Conference to discuss traditional currach role

THE role of the traditional currach along the Irish coastline will be discussed at a conference in Ennis next week.

“Boats, Place, People” will feature presentations from maritime experts, including writer and broadcaster Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh, TG4 presenter Pádraig Ó Duinnín and Richard Collins of the West Clare Currach Club.

The conference will take place on December 6. It is organised by the Clare Heritage Section of Clare County Council, in association with the Heritage Council. It will commence with a presentation on the findings of the country’s inaugural Traditional Boats and Currachs study.

The completion of the study arrives during a period witnessing an ever increasing interest in the traditional currachs and boats of Co Clare and across the country.

The study was undertaken by Darina Tully, an expert in the area of maritime collections, under the direction of the Clare Heritage Section and the Heritage Council.

The pioneering project involved an audit and inventory of traditional boats and currachs in Co Clare, and the establishment of a priority list for their future conservation. The study also examined the local variations in traditional boat and currach building, associated customs, and usage and typology.

A spokesman for the conference organisers said: “The boat remains a conduit for understanding far reaching cultural meanings, customs and traditions. Their preservation should be associated with the safeguarding of the communities that used them.

“It is hoped that this study will contribute in some way to the renewed interest in our enduring maritime tradition.”

Mr Collins, also a member of the Clare Traditional Currachs and Boats Steering Group, said interaction with boats has been both a necessary and fundamental part of Clare life.