Heritage Week

Heritage is as much about where we’re going as where we’ve come from. So why not spend Heritage Week getting in touch with our past – and having fun in the process?

It’s all around us, yet you can’t quite put your finger on it. It’s the subject of a million conversations, yet something you couldn’t possibly sum it up in a sentence.

It’s heritage. And when it’s Irish heritage we’re talking about, it’s great fun. That’s why Heritage Week (August 21-2920-28), which is coordinated by The Heritage Council is such a fab way to get back in touch with Ireland’s history, landscape, folklore, archaeological sites, arts and language. With over 1,3000 fun, engaging and free activities around the country – ranging from treasure hunts to traditional crafts, heritage walks to historic re-enactments – Heritage Week has something to tempt everyone.

You could even create some new family folklore into the bargain...

Why not sign up for demonstrations of some of our traditional crafts such as stone-cutting or stained glass-making in Kilkennya Bio Blitz at Belvedere House in Mullingar? Or a ‘Body & Landscape’ dance workshop in the BurrenTeddy Bear’s picnic for all the family in Connemara National Park? You could dance at the crossroads at Laharn Cross, Co. Cork, or join a Sean Nós workshop at Ballycroy, Co. Mayobrush up on your investigative skills by taking part in an Archaeological Dig, open to all the family at the Kerry County Museum in Tralee. Or wWhat about experiencing golden moments at the Guinness Storehousea traditional Irish ‘seisiύn’ in the outdoors (weather permitting of course!) in the wonderful setting of the National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin, or attending a glass-making demonstration at Jerpoint in Co. Kilkenny?experiencing what life was like for our Lightkeepers at Loop Head Lighthouse in Co Clare or Galley Head Lighthouse in Clonakilty, Co Cork.

The Boyne Valley area of Counties Louth and Meath offers one of Ireland’s richest historical landscapes in a compact and superbly-accessible area, making it ideal for getting back in touch with some fantastic gems of Irish heritage. For example there’s a free Mystery Tour of the Hill of Tara planned, full of story-telling, folklore and legends of this ancient site.

Or what about the style and flamboyance of Ireland’s Big Houses, which tell the story not only of the aristocrats who built and lived in them, but also of the local people who worked on their vast estates, or in the local town which was often sustained by these historic piles. Nowhere is this clearer than in Belvedere House, Gardens and Park in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, where during Heritage Week, you can be treated to a special telling of the Tale of the Wicked Earl who lived in the property and who imprisoned his young wife for 31 years for an alleged infidelity.

Heritage Week 20110 is shaping up to be one of the biggest and best yet. With Irish people more interested than ever in where they come from, in the DNA of their family and their country and the stories of how times past have shaped their lives and the society in which they live, it’s the perfect excuse to reconnect. They are suitable for all ages, interests and abilities and many of these events are completely free of charge!

For more information, check out www.heritageweek.ie or discoverireland.ie/whatson