that focus on courageous Irish women in history.
With the backdrop of Dublin and Rathfarnham Castles, the films feature chats, stories and performances by artists and historians inspired by powerful women during Ireland's formative years, 1916 to 1923. Both films are available until August 23rd.
The heritage of Bere Island, off the coast of Bantry Bay, is being commemorated with three projects.
The history of spirituality on the island is being remembered by Helen Reddell, seventy years after the Holy Year Cross was erected. Meanwhile, Bere Island's Viking history can be discovered through a walk or run on the Rerrin Loop of the Beara Way. And finally, you can get a special insight into the island's World War One links with a photography project, focusing on the Lonehort Battery, which is currently closed due to Covid-19.
A number of tours and events are still running across the country with a limited number of participants. A full county-by-county breakdown of events are available on heritageweek.ie.
