DONAL HICKEY: Lime is making a comeback

IN TOUGH times for farmers, lime is currently being promoted as the cheapest fertiliser available.

And, in another example of old ways providing solutions to modern problems, builders are also being urged to return to this natural resource.

Lime has been used in Ireland since the pre-Christian era, with kilns used for burning limestone in yesteryear still scattered around the countryside. We saw the real thing happening with alternative layers of limestone and fuel in an old kiln about a decade ago.