THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COIN

Issue 9 SPRING 2019

Also in this issue...NEWGRANGE: A NEOLITHIC RITUAL LANDSCAPE REVEALED

COUNT DRACULA& CASTLETOWNHOUSE

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COIN

2 www.heritageireland.ie

Contents

6

31

34 The Golden Locket, The Hidden Grave &The Forgotten Soldier

36 OPW Celebrated 50 years of JFK Arboretum & Memorial Park in 2018.

38 JFK Arboretum and Memorial Park Official Opening of new Interpretative Exhibition

40 Count Dracula, his female victims and Castletown House

42 Drumlane Abbey & Round Tower47 Dún Aonghasa: Nature Amongst the Walls50 Lighting the Column in the Phoenix Park52 Roscrea Loyalty SchemeEVENTS GUIDE / EXHIBITIONS

45 ‘From Prison to Citizenship: Mary Bourke-Dowling, Suffragette and Republican: Exhibition at Kilmainham Gaol

54 ‘Crossing the Salt’ by Gabhann Dunne55 ‘Gift of a Lifetime’ Chester Beatty Collection56 ‘In Precious Metal’ Rudolf Heltzel Exhibiton56 ‘Seanachaí’ Storytelling Sessions at Farmleigh57 Irish Heritage Sites Greening for St. Patrick’s Day

FEATURES3 Welcome4 Contributors5 Night: The Other Side of the

Environmental Coin8 Newgrange: A Neolithic ritual landscape

revealed17 Gone But Not Forgotten20 Discover Maths in an Eighteenth-

Century House21 Behind the Scenes at Newgrange

at the Winter Solstice24 OPW’s Phoenix Park Wins Prestigious Gold

International Large Parks Award25 Irish Sign Language Tours at Heritage Sites26 Knowth Exhibition - Take a peek28 The Ardamullivan Wall Paintings

and Architecture at the Edge30 ‘Banished’ RIAC performance at Kilmainham31 Clonmacnoise & Ennis Friary participate in

Ringing Bells for Peace32 The Rock of Cashel and St.

Bernard’s Catholic Church, Wisconsin

inthis

issue...

Hello to all our Heritage Ireland ezine readersand welcome to our Spring 2019 edition.It’s a busy time in the OPW’s Heritage Services as we lift thedust covers and prepare our sites to start welcoming visitors.

We will have many new delights and surprises for visitors inthe coming season. Our Minister of State, Mr. Kevin BoxerMoran TD, recently announced an investment with ourstrategic partners, Fáilte Ireland and the Department ofCulture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, of €5million at Brú naBóinne. This includes a wonderful new facility which willopen at Knowth in April, celebrating the megalithic art at thesite. This stunning state of the art exhibition will explore howthe art was produced as well as its significance and you cancatch a sneak preview just a few pages further on.Newgrange itself will benefit from improved interpretationand Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre will also get a facelift andwill be ready to show off its new splendour later in thesummer. There will be some little disruption for visitorswhile the works are ongoing but we ask for your patience andpromise you that it will be worth it. We are sure you willagree that the fabulous monuments that comprise thisUNESCO World Heritage site deserve the very best in termsof interpretation and visitor facilities.

As well as all of the new developments to look forward tothere are some recent ones you might have missed so whynot savour tea at Portumna Castle in the stunning tearoomin the recently restored 17th Century Courtyard buildings orimagine you’re a Tudor at Ormond Castle, the best exampleof an Elizabethan Manor House in Ireland which looksabsolutely magnificent following extensive works.

We continue to strive to make it easier for people withparticular challenges to come and visit. Last year MinisterMoran introduced an initiative to admit people withdisabilities and their carers for free to all paid admission sites.We were delighted to be able to offer this concession andhope that many people will avail of it in the coming season.In tandem with this we offer a series of Irish Sign Languageinterpreted tours across a number of our sites. In the pastthese have been mostly confined to the Greater Dublin areabut this year we are delighted to include the Rock of Casheland Charles Fort in Kinsale.

We must mention and give thanks to the very talented guidestaff who welcome visitors to our heritage sites and the highlyskilled works staff who ensure our sites are maintained to thevery highest standards. We are very proud of the dedicationand skills of our workforce.

In conclusion, we hope that all our readers enjoy this smalltaste of what we have to offer right around the country. We’dlove to see you at some of our wonderful properties and weencourage you to come and visit us; wherever you are, youcan be sure that there’s a Heritage site not too far away.Check out our website at www.heritageireland.ie and we’llsee you there!

Maurice BuckleyChairmanOPW

Newgrange, Co. Meath© Fáilte Ireland/Tourism Ireland

Welcome

JohnMcMahon

CommissionerOPW Heritage

Services

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Heritage Ireland Ezine

BLIAIN AMHÁIN - ONE YEAR

Leis an gcárta seo, beidh cead isteach gan teorainn ag ansealbhóir chuig gach Láithreán Oidhreachta atá sa bhróisiúrLáithreáin Oidhreachta na hÉireann ar feadh aon bhlianaamháin (seachas Feirmeacha Traidisiúnta Mhucrois).Tá an cárta seo neamh-inaistrithe agus ní fhéadfaidhach an sínitheoir leas a bhaint as.Ní bheidh aon dliteanas ar Oifig na nOibreacha Poiblí ná aran Stát as díobháil, gortú nó caillteanas ar bith a tharlaíonndon duine nó do shealúchas daoine a thugann cuairt ar naláithreáin seo, beag beann ar an gcaoi ar tharla sé.

This card gives the holder unlimited admission to all Heritage Sites listed in the brochure Heritage Sites of Ireland for one year (with the exception of Muckross Traditional Farms).This card is non-transferable and may only beused by the signatory.No liability shall attach itself to the Office of PublicWorks or the State for any damage, injury or loss to the person or property of visitors to these siteshowsoever caused.

PHOTO

: COURTESY O

F THE DEPARTMEN

T OF ARTS, HERITAGE AN

D THE GAELTACHT

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SEANÓIR - SENIOR CITIZEN

Please visit our Heritage Ireland website at www.heritageireland.ie

Editor: Noreen Finnegan.

Editorial Team: Michael Loughran, Brian O'Brien.

Layout & Design: Sinead Mallee.

ContributorsPAUL O’ BRIEN MA, a militaryhistorian and author, works forthe Office of Public Works andis currently based at the RoyalHospital, Kilmainham.

The author of fifteen books, hehas written extensively on the1916 Rising, the British Army inIreland and a number of localhistories.

He lives in Santry, Dublin withhis wife, daughter and twocats. Stay up to date with theauthor at: paulobrienauthor.ie

PAULINE KENNEDY, Supervisor,manages the guiding service,visitor experience, educationand outreach at bothCastletown House in Celbridgeas well as at Casino Marino inDublin.

CATHERINE BERGIN is a guideat Castletown House (picturedhere in costume). Catherine isan historian andarchaeologist, qualifying withher PhD in history fromMaynooth University.

KEN WILLIAMS is aphotographer and researcherfrom Drogheda in the BoyneValley, specialising in theprehistoric art and monumentsof Western Europe

JIM MULLIGAN is a seasonalguide at the Rock of Cashel,Co. Tipperary.

RÓNAN MAC GIOLLAPHÁRAICis a native of Inis Mór. Rónanholds a BA in Archaeologyand Geography from NUIGand has worked at DúnAonghasa for a number ofyears and as head guide since 2018.

AOIFE TORPEY holds a degree in History andEnglish Literature from Trinity College Dublin,and has recently completed an MA inMuseum Studies with the University of Leicester.She has worked in Kilmainham Gaol Museumsince 2015, where she looks after theMuseum’s wonderful collection of historicalobjects.

BRIAN ESPEY is Associate Professor ofAstrophysics, School of Physics, Trinity CollegeDublin.

Brian has had a long interest in astronomy thateventually led to his current position asAssociate Professor in Astrophysics in theSchool of Physics, Trinity College Dublin. Afterreceiving a degree in Experimental Physicsfrom TCD, he went on to undertake a PhD atCambridge studying active galactic nuclei

(quasars). He went to the United States in 1990 to work on aHubble Space Telescope project, and also worked on the highlysuccessful Astro-2 Space Shuttle Astronomy mission in 1995. His nextjob was as Assistant Astronomer working with the Hubble SpaceTelescope for the European Space Agency at the SpaceTelescope Science Institute in Baltimore, MD. Subsequent to this,Brian returned to Trinity as the first member of the astrophysicsgroup and developed the popular astrophysics course.

He is active in the Irish astronomical community and in publicoutreach. Recently his interests have focussed on projects relatingto the quantification of light waste and protection of our night skyheritage. Email: [email protected]

The Heritage Card provides forfree admission to all fee-payingState managed OPW HeritageSites located throughout thecountry for one year from thedate of first use

Explore Ireland’s Heritage Sites

THE OTHER SIDE OF THEENVIRONMENTAL COIN

Text by Professor Brian Espey, School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin

As part of my job I have had the good fortune to observe near-pristine night skiesaround the world and I never cease to be impressed by how well adapted our eyes

are to function at levels most people would regard as inky black. When properly darkadapted we can see hints of colour in the sky from recombining atoms at the edge ofspace, or the faint glow from dust left over from collisions in the early solar system. Itis also surprising each time I notice the shadows cast by starlight or the glory of theMilky Way or a bright meteor streaking across the sky. The experience of true nightfocuses one simultaneously on our smallness interms of the wider universe, butalso increases the sense ofself and our embeddingin the myriads ofstars overhead.


On the other hand, in our towns and cities we inoculateourselves from our environment through building acocoon of light that makes us feel secure; this is such adeep-rooted feeling that we illuminate our buildings andstructures as a proxy for security even when no-one isthere. We see the night sky in much the same way that weused to look on “undeveloped” land – areas of littlemonetary value such as bog, moorland, coastal areas andmountain tops, though we have come to realise that theyhave a more lasting value as refuges for plants and wildlifeas well as for ourselves to escape the high pressure lifemost of us have built for ourselves. Currently less than 5%of the land area of the Republic is close to having pristinenocturnal skies, with roughly 6,000 individual starsvisible, and fully 18% of our population never gets to befully dark adapted in their normal night environment andonly sees a paltry 150 of the brightest stars, and hencenever witness the effect of a truly natural night.

I was struck by Clare Tuffy’s comments in a recentarticle in Archaeology Ireland regarding people’sexperience of sunrises at Newgrange and Loughcrew.One of the most striking results of being in an ancientdark space at such a time is that the experience generates adeep feeling and reflection and supporting EdmundBurke’s contention “darkness is more productive ofsublime ideas than light.” This connection with the nightwas shown in an Irish Times Citizen Science surveyundertaken by 700 people over the past year and one ofthe striking results was the large number of respondents(80%) who have either attended, or plan on attending, anight-time event. Such events could cover a range ofactivities such as night walks/runs, paddling, or story-telling, as well as viewing of the night sky and bringpeople – particularly young people – in contact with the

Above: The eclipsed Moon seen over Newgrange on the night of 20-21January 2019. Images by Ken Williams.

Left : Knowth kerbstones

night-time environment. Such activities are alreadyunderway, particularly during the Mayo Dark Sky Festival(to be held over 1st–3rd November this year), and theimpact – especially on overcast nights when it can be evendarker – on folk who normally do not go out at night isimpressive. Additionally, the event brings in people fromfurther afield, leading to over 350 bed-nights and much-needed off-season income to the local community.

In the US, the National Park Service uses the motto:“Half the Park is after dark” as a way of reminding peoplethat the night-time environment is as important as thedaytime one, and UNESCO has two initiatives aimed atpreserving night-time environment: the Astronomy andWorld Heritage Thematic Initiative for astronomy-relatedsites such as Newgrange , and the BiosphereSmart Initiativefor Dark Sky locations such as our pristine Gold Tier sitesof Kerry Dark Sky Reserve (which includes the SkelligsWorld Heritage site) and Mayo Dark Sky Park. FrankPrendergast has argued for the importance of the sky inprehistory, linking the underworld with the heavens above.In this context, preservation of our ancient monumentsrequires protecting the night-time environment as much asthe immediate surroundings. Imagine the feeling you would

get when viewing the Milky Way as our ancestors musthave done over Newgrange or Knowth, or from a hut inthe Céide Fields as the surf strikes the cliff nearby, or themajesty of a timeless moonrise over one of our otherheritage sites such as Glendalough. The awe induced bythese visceral experiences provide a way to connectpeople intimately with their past and to reflect on theconnection of these experiences totheir own lives. There is a plan toinclude the sky-aligned BeaghmoreStone Circles in County Tyrone in adark sky area and, hopefully, other sitesaround the country could also followsuit.

However we should also considernot only direct protection of darkspaces, but our responsibility to theenvironment more generally,particularly with regards to public lighting including ofpublic structures and monuments. Aside from the effect oflighting on its immediate environs, light can propagate farinto the surrounding countryside, leading to deleteriousimpacts tens of kilometres away. Measurements show thatpublic lighting accounts for the majority of the lightemitted, and façade and architectural lighting of bridgesetc can generate light out of proportion to the amount ofenergy used - in Dublin, for example, the lighting of publicbuildings alone accounts for roughly 4% of all the lightemitted to space from the inner city. Light has great

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benefits for modern life, but it should be used responsiblyand limited to intensities, locations, and times wherereally necessary.

While the introduction of better shielded LEDtechnology can lead to improvements in respect of bothenergy use and light spill, the main energy savings willaccrue from reduced light levels or times. Consider that

the prevalent blue-rich light is installed tothe same visible light level (lumens) as olderlights, but produces more light in the bluepart of spectrum to which our night visionis sensitive: we can therefore achievesimilar levels of visibility with reducedlight and energy use. We should look anewat how we are using light as it becomesincreasingly apparent that higher levels oflight- particularly blue-rich light - can havedeleterious effects on sleep and health. To

put it in another topical context: if we could producemore plastic more cheaply, should we do it?

To close I can only quote David Attenborough: “No onewill protect what they don't care about; and no one willcare about what they have never experienced.” We shouldconsider protection of the night-time sky as a natural partof our culture and heritage and as part of the educationalexperience for the general public. If we are more sensitiveto night-time light we will not only save energy and helpachieve our climate change targets, but we could open upa new approach to tourism.

“No one will protectwhat they don't careabout; and no one will care about whatthey have neverexperienced.”

Knowth timber circle imaged by Ken Williams


Tom Condit and Mark Keegan provide a summary of the principal sites that were identified onthe Newgrange floodplain during the drought conditions in summer 2018. Tom and Mark are

archaeologists with the National Monuments Service, Department of Culture, Heritage and theGaeltacht and authors of Aerial investigation and mapping of the Newgrange landscape,

Brú na Bóinne, Co. Meath. (https://www.archaeology.ie)

A Neolithic ritual landscape revealed

AERIAL SURVEY AT NEWGRANGE, SUMMER 2018

The Newgrange floodplain, showing the moisture-starvedfields, viewed from the south-west.

View of the floodplain from the Great PassageTomb at Newgrange, looking south.


Introduction

Looking south from the ridge atNewgrange Passage Tomb one can seethe structure of the floodplain below,with its alluvial terraces forming stepsleading down to the River Boyne,which here forms a large U-shapedbend defining the area we know todayas Brú na Bóinne.

During the excavations at Newgrangebetween 1962 and 1975 Professor M.J.O’Kelly and Claire O’Kelly inspectedsites and locations across thefloodplain. Their map of the ‘BoyneValley passage grave cemetery’indicated a number of sites, includingmounds, henges and standing stones,within the townland of Newgrange.

Today some of the sites that surviveabove ground level are more obviousthan others. Two large mounds, Site Aand Site B, impressive in their ownright, are considered likely to coverpassage tombs. Site A was known to beenclosed by an earthen bank. Close tothe river is Site P, a large henge whichwas classified as an earthen embankedenclosure by Professor Seán P. ÓRíordáin when it was first identifiedfrom the air by the Irish Army AirCorps in the 1950s.

Our knowledge of the monuments onthe floodplain has been furtherenhanced by geophysical and LiDARsurveys conducted by Dr Steven Davisand Kevin Barton, Joe Fenwick andJoanna Leigh, which led to theidentification of low-relief enclosuresand subsurface evidence for other largeenclosures and structures.

Our understanding of the extent andnature of the ritual landscape atNewgrange was to change significantlyin July 2018, when aerial archaeologicalreconnaissance was carried out overthe floodplain and across the Brú naBóinne World Heritage Site. The near-drought conditions across the countryproduced differential crop growth,highlighting the existence of previouslyunknown sites and adding significant

information about sites that werealready in the archaeological record.

The National Monuments Servicereconnaissance was prompted by thediscovery in July of a large, complexhenge monument manifesting itself as aseries of cropmarks in a wheat field justsouth of Newgrange Farm. Thisspectacular discovery was made byAnthony Murphy and Ken Williamsusing drone technology, and its uniquepattern attracted the attention of thepublic and media across the world.

The results of the aerial survey arestill being assessed, but even at thisstage there is ample evidence that thefloodplain lay at the centre of a majorcult centre in the Neolithic, with anarray of monuments indicatingfunerary and ceremonial practicesassociated with the Great PassageTomb and the ridge on which it islocated. One of the unusual phenomenahighlighted by the aerial evidence is apreponderance of pits and timberstructures evidenced by post-holes,revealing sites and enclosures with ahigh degree of detail.

Described below is a selection of the

principal sites that we have identified,interpreted and mapped. These includefeatures that were previously unknownin the Irish archaeological record anddisplay a sophisticated layout anddesign.

Henges

The predominant site type on thefloodplain is the henge. ‘Henge’, a wordderived from Stonehenge, is the nameapplied to large, circular enclosuresconsidered to have been used forgatherings and ceremonies in the laterpart of the Neolithic period (c. 3000–2500 BC). The results of the NMSaerial survey and new identificationsindicate that there are eight hengesforming two distinct complexes, onelocated to the west close to the northbank of the river and the other to theeast on the lowest alluvial terrace. Interms of studies of the Neolithic, anyone of these sites would be importantin its own right. Together they poseintriguing questions in terms ofunderstanding the nature of such sitesand their design and layout in relationto each other.

FEATURE NEWGRANGE FLOODPLAIN

GIS surface model showing the arrangement of monuments on the floodplain.(Above image © DCHG; base image © Bluesky International Ltd; Bluesky International Ltd; LiDAR providedby The Discovery Programme © Meath County Council/The Heritage Council from https://dcenr.maps.arcgis.com /reused under CC BY 4.0.)


The western hengecomplex

On the west of the floodplain adistinct group is formed by Site P,the Geometric Henge, theUnivallate Henge and a potentialfourth site that we have namedthe Hidden Henge. The alignmentof three of these henges in asouth-easterly direction appearsto be related to the southern edgeof a large palaeochannel thattraverses the Newgrangefloodplain.

NEWGRANGE: A Neolithic ritual landscape revealed...

Above: GIS surface model showing arrangement of monuments on the floodplain, viewed from south-east.(Above image © DCHG; base image © Bluesky International Ltd; LiDAR provided by The Discovery Programme © Meath County Council/The HeritageCouncil from https://dcenr.maps.arcgis.com /reused under CC BY 4.0.)

Site P with principal features annotated, viewed from south-west.


of the layout of its enclosing elements.This henge, nicknamed ‘Dronehenge’by Murphy and Williams, comprisedthree elements: an outer ring of post-holes, a middle ring of post-holes andan inner enclosure defined by doublesegmented ditches. All three elementsappear to be concentric, suggestingcontemporaneity, and are most likelythe product of a single architecturalconcept.

Along the eastern perimeter there isan outer extension to the enclosingelements—an annexe—evidenced by aseries of ditch segments arcingoutwards from the perimeter of theinner circle. This annexe appears toincorporate features that are likely toform an entrance leading to the interiorof the henge.

A rectangular structure can be clearlyseen on the west-north-westernperimeter of the double-segmented-ditched enclosure, occupying most ofthe space between the enclosure andthe two rings of timber posts. Therectangular structure measures 22m x16m externally (18m x 11m internally).On close inspection the cropmarksappear to reflect subsurface ditcheswith irregular edges, suggesting a seriesof large timber posts set into oblongtrenches.

The Univallate Henge

Another henge defined by a broadbank with an internal segmented ditchbecame apparent. This site had beenlocated previously by Steve Davis andKevin Barton as a result of LiDARimagery and geophysical survey. Theaerial photographs showed thecomplete enclosure, c. 128m indiameter, with a central mound and anunusual configuration of timber postsat its centre. Furthermore, at the north-west perimeter an oblong enclosure canbe clearly seen.

.

High-contrast image of the Geometric Henge, looking south-east.

View across the Newgrange floodplain from thewest, showing the alignment of the henges(right). The dark linear band indicates differentialcrop growth over a major palaeochannel, withinwhich there is an extant pond likely to have beenof ritual significance in the Neolithic.

Site P

Site P, first identified in the early1950s, is of the earthen embankedenclosure variety. The bank of suchsites appears to have been constructedfrom material excavated from theinterior of the site, leaving a broad,dished interior. The drought conditionshighlighted the ‘bare bones’ of this site,exposing clearly an inner ditch, asmaller outer bank and a projection orannexe on the south-east.

Geometric Henge

Nearby to the north-west is the sitethat we have called the GeometricHenge on account of the radial patterns


The Hidden Henge

There is also evidence of a moresubtle nature for the existence ofanother henge between the GeometricHenge and the Univallate Henge. Theenclosure of this ‘Hidden Henge’, c. 98macross, appears to be contiguous withthe outer edge of the bank that formsthe Univallate Henge to the north-westand would be contiguous with theouter timber circle of the GeometricHenge to the east.

This enclosure has some of thefeatures of the Geometric Henge. At thewest-north-west the circular enclosingelement appears to be aligned on arectangular feature that may be thefragmentary remains of a structuresimilar to that on the westernperimeter of the Geometric Henge.

Site B henge complex

Site B is a large mound close to theBoyne on the east of the floodplain, onthe lowest alluvial terrace. Close to themound in grassland, three enclosuresshowed up clearly on the aerialphotographs. These henges form adistinctive group and their designseems to contrast with the henge groupon the west. Two large hengemonuments, subcircular in plan andsimilar in appearance on the aerialphotographs, can be seen.

The henge enclosures are defined bybroad banks, each with an externalditch. The southern perimeter of thelarger of the two henges (c. 160m indiameter) appears to run along theupper edge of the riverbank. Thesecond henge (c. 120m in diameter) isonly 12m from the perimeter of theRiverside Henge and appears to enclosea low mound at its centre.

The smallest henge in this group, c.40m in diameter, is located close to thestep of the next alluvial terrace. While itis significantly smaller than the hengeson the floodplain, there is evidence thatit comprises an outer bank with aninternal ditch in which there are largepost-holes.

The Four�Poster Enclosure

The Four-Poster Enclosure is locatedclose to the north-east corner of thefield, immediately to the south ofNewgrange Farm and c. 460m south-west of Newgrange Passage Tomb. It issited on level ground on one of theupper alluvial terraces overlookingsloping ground, the palaeochannel andthe pond to the south.

The Four-Poster Enclosure, so calledafter the four large post-holes locatedwithin it, manifested itself in greatdetail on the aerial photographs. Theenclosure is defined by two rings ofpalisades, 5.1–5.8m apart. The innerring defines a circular area c. 22m indiameter. The outer palisade is ellipticalin plan, measuring 32m north–southand 28m east–west.


GS plan showing the Univallate Henge (left), the Hidden Henge (centre) and the Geometric Henge (right).

(Below) High-contrast image of the hengecomplex near the mound known as Site B (topleft), showing as differential growth in grassland.


The lighter-toned cropmarks (negativecropmarks) between the two palisadedenclosures most likely indicate thepresence of a bank. An entrance, c. 3.2mwide, can clearly be seen on the east-south-eastern perimeter of theenclosure, providing access throughboth palisades. The cropmarks indicate astructural emphasis of the entrance, witha thickening of both palisades on eitherside of the gap. Outside the enclosureand on the same axis as the entrancethere are traces of two parallel lines ofpost-holes, most likely forming an‘avenue’ leading to the enclosure.

The architectural layout of the sitebears strong similarities to other suchknown sites that have been interpretedas Late Neolithic mortuary enclosureswhere excarnation rituals took place.A similar site was excavated close to theentrance of the Eastern Passage Tomb atKnowth, while another example wasexcavated near the Giant’s Ring atBallynahatty, Co. Down.

The Four-Poster mortuary enclosure islocated within a larger subcircularenclosure measuring 92m north–southand 95m east–west. This outer enclosurecomprises a closely set double palisademost likely constructed on a bank, whichshows up clearly on the aerialphotographs.

Oblong Enclosure

The enclosure is defined by a ‘capsule-shaped’ ditch, with two parallel ditchesforming the long axis and curvilinearditches forming terminals at either end(c. 62m long and c. 12m wide internally).The western terminal is morecurvilinear than the eastern terminal.The southern ditch appears to besegmented and three large pits arevisible within the interior. Immediatelyto the south of the enclosure are tracesof the Great Palisade, which appears tocurve around the eastern terminal andrun parallel to the southern portion ofthe enclosure.

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(Above) Tableau showing comparative sizes and designs of the Newgrange henges.Top row, L-R: The Univallate Henge, the Hidden Henge, the Geometric Henge, Site P.

Bottom row, L-R: Site A, the Riverside Henge, the Small Henge, the Small ‘Enclosure’.

(Above) View of Four-Poster Enclosure,showing double ring of post-holes, viewedfrom north-west. Curving line of outerenclosure comprising double palisade andbank is visible on left of image.

(Below) Bluesky International image showing Oblong Enclosure clearly. Note also curving ancientfield boundaries and how the Great Palisade curves around the south-east corner of the enclosure.


This cropmark enclosure, c. 440msouth-east of the Newgrange PassageTomb and c. 36m north of theperimeter of the Site A henge, is one ofthe exciting new additions to the Brúna Bóinne archaeological landscape.Its morphology is similar to sites thathave been recorded from the air inanalogous Neolithic landscapes inBritain. Such sites are interpreted aslong mortuary enclosures, used for theceremonial exposure of the dead onplatforms erected in the interior.

Great Rectangular

Palisade Enclosure

In 2015 geophysicist Joanna Leighcarried out a survey of the field to thesouth-west of the old Tourist BoardOffice at Newgrange on behalf of theOPW. The survey results identified arectangular structure, just over 70mlong, aligned east–west. GeraldineStout carried out exploratory testexcavations, uncovering some of thepits in the interior of the site. A sampleof carbonised material from acharcoal-rich deposit in the basallayers of the inner ditch was submittedfor radiocarbon analysis and yielded aLate Neolithic date of 2632–2472 cal.BC (95.4% probability).

The drought conditions have helpedto elucidate more features of the site,revealing that it is even moreimpressive than was first thought. Inspite of the site’s location in a fieldused for pasture, the NMS aerialsurvey has added significant additionaldetails. The outline of the structure,located c. 150m south-west of theNewgrange Passage Tomb, is definedby a parallel arrangement of large slot-trenches forming a continuousboundary. The footprint of the site canbe shown to be at least 190m long. Theevidence for its western terminal isobscured by modern farm buildings.

The eastern terminal is formed by aright-angled return. Here the interiorslot appears to comprise a row of pitson the interior of the structure ‘wall’.There is a further right-angled turn toform a portal through the east gable. Inthe interior, four rows of pits are laidout in a parallel arrangement. Theouter two consist of remarkably largepits running parallel to the interiorwall. The central axis of the enclosure ismarked by two parallel arrangementsof pits with a smaller diameter, forminga central aisle. These are aligneddirectly on the entrance portal, with thegeophysical evidence indicating thatthe pits may be virtually contiguouswith the east gable. Field inspectionindicates that the broad outline of theshape of the site can be determined on

the ground. The entire enclosure islocated on an oblong levelled area.

This site stands out as one of the mostremarkable features of the Newgrangeritual landscape. Its design and scale areunparalleled in the Irish archaeologicalrecord. The components of the site as itappears on the aerial photographs wouldsuggest upright timbers, laid out alongthe long axis of the structure in asymmetrical pattern.

As with the other newly identified sites(the palisades, mortuary enclosures andtimber settings), the scale of thisstructure is indicative of the massiveresources required to construct it andsuggests that, whatever its exactfunction, it could have accommodated alarge gathering.

Annotated image of the Great Rectangular Palisade Enclosure, indicating principal features.


High-contrastimage of the GreatRectangular Palisade Enclosure,showing thetraceable extent.


The Great Palisade

The Great Palisade comprises a triplepalisade arrangement. The complexityof its design raises questions about itsfunction or functions. Its positionrelative to the outer enclosure of theFour-Poster mortuary site wouldsuggest that it was constructed later.The section that shows up best is only asmall portion of what appears to be amassive construction that might havedivided separate ritual zones within thefloodplain. Large palisade enclosuresare known at other locations but noneappear to emulate the complexity andscale of this new example fromNewgrange.

It comprises two lines of closely setpost-holes, c. 2.5m apart. A band oflighter-coloured crop between themappears to indicate the presence of abank of earth. This is the innermost ofthe three palisades.

Outside this and parallel to it isanother line of closely set post-holesrunning continuously withoutinterruption. It appears clearly as asingle palisade line, maintaining aconsistent distance of c. 30m. Outsidethis again is evidence for yet anotherpalisade at a further distance of c. 15m.This outer line does not appear to be

continuous, as it arcs inwards onencountering the upper edges of thepalaeochannel.

The course of the triple palisade canbe traced for a distance of c. 900m. It islikely that it may have an irregularcurvilinear shape. It is tempting tothink that it may enclose theNewgrange Passage Tomb and theentire ridge.

Such palisade enclosures are knownfrom Neolithic complexes in Britain, asat Hindwell, Mount Pleasant and WestKennet, but the triple arrangement atNewgrange appears to be unique. The

planning and construction of such alarge, complex palisade feature musthave required massive resources.

Even with our currently limitedknowledge of the northern portion ofthe triple palisade it is clear that itwould have functioned as a significantdivision of the ritual landscape of theNewgrange floodplain. We can alreadysee that the large, discrete hengemonuments lie outside the triplepalisade feature, while othermonuments would have been containedwithin it.

.

View of the Great Palisadecurving around the outerpalisade enclosure of the Four-Poster Enclosure, viewed from the south.

Annotated image showing view of triple palisade, looking south-east.


NEWGRANGE: A Neolithic ritual landscape revealed....

Conclusion

The discoveries made by AnthonyMurphy and Ken Williams and theaerial surveys conducted by theNational Monuments Service haveprovided dramatic additions to therecord of the monuments on theNewgrange floodplain. Work iscontinuing on the analysis,interpretation and mapping of theaerial photographic record of thefloodplain, the World Heritage Siteand its environs.

The additional information onknown sites and the identification of‘new’ sites present us with a layout ofa ritual landscape that invites furtherdetailed analysis. The henges, forexample, occurring in two groups, areranged along the banks of the RiverBoyne, but equally they appear torelate closely to the course of aparticularly large palaeochannel onthe floodplain.

The delineation of the ritual landscape by the Great Palisade is likewise ofgreat significance. Whatever about its precise chronological relationship withthe henges, the apparent deliberate segregation of the Newgrange ridge andslopes is of immense interest.

Commenting on the results of the National Monuments Service survey andongoing works at the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre, Minister for Culture,Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan TD said:

‘These remarkable archaeological discoveries are a significant reinforcementof the UNESCO World Heritage inscription and will transform ourunderstanding of Brú na Bóinne. It is wonderful new knowledge for theOPW’s Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre, which is being redeveloped with thesupport of my Department and Fáilte Ireland, which will let us tell theancient story of this wonderful landscape to an international audience andhelp attract an increased number of tourists to the area, contributing to thelocal economy.

These discoveries will inspire much interest and will attract further researchand interpretation. My Department looks forward to working with thelandowners and academic institutes and researchers in the years ahead onensuring the secrets these sites still hold are revealed.’

Further details of the sites described above can be found on the Department ofCulture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht website:https://www.archaeology.ie/sites/default/files/files/bru-na-boinne-interim-report.pdf.

3D terrain model showing view from north-east of Newgrange Passage Tomb (bottom right), overlooking the monument complex on the floodplain below it.

(Above image © DCHG; base image © Bluesky International Ltd; LiDAR provided by The Discovery Programme © Meath County Council/

The Heritage Council from https://dcenr.maps.arcgis.com /reused under CC BY 4.0.)


NEWGRANGE: A Neolithic ritual landscape revealed....

Within the grounds of the Royal HospitalKilmainham there are three graveyards.

Adjacent to Bully’s Acre the oldest cemetery inDublin city are two military graveyards for thepensioners and staff that once resided within themajestic confines of the RHK.

It is said that every headstone tells a story and those thatare left here are no exception. Often broken and in disrepairthese weatherworn reminders represent an individual’s life,often lost but hopefully not forgotten. This is the story ofone such man, a headstone in a forgotten graveyard, acasualty of the Great War.

Charles Harold Blackburne was born on the 20th May1876. He was educated at Tonbridge School and it was herethat his interest in military life commenced. He wasdescribed as very much the dashing and handsome youngofficer. He was five foot and ten inches and a half in height.His weight was twelve stone. His hair was brown and he hadblue eyes.

South Africa provided Charles Blackburne withopportunity and fortune. This was far removed from hishome in England. Fuelled by the stories of militaryadventures in India and Africa he enlisted in the ImperialYeomanry. He joined the regiment on the 9th January 1900at Maidstone in Kent. He was 24 years old. He enlisted as aprivate and rapidly rose through the ranks to receive acommission of captain by late 1900.

Gone But NotForgottenText by Paul O’Brien

When the Boer War erupted on the 11th October 1899British crown forces found themselves involved in a new anddifficult type of warfare. Between 1900 and 1902 CaptainBlackburne was on active service with the 11th ImperialYeomanry. Life in South Africa was vastly different to thatof England. The open veldt and the excitement of the conflictwere to fuel the adventurous Blackburne and reveal a lifethat he had only dreamed of. He was mentioned indispatches in February 1901.

“Blackburne for the good work he hasdone throughout the campaign andespecially during the rapid march made bycolonel Firman in February 1901. He hastrained and turned in to a thoroughlyserviceable band of men a squadron of rawrecruits.” 1

Charles Harold

Blackburne


On August 30th Captain Blackburne and his troop werepatrolling the Elands river bridge crossing, an area that wasa constant hive of enemy activity. As his men entered thewater, a concealed group of Boer commandos opened fireon the patrol. The troops found themselves prevented fromcrossing the river by coils of barbed wire that had beenanchored to the bed of the river. Withdrawing to the bank,Captain Blackburne shouted the order to dismount and takecover. The patrol returned fire while bullets and shrapnelsprayed around them. The first volley of Mauser bullets hadclaimed two casualties who now lay wounded in the openunder heavy fire. Captain Blackburne assessed the situation,holstered his revolver and ordered his men to lay down acovering fire. He then crawled out to the wounded soldiersand with three of his men carried them to safety behindsome rocks.2 The Boer commandos retreated from theirconcealed position, and this enabled Captain Blackburne toreturn to camp.

For his service in the Boer War he was awarded the Kingsand Queens medal. However for his decisive action at Elandsriver crossing he was created a companion of theDistinguished Service Order. This military order wasestablished for rewarding individual instances ofmeritorious or distinguished service in times of war.

It was generally issued to officers in command above therank of Lieutenant Colonel. For ranks like CaptainBlackburnes they were made for heroic acts of gallantry justshort of deserving the Victoria Cross.

On December the 11th 1901 Captain Blackburne wasgranted home leave and is registered as being a passenger onthe ship ‘The Briton’ docking in Southampton on December27th.

He returned to South Africa to finish his army service andthen took up the position in the Transvaal repatriationdepartment where he pursued a career in civiladministration.

While stationed in the Transvaal he was to meet his futurewife. Here as manager of the Transvaal government stud hemet and fell in love with Miss Emily Beatrice, daughter ofthe Reverend Canon H.D Jones. They soon married and inthe years that followed they had two children, BeatriceAudrey born on the 24th June 1907 and Charles Bertramborn on the 11th September 1911. Africa had provided a newand adventurous life, crowned by domestic happiness. Thesun scorched earth of the Transvaal veldt is a long way fromthe shores of England. However it was on this continent ofAfrica that Charles Harold Blackburne was to settle andbegin raising his family.

As the storm clouds of war once again appeared on thehorizon, Charles Blackburnereturned to England and enlisted inthe British army. He was appointedCaptain of the 5th Dragoons (fromthe special reserve) on the 5th August1914.

It was not long afterwards thatCaptain Blackburne was postedoverseas and saw action in the Ypressector during 1915. This area wasunder continuous bombardmentfrom the German artillery. The linebecame untenable and CaptainBlackburne regrouped his men andre–occupied the vacant front linepositions. He achieved this underdevastating shellfire. CaptainBlackburne was wounded duringthis dash to hold the position butremained on duty rallying his troopsand urging them to stand fast. OnMay 14th they marched near thetown of Ypres and on May 15th

Captain Blackburne was admitted tohospital. For this heroic action he received the Brevet ofMajor on June 3rd 1915.3

After a period of rest and recuperation he was transferredto Dublin and took up a position on the headquarters staffin late 1915. Living in Dublin with his family was a hugechange from Africa. The war also seemed distant as life inDublin seemed to be endless paperwork and social outings.However this changed dramatically with the Rising of Easter1916. Captain Blackburne was stationed at the RoyalHospital Kilmainham. During this difficult and turbulentperiod he was once again noted for his ability andsteadfastness in combat. After the flames of Rebellion wereextinguished, he was promoted to the rank of BrigadierMajor on April 28th 1916 and then was appointed a General

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN FEATURE


staff officer 2nd grade. Two years later while still resident inIreland he was promoted to a grade 1 staff officer on April19th 1918.

On October 10th 1918 Charles Blackburne booked passagefrom Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) to Holyhead on theRoyal Mail Steamer ‘The SS Leinster’. Accompanying him onthe journey were his wife and two children. The R.M.SLeinsterwas built in 1897, one of a quartet of identical crosschannel steamers. These vessels had been named after thefour provinces of Ireland, Ulster, Munster, Leinster andConnaught. They had been built at the Cummel Lairdshipyards in Birkenhead in England. The Leinster’s tonnagehad been registered at 2646 tons. Because of wartime shehad been camouflaged and armed with one 12-pound gunand two signalling guns. As Captain Blackburne and hisfamily boarded the ship they noticed the large amount ofpassengers and crew many of which were soldiers returningfrom leave in Ireland. The ship was leaving port with a fullcomplement of 771 persons on board. As the ship sailed outto the Irish channel, the thoughts of U Boat activity werepresent in the minds of all on board. This stretch of waterwas notorious for submarine activity. The ship was 16 milesout to sea when a huge explosion shook the vessel.

The twenty-seven year old German commander of UB123Robert Ramm had sighted the ship. He had released threetorpedoes. The first had missed the target. The second hadstruck the port bow.

Smoke filled the cabins as flames shot through the air andacrid black smoke bellowed from below decks. Panic andconfusion filled the passengers and crew. Captain Birch ofthe Leinster tried to manoeuvre the ship in order to returnto port. It was then that the third torpedo struck the vesselin the area of the engine room. The final deathblow hadstruck the ship and it was now beyond saving. Thedevastation of the Leinster had taken place in under tenminutes. As the ship sank beneath the waves, 501 of its 771passengers and crew were lost. Among the casualties wereCaptain Blackburne and his two children. His wife survived.

Captain Charles Blackburne’s body was returned to theRoyal Hospital Kilmainham to be buried along with his son,Peter. On Monday 21st October 1918, the autumn sunshineglistened through the stained glass windows of the hospitalchapel. The service was conducted by his grace theArchbishop and very Reverend the Dean of St. Patrick’s. Thechapel echoed with the voices of the choirboys of St. Patrick’scathedral as they accompanied the music of Dr. Marchant.Blackburne’s widow stood dressed in black amidst a sea ofkhaki uniforms.

Their coffins were carried down the avenue and laid to restside by side in the officer’s cemetery of the Royal Hospital.His daughter though mentioned on the headstone, is notlisted at the burial service, her body lost at sea.

The inscription on the headstone reads as follows,To the glory of God and the belovedmemory of Lt. Col Charles BlackburneD.S.O, 5th Dragoon guards, born 20th May1876, and of Charles Bertram (Peter) hisson born 3rd September 1911 who are bothburied here. Also of Beatrice Audrey hisdaughter, born 24th June 1907. All of whomlost their lives in the sinking of H.M.SLeinster by a German submarine 10th

October 1918‘When thou passest through the waters Iwill be with thee’

The sinking of the Leinster took place 33 days before thearmistice with Germany was signed bringing an end to theGreat War.

The cold soil of Ireland is far removed from that of thewarm African plains. Captain Blackburne had answered hiscountry’s call and his family had followed him across theworld. Charles Blackburne was forty-two years old, his sonPeter seven and his daughter Beatrice eleven when they werekilled. It is said that as one faces peril the episodes of one’slife pass before one’s eyes. As Charles Blackburne slippedbeneath the waves perhaps the thoughts and memories of alife filled with adventure, love, romance and laughter passedbefore him.

Today, dedicated staff of the Office of Public Worksmaintain the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, it’s grounds andcemeteries and tours are ongoing throughout the year.

1 London Gazette, 29 July 19022 W.O 108/1613 W.O 95/1109

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN FEATURE


In September last, Castletown guides sent an email toprimary schools in our local area to let them know about

our newly structured Maths Trails for 1st & 2nd, 3rd & 4thand 5th & 6th classes in advance of National Maths Weekfrom 13th to 22nd October. These three modules have beendesigned to help children explore aspects of Castletown thatrelate to the primary school maths curriculum in a fun andinteresting way.

Using Castletown House as a tool, budding mathematicians candiscover shapes and space, estimations and measures, crack thecodes, discover the secrets of proportion and symmetry and developconfidence in looking at cultural heritage in a very different way.

Our highest monthly visitor numbers for schools was in June2018 when 667 schoolchildren had booked with us for both ourLiving History and general schools visits. In September after schoolsreturned from the summer holidays, our schools visits reduced to224 schoolchildren. However, we could not have anticipated thehuge rise in school visitors in the month of October in response toour Maths Trail mail shot! Our fantastic guiding team atCastletown rose to the challenge and led 2,214 schoolchildren intheir class groups through the house using the three Maths Trailswhich can be downloaded from our website.

As the Department of Education has put an emphasis on maths asa priority, teachers are delighted to have the opportunity to exploreCastletown using mathematical eyes. As well as looking forward torolling our Maths Trails out to schools again this coming year, ournew Fairy Woods in the Pleasure Grounds/Garden will include anew Biodiversity Trail for all to explore and enjoy.

CASTLETOWN HOUSE

Discover Maths in an Eighteenth-CenturyHouse

Here is an example of a MathsTrail question from our 5th & 6thclass module for you to try:

Lady Louisa was having a party onthe first floor. She hired a man to cleanthe windows INSIDE and OUTSIDE onthe first floor. It took the man 30minutes to clean 15 panes of glass.How long did it take him to clean ALLthe windows on the first floor if heneeded 5 minutes to move his ladderfrom one window to the next and hetook a 20 minute lunch break before hewent inside to do the interior glasspanes?

Text by Pauline Kennedy

Behind the scenesat NEWGRANGEat theWinter Solstice

Text by Clare Tuffy

Aplace in the chamber at Newgrange for WinterSolstice dawn is highly prized. In 2000, the Office

of Public Works introduced an annual lottery for thosesought-after spots and ever since then the WinterSolstice starts for us on the last Friday in September.That is the day when we have the Draw to select ourlucky Lottery winners.

Thirty children from our local schools - Slane, Donoreand Knockcommon National Schools, come into thecentre in a flurry of excitement after being collectedfrom school by one of our Brú buses. They pick out 120names from the large number (28,595 for Solstice 2018)of application forms spread out on the floor. The first 60names drawn are offered the initial places on the sixdays we are open for dawn. The other 60 are put on areserve list.



Every year we ask the childrenwhere they would like the winners tocome from and they invariably saythat they wish all the winners to befrom the locality. However, when theorigin of the winners is called out,the biggest cheers always come forthe countries the furthest away. Thechildren attend to their Solstice dutyin a very responsible way, taking theirtime and choosing carefully. We are soproud of them all, they are all very wellbehaved and very well-mannered. Theyare a credit to their families and totheir teachers and we are very gratefulto them all for their invaluable help.

On the days we contact people to tellthem that they have won, we think wehave the best job in the world. Whatalways strikes us is how many lotterywinners tell us that they had a strongfeeling that they were going to win andthat their visit to Newgrange had beenone of the most memorable days oftheir year. We scan a copy of theiroriginal application and attach it to theemail as some of our winners don’tbelieve that they have won until theysee their own signature.

Some people get back to us withinan hour, sometimes making acommitment to travel half way aroundthe world on the off chance that theywill see the sun shine in distant CountyMeath in December. We are astoundedby what can only be called their ‘act offaith’.

Sometimes our email to the winnersgets caught in spam. We try to avoidthe word ‘lottery’ and ‘winner’ in thetext so that firewalls don’t shut us out.However, we have telephone numbersand postal addresses for all so we don’tgive up if we don’t hear back after ourfirst contact. We only go to the reservelist once we hear back directly from theperson concerned that they are unableto attend. Of course not everyone whowins is in a position to travel and weunderstand that.

We are open to the public for 6mornings, 18th to 23rd December,

lucky lottery winners not to give uphope. We also have to be mindful thateven on promising mornings, it stillmay not all turn out as we anticipate.

We ask our Solstice attendees tobe at the Centre by 7.00am or shortlyafterwards. We greet them atreception with warm congratulations

and ask their names so we can checkthem off our list. We then give thepeople who are going inside thechamber a special Solstice badge towear around their necks so we canidentify them at the site. As we haveplenty of time to spare before we go tothe site, our guests relax over a cup oftea and biscuit. We started the traditionof giving our lottery winnerssomething to eat before dawn becausewe had a run of people fainting in thechamber some years back. Visitors areso keen and excited to get here that wediscovered some had forgotten to eat.

Another reason we offer some foodis that there were times when as wehave waited in silence in the darkchamber when the only sound to beheard was the rumbling of hungrytummies!

At the monument itself, before anyvisitors arrive, our colleagues arepreparing the site for its moment in thelight! The gravel is swept in thechamber and raked into a spiral design,the bollards in the end recess areremoved and the power generator inconnected...just in case. Once thehorizon begins to brighten, the gatesare open. On the 21st, each person whocomes through the gate is given anumbered card. This is how weorganise those who are not lotterywinners getting into the chamber afterdawn.

Shortly after 8.00am, the luckygroup who are going inside thechamber are gathered and we headacross the Boyne from the Centre tothe bus stop. A Special Solstice bus isalways reserved for the winners and aswe pull out on the road, the excitementwithin the bus generates enough

with ten lottery winners, plus a guest,inside on each of those days. We thinkit is only right that on such a specialoccasion, each winner has someone toshare the experience with in thedarkness. By the beginning ofDecember, all of the six days are filled.We double check we have mobile phonenumbers for everyone and thateveryone knows where to go on themorning and at what time.

We have our Pre-Solstice planningmeeting at the end of November. Aswith every big public event, the WinterSolstice event doesn’t happen bychance. Different sections of the OPWmeet with their colleagues from theGardaí and Meath County Council andwe form a plan that we are all happy tosign off on. The Gardaí help managethe traffic and keep the roads open andMeath County Council keep the roadspassable if we have bad frost or heavysnow. The OPW Press Office andNational Monuments Unit coordinatewith national and international mediaoutlets to arrange access to the site.This high profile event capturesinterest globally and coverage is highlyprized.

There is a wonderful infectious buzzto the event and as we approach theSolstice dates, we become obsessedwith weather forecasts. However, aftermany years’ experience we know thatno matter what the weather is like or ispredicted to be like, it is impossible toforecast precisely what will behappening in a small patch of skyopposite Newgrange at 8.58am. Oncloudy days, we tell ourselves and our

FEATURE NEWGRANGE - WINTER SOLSTICE

anticipation and energy that we feel thebus could fly up the lane to themonument.

At Newgrange, we wait outside for awhile watching the horizon and then atabout 8.35am the group goes insidewith a guide who reminds them thatthey are there to witness an eventplanned over 5,000 years ago and thatcloud or sun, they are fortunate to havebeen chosen.

While the lottery winners are insidewaiting, the people on the outsidegather. On December 21st, we will haveseveral hundred people and on theothers days there will be fewer. Theatmosphere outside is totally differentfrom that inside. People are morerelaxed and they watch the sun risewith eyes totally fixed on the horizon.

As all of our regulars know, the peopleinside the chamber will have lost senseof time and will be wondering what’shappening outside.

Once the sun rises above thehorizon, those of us on the outsidecheer very loudly so that those in thechamber know that the sun is up andon its way. The group on the insidehave to wait until four minutes aftersunrise to see the first beam of sunlighton the floor so that cheer from the farside can be very reassuring.

On the outside we chat and takephotos while old friends comparesolstice experiences. When the luckywinners emerge blinking in the

sunshine and grinning like their facesmight crack, we cheer in celebration.Then we start bringing everyone whohas been standing outside into thechamber in small groups. This can takea long time on December 21st.

When all the excitement is over ourminds turn to food. All year long welook forward to the Solstice breakfasts.It is the only time of year that our TeaRooms do the Full Irish. On December21st, we invite friends who havesupported us during the year tobreakfast and it is a great gathering.We sit down to eat as an extendedfamily and to celebrate our goodfortune at being the guardians (for now)of such wonderful monuments.

Images: (above) Solstice planning meeting November 2018; (right and facing page) Local school children in a sea of Lottery Draw application forms.



At a presentation ceremonylast October, the OPW waspresented with the GoldInternational Large ParksAward for the Phoenix Park.

The Phoenix Park inDublin is one of only two

parks in the world to receivea prestigious Gold Award inthe Inaugural InternationalLarge Urban Parks Awardsorganised by World UrbanParks based in Canada. Theawards recognise the qualityof Parks across the globe, theskills of the people whomanage them and the valuethey bring to the cities theyserve. The only other winnerof a gold award by WorldUrban Parks is CentennialPark, in Sydney, Australia.

As the world’s urbanpopulation will double from 3.5billion to over 7 billion in thenext 40 years the awards arededicated to supporting thedevelopment of parks and openspaces as critical elements increating vibrant cities andhealthy communities. ThePhoenix Park is the largestenclosed public park in anycapital city in Europe andreceives up to 10 million visitorsevery year. The Park is home toan abundance of flora and fauna

OPW’s Phoenix Park Wins Prestigious Gold International

Large Parks Award

including over 500 wild fallow deer, historic landscapes and monuments. In addition,The OPW Phoenix Park Visitor Centre, Dublin Zoo, The Victorian Walled Garden andÁras an Uachtaráin are all located within the Park.

The International Large Urban Parks Award enables cities around the world tobenchmark their performance and understand where improvements could be made.Winners are categorised as gold, silver or bronze across on 4 main criteria which are• Park Design and Layout• Features and Facilities• Protection and Community Engagement and Involvement• Park Management and Maintenance

Accepting the award on behalf of the OPW, Commissioner John McMahon said:"I am both delighted and enormously proud to accept this award on behalf of the people of

Ireland and in particular all the staff of the OPW who work to ensure the Phoenix Park inDublin is maintained to the highest standards allowing it to be enjoyed and shared by thepublic. We look forward to continuing this tradition so that the Phoenix Park can be enjoyed

by generations to come."“This award puts the Phoenix Park on the world stage

and showcases Dublin as a green city with the Parkproviding invaluable health, recreational andenvironmental benefits for so many communities,”commented Minister ‘Boxer’ Moran, on OPW winningthe award.

The Phoenix Park was noted for its preservation ofa well–protected and managed heritage park, with abroad range of activities and events serving the city ofDublin. The awards are dedicated to supporting thedevelopment of parks and open spaces as criticalelements in creating vibrant cities and healthycommunities.

OPW Commissioner John McMahon (2nd from left) and staff of thePhoenix park accepting The International Large Urban Parks award.

TURASANNA TEANGA CHOMHARTHAÍOCHTA NA hÉIREANN 2019

IRISH SIGN LANGUAGE TOURS 2019

Áras an Uachtaráin 19 January 12.30pm•Dublin Castle 17 February 3pm•Charles Fort 23 March 2pm•Kilmainham Gaol 27 April 3pm•Rock of Cashel 11 May 2pm•Rathfarnham Castle 8 June 2pm•Maynooth Castle 15 June 2pm•St. Audoen’s Church 20 July 2pm•Castletown House 7 Sept. 11.30am•National Botanic Gardens 12 Oct. 11.30am•Dublin Castle 1 December 3pm•

Entrance & Tour is free of charge but places are limited so please book soon by emailing [email protected]

Áras an Uachtaráin 19 Eanáir 12.30in•Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath 17 Feabhra 3in•Daingean Rinn Chorráin 23 Márta 2in•Príosún Chill Mhaighneann 27 Aibreán 3in•Carrig Phádraig 11 Bealtaine 2in•Caisleán Ráth Fearnáin 8 Meitheamh 2in•Caisleán Mhaigh Nuad 15 Meitheamh 2in•Eaglais Naomh Audoen 20 Iúil 2in•Teach Bhaile an Chaisleáin 7 Meán Fómhair 11.30iu•Garraithe Náisiúnta na Lus 12 Deireadh Fómhair 11.30iu•Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath 1 Nollaig 3in•

Tá Saorchead Isteach & tá an Turas saor inaisce ach tá na háiteanna teoranta, mar sincur d’áit in áirithe go luath trí ríomhphost asheoladh chuig [email protected]

25

The OPW is delighted to offer anextended programme of IrishSign Language (ISL) interpretedtours at OPW heritage sites in2019. This follows on fromsimilar, very successfulprogrammes in previous yearsand extends the number of siteswhere these services are available.This year will see the extension ofthe programme to include sitesoutside Dublin such as the Rockof Cashel and Charles Fort inKinsale for the first time.Entrance & Tour is free of chargeto Deaf /Hard of Hearing visitorsbut places are limited soparticipants are asked to bookearly by [email protected] poster for details of tours in 2019.

Irish SignLanguageTours atOPW HeritageSites

January 2019: Irish Sign Language Tours of Áras an Uchtarain, Phoenix Park.Photographs © Lafayette Photography

2626

In March 2019, a wonderful newfacility will open at Knowth celebratingthe megalithic art at the site. Thisstunning state of the art exhibition willexplore how the art was produced as wellas its significance. It also containsphotographs and film footage from ProfGeorge Eogan’s 50 year archaeologicalcampaign at the site.

For the first time visitors will be able toexperience in virtual reality the interior ofone of the great tombs at Knowth.

Here’s a sneak preview of what some ofthe new exhibition will look like…

All access to Knowth is through Brú naBóinne Visitor Centre and by guided touronly.

Brú na Bóinne Visitor CentreDonore, DroghedaCo. Meath, A92 EH5C

Tel. +353 (41) 988 0300Fax. +353 (41) 982 3071Email: [email protected]

Knowth Exhibition

Take a peekKnowth, although less well known than Newgrange

is probably even more impressive. Half as big againas its sister monument, not only does Knowth have thetwo biggest passage tombs ever found, it also has theworld’s largest collection of Neolithic art. Visitors don'tgo inside the passages at Knowth but they can climb ontop of the great cairn to get spectacular views.

27

The OPW was delighted to open Ardamullivan Castle aspart of Architecture at the Edge festival of Architecture

in October 2018. This offered visitors a rare opportunity toenjoy the Castle’s noteworthy late medieval wall paintings

Ardamullivan Castle is a fine, fivestorey 16th-century tower situatedamong trees on a hillock. It is firstmentioned in 1567 when it was claimedby Dermot ‘The Swarthy’O’Shaughnessy on the death of hisbrother, Sir Roger. But Dermot, aprotégé of Queen Elizabeth’s, betrayedDr Creagh, the fugitive CatholicArchbishop of Armagh, and as a result,the local people supported the claim ofDermot’s nephew John as owner of theCastle, though William O’Shaughnessyis given as the owner of the Castle in1574. In a fight between Dermot andhis nephew John in 1579 to decide theownership of the castle both werekilled.

The wall paintings at ArdamullivanCastle are of great significance, bothnationally and as an addition to thecanon of Irish art history. Dr KarenaMorton expresses this most effectivelyin her 2002 Irish Arts Review Yearbookarticle, A Spectacular Revelation:Medieval Wall Paintings atArdamullivan:

‘Although painting has come to lightin a number of tower houses, the workat Ardamullivan is exceptional both inquality and in the choice of subjects.The discovery of Christian iconographyin what appears to be a domesticchamber is a surprise, raising questionsabout the use of the castle and thedevotional practices of its owners. Thediscoveries give a hint of just how muchmay have been lost in other castles if, asseems likely, it was common practice topaint internal walls. The Ardamullivanpainters were artists of high calibre,operating in a late Gothic idiom, andtheir work represents a major addition toour knowledge of late medieval paintingin Ireland. ‘

The paintings are mentioned in anovel written in 1872 but by 1907 wereno longer visible. Lord Gough in thelate 19th century restored the buildingbut it is unclear whether the wallpaintings were covered over duringthese works. Traces of paint wererevealed in 1992 initiating a majorconservation programme that wasstarted in 1994 by Katkov-Oldenbourg.

Although the remains arefragmentary, the conservation work hasrevealed a number of figures on allwalls, set within fictive architecturalframes. Morton has tentativelysuggested that those on the north andeast walls may have been


The Ardamullivan Wall Paintings and

Architecture at the Edge

FEATURE ARDAMULLIVAN CASTLE

Wallpaintings from Ardamullivan Castle, near Gort, Co. Galway.

All images © Copyright Government of Ireland National Monuments Service Photographic Unit


representations from the Passion Cycle, i.e. the eventsleading up to and following the Crucifixion, including theLast Supper; Christ before Pilate and possible remains ofthe Scourging of Christ (north wall); and a Pieta orDeposition on the east wall. Morton also suggests asmaller figure on the north wall may be a donor figure.The scenes on the north wall – at least – have a paintedtext border below the scenes. This remains to bedeciphered but includes the word ‘Jesus’.

On the south wall there are remains of a figure of StMichael Weighing the Souls at the east end, of which afragment of a beautiful head and the scales are still visible.To the west of this, Morton has identified the Christ Childholding an orb. While there are no apparent remains of alarger figure (destroyed), Morton makes a reasonablesuggestion that this may be a St Christopher scene. If so,this would greatly increase this wall painting’ssignificance: Morton states that whereas this is a verycommon subject in English wall painting, this ‘….is theonly known Irish wall painting where it can be postulated.’

There are further fragmentary remains at the west endof this wall suggesting that the scheme continued.

On the west wall the conservation work uncovered afigure of a bishop to the right of the window. According toMorton, he is dressed in a white chasuble and mitre andholds a crozier, with his right hand raised in blessing andmay represent a confessor-bishop or abbot and thereforepossibly intended to represent St Colman MacDuagh, theO’Shaughnessy patron saint (Colman O Clabaigh, pers.comm. (Morton).

The wall paintings were severely damaged by theeffects of prolonged water ingress from structural issueswith the building, which had fallen into disrepair duringthe 20th century. This had resulted in physical damage,with areas of painted plaster having been lost orextensively detaching from the stone support (due to saltsactivity); extensive microbiological deterioration,

resulting in green mould growths obscuring andpotentially damaging existing painted decoration;extensive salts deposits; and calcification of the surface,including overlying limewash layers and plaster.

The conservation work included extensive exposure oforiginal painted plaster from beneath covering layers oflimewash and plaster, much of which had becomecalcified because of the adverse environmental conditions.The uncovering process involved both mechanicalremoval/uncovering using brushes, hand tools (includingpneumatic mini chisel and an ultrasonic pen) and somechemical cleaning of calcite deposits using an ionexchange resin poultice.

The post 2000 OPW repairs to the windows, roof andfloor/ceiling have been very effective and appear to bestabilising the immediate environment. During aninspection in 2015 by wall painting conservators, the wallpaintings were found to be in good condition consideringthe extremely parlous state they had been in beforeconservation began in 1994 and the adverseenvironmental conditions prevailing until the early2000’s.

Today, the condition of the wall paintings is consideredto be good, with both plaster and paint stable.

The President and Sabina Higginsattended the opening night of RoyalIrish Academy of Music’s performanceof the opera Banished at KilmainhamGaol in January 2019. In partnership with the Office of PublicWorks and in collaboration with Designfor Stage and Screen, IADT DúnLaoghaire, the RIAM was proud to breaknew ground by presenting the Irishpremière of Stephen McNeff’s Banished, anadaptation of Steve Gooch’s play FemaleTransport, to a libretto by Olivia Fuchs inthe potent, historical setting ofKilmainham Gaol Museum.

Putting young women firmly centre-stage,this brave new work tells the compellingstory of women who were transported toAustralia in the last years of the 18th andearly 19th centuries and their survivalagainst all odds on a long, arduous anddangerous passage to the other side of theworld.

At the Opening Night of RIAM’s performance of ‘Banished’ at KilmainhamGaol L-R: Maurice Buckley, Sabina Higgins, Deborah Kelleher, Annie Doona,

Kathleen Tynan, President Higgins and Niall Bergin


On the International Day of Peace, 21September 2018, bells rang out all

across Europe in memory of the end ofWorld War I a century ago, and the start andend of the Thirty Years’ War (1618 - 1648).The sound of bells has existed for five millennia, goingback well before the founding of Christianity. It isintercultural: whether cathedral bells, Buddhist templebells, Shinto shrine bells – all convey a sense ofceremony, the passage of time and transcendencebeyond the bounds of language.

This is culture in the broadest sense: bringing togetherdaily life, a call for peace, politics, custom, art, collectivecultural memory and religion. The sound of bells,wherever it is heard, aptly expresses the focus of theEuropean Year of Culture 2018 and what we want topass on to next generations: the values of solidarity andpeace, and our cultural heritage in Europe.

In order to remember how precious peace is, allowners of bells in Europe were invited to ring theirbells for the International Day of Peace on 21September 2018, from 18:00 to 18:15 Strasbourg time.

At least 15 countries are participated in the initiative:

Estonia, Finland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria,Switzerland, Belgium, France, Malta, Slovenia,Netherlands, Spain, Poland, Germany and Ireland, atEnnis Friary and Clonmacnoise.

In Slovenia more than 2,000 bells rang out, in Slovakiaabout 700 churches joined the initiative. In Paris alone90 churches rang their bells. Among other participantswere the Carillon de Belfort in Bruges and theUniversity Library in Leuwen in Belgium.

Clonmacnoise & Ennis Friaryparticipate in

RINGING BELLS FOR PEACE


Clonmacnoise


My name is Jim Mulligan and I am a seasonal guide at the Rockof Cashel, Co. Tipperary. Off season on 2nd November, 2018

I was visiting the Chicago area of the United States of America andI availed of the opportunity to visit Watertown, Wisconsin, some120 miles from Chicago. I did so because of the linksthat exist between the Rock of Cashel and theCatholic Church at St. Bernard’s, Watertown,Wisconsin, U.S.A.

St. Bernard’s was founded in 1843and the founding parishioners weremostly Irish and Yankee according tothe historical timeline of St. Bernard’sParish which I obtained when I visitedthe Church and the Parish Centreadjacent to it, meeting with Julie Gates,Parish Secretary.

It is said that in 1873 Rev. WilliamCorby C.S.C., who was pastor between1872 and 1877, was instrumental ingetting some of the stone from the siteof the Rock of Cashel. The originalbuilding was of timber constructionand it was decided in 1873 to put astone structure in place. Fr. Corby hadmoved with the Holy Cross Fathers tothe area having been previouslyattached to Notre Dame, South Bend,Indiana. He was a Chaplain during theAmerican Civil War of 1861 to 1865and became famous for his blessings tothe troops prior to the infamous Battleat Gettysburg.

Fr. Corby was born in the U.S.A. inDetroit but had Irish relations and hemade representations to the authoritiesin Cashel to have some of thelimestone transported to Watertown tobe used as the cornerstone in theconstruction of the new Church. Theserepresentations were successful asthree cwt of the stone or 1600 poundsin US terms arrived whereupon it wassent to McCabe’s Marble Shop in WestSide, Watertown before it was laid as acornerstone on 14th September, 1873.

It must be noted that in 1873 theentire site at the Rock of Cashel waseffectively abandoned and in a ruinedstate having been handed over to theCommissioners of Public Worksfollowing the passing of legislation that

The Rock of Cashel and St. Bernard’sCatholic Church, Watertown,

Wisconsin, U.S.A.

Text & Photos by Jim Mulligan


followed the disestablishment of theChurch in 1869.

In 1994 Charles J. Wallman, sincedeceased, wrote a book titled Built onIrish Faith 150 Years at St. Bernard’s andquite an extensive account is given ofthis aspect of the re-dedication of St.Bernard’s which took place in 1876.There are also accounts in the NationalLibrary and Local Studies at Thurles ofthe debates in the House of Lords in1873 surrounding the approval of therequest for some stone from the Rockof Cashel. Whether that stone camefrom the base of the Rock or indeed aportion of the Tower House or Bishops’residence is the subject of debate, but Iwould suggest that it came from theruined residence.

FEATURE ROCK OF CASHEL & ST. BERNARD’S CHURCH

So an interesting link is confirmedbetween St. Patrick’s Rock of Cashel inIreland with St. Bernard’s CatholicChurch in Watertown, Wisconsin,U.S.A.

Images: (above) Cornerstone of St. Bernard’sChurch from limestone sourced at the Rock ofCashel; (right) St. Bernard’s Catholic Church,Watertown, Wisconsin, USA.

Tintern Abbey &Colclough Walled

Garden Joint Ticketing InitiativeWe are delighted to offer a combined ticket for

entry to Tintern Abbey & Colclough Walled Gardenfrom 28 March, 2019!

These wonderful sites are both located within thebeautiful Tintern estate and for 2019 you can visit

both by paying one entry fee.

Tickets will be available to putrchase at Tintern Abbey reception.

Tickets are fantastic value: Adult €9, Senior €6, Students €5, U-12’s Go Free and Family €21.


On Easter Monday, 24th April1916 as the independent Irish

Republic was being declared fromthe steps of the General Post Officein Sackville Street (now O’ ConnellSt.), Dublin, Ireland, a young Britisharmy officer waspreparing to go onduty.

Lieutenant GuyVickery Pinfield wastwenty-one years oldand was a rugby-playing, formerstudent of CambridgeUniversity. He hadreceived hiscommission as a second lieutenant intothe 8th King’s Royal Irish Hussars atthe outbreak of war in 1914. A yearlater he was posted to the 10th ReserveCavalry Regiment at the Curragh Campin County Kildare. Born in Bishops

Stortford, Hertfordshire in 1895,Vickery Pinfield came from a successfuland prosperous family that had madetheir money through tea plantations inthe Indian province of Assam. Likemany other young men of the regiment,

he was waiting for hisorders to move to the front.The conflict had beenraging for two years and hewas concerned that the warwould be over before hegot a chance to join in.

On the 24th April 1916,news reached the Curraghcamp that a Rebellion haderupted in Dublin city and

reinforcements were needed urgentlyin order to secure military andgovernment buildings. Vickery Pinfieldwas posted to the city by train and wassent to Dublin Castle.

Shortly before midday, a section

from the Irish Citizen Armycommanded by Abbey actor, SeánConnolly, occupied City Hall and otherstrategic positions in the area. Anunarmed policeman, James O’ Brien,was shot dead as he attempted to closethe gates of Dublin Castle. Theguardroom of the complex was rushedby a number of armed Volunteers.From these posts, Connolly’s men keptup a relentless fire against British forceswithin the Castle. It was imperativethat this threat be removedimmediately. Vickery Pinfield wasordered to lead an attack with theobjective of securing the main gate ofthe Castle and the guardhouse. Underheavy fire, the platoon moved towardsthe gate but Vickery Pinfield was shotand fell to the ground mortallywounded. A section of his unit movedforward and laid down some strongcovering fire while another group ofthem managed to pull their dying

The Golden Locket, The Hidden Grave & The Forgotten Soldier

Dublin Castle holds a wealth of history and there are many stories both old and new that centre around this OPW site.

Text by Paul O’Brien


officer into cover. Francis SheehySkeffington, a well-known Dublinpacifist, braved the hail of gunfire tobring aid to the stricken officer, but itwas too late. The platoon fell backhaving suffered one officer killed,another officer wounded whileapproximately thirty ordinary rankswere wounded.

As the rebellion raged throughoutEaster week, those that had fallen werehastily buried in the grounds of thecomplex. Vickery Pinfield’s body waswrapped in a winding sheet andinterred in a temporary grave in theCastle gardens, as were many otherBritish soldiers.

After the Rising, the families of thedead came to the Castle to reclaim thebodies of their loved ones. At the end ofthat month, those bodies that had notbeen claimed were reinterred at theBritish military cemetery at BlackhorseAvenue, Grangegorman. However, thebodies of Vickery Pinfield and anotherfour officers, Godfrey Hunter (26),Algernon Lucas (37), Philip Addison(20) and Basil Worsley-Worswick (35),remained in Dublin Castle, unclaimed.Granite slabs recorded the names,regiments and dates of death of the fiveofficers.

There they remained, as the formalgarden slowly succumbed to theelements, over decades of neglect. Theirtemporary graves were rediscovered bychance in 1962 on what was by thattime deemed waste ground. TheCommonwealth War GravesCommission made arrangements forthe bodies to be exhumed and theremains reburied withinGrangegorman cemetery. On the 17thMay 1963, the five men were buriedwith the distinctive CommonwealthWar Grave headstones marking outtheir final resting place.

Despite appearances and what seemslike neglect for his body, VickeryPinfield was not forgotten. Soon afterhis death in 1916 The IllustratedLondon News published his photo ontheir Roll of Honour. His obituary inThe Times announced the much lovedonly son of Mrs P. Russell had beenkilled in action in Ireland. At

Marlborough College his name appearswith 742 others who lost their livesduring the Great War 1914-1918. Hisfellow officers erected a plaque to hismemory that is located within St.Patrick’s Cathedral inDublin, the onlyplaque in the cathedralconnected to theEaster Rising. In hishome town of BishopsStortford, his nameappears in the localchurch and town warmemorial. His oldrugby club at RosslynPark also have hisname on theirmemorial. To hisfamily, friends andcommunity VickeryPinfield was notforgotten, but for thewider world he wouldhave remained another unknownstatistic of the Irish Easter Rising if itwere not for the auction of the locket.This prompted a number of researchersto investigate the story of this youngman and why his body was left in thegrounds of Dublin castle for so manyyears.

The 15 carat gold memorial locketsold for £850 and carries his image. It isengraved with the words of theHussars’ motto “Pristinae Virtutismemores” (The memory of formervalour). The officers initials ‘GVP’ andhis place and date of death, DublinApril 24th 1916, are also to be found onthe locket which his mother worethroughout her life. A letter to her froma brother officer in Pinfield’s regimentmay disclose one of the reasons why hisbody was not removed from the castleand repatriated to England. The officerstates that Pinfield’s remains were to beburied within the Castle environs inconsecrated ground, a fitting restingplace as it was just a few feet fromwhere he fell. It is possible thatPinfield's mother took solace in thisand left the remains of her son whereshe believed they would be tended to bythe military.

To most of the world the 1916 EasterRising was over-shadowed by events on

the Western Front later that year. TheBattle of the Somme followed thatsummer and the 116 British soldierskilled during the insurrection in Dublincity were listed as ‘killed at home’. The

British military andgovernment werereluctant to remembersoldiers killed in Dublinduring the rebellion, asthe event had causedsome embarrassment.

In Britain,Remembrance Dayrecalls those British andallied servicemen andwomen who died in twoWorld Wars. The first ofthese ceremonies tookplace on the 11thNovember 1919. As theyears went by, the eventwas commemorated bya two-minute silence,

church services and parades to newlyerected memorials. In Ireland theseevents became controversial with theestablishment of the Irish Free State in1922 and in the years that followed, thememories of the war and those whohad fallen became a private recollectionfor those who had served or who hadlost loved ones during the conflict.

Many of the men and women whofought in Dublin city that Spring over100 years ago have been consigned todusty annals, a page in an archive or aparagraph in a book. With the passingof time, we are growing ever moredistant from one of the most importantevents in Irish and British history andthose from both sides who took part.

The locket that was sold at auction toan unknown Irish bidder had beenspecifically made to commemorate GuyVickery Pinfield. Every headstone in acemetery has a story to tell andLieutenant Pinfields’ was no exception.

This article first appeared in ‘TheIrish Times’, May 2013.

The Golden Locket, The Hidden Grave & The Forgotten Soldier

Images: (facing page) Dublin Castle. ©The Lawrence Photographic Collection. Image Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland.

(facing page) Inset: Lieutenant Guy Vickery

Pinfield Golden Locket.

(above) 2nd Lieut. G.V. Pinfield Gavestone.

36

Dedicated to the memory of John FitzgeraldKennedy, President of the United States from 1960to 1963, the Arboretum is a plant collection ofinternational standing.

It covers 252 hectares (623 acres) on the southern slopesand summit of Slieve Coillte. It contains 4,500 types oftrees and shrubs from all temperate regions of the world,planted in botanical sequence. There are 200 forest plotsgrouped by continent. Special features include anEricaceous Garden, (with 500 different rhododendrons,and many varieties of azaleas and heathers), dwarfconifers, hedges, ground covers and climbing plants.

To mark this special milestone in the arboretum’s historythe OPW joined forces with the ever popular KennedySummer School to celebrate with a family programmeof talks, tours and entertainment in September andadmission to the arboretum was free up to Sunday 9thof September. In order to add to the visitor experienceon Sunday Minister Kevin “Boxer” Moran launched anengaging new exhibition on the main attributes of theArboretum, its special plant collection and its importanthistoric landscape.

President Higgins attended the closing event of the 2018Kennedy Summer and addressed the Gala Dinner. ThePresident also planted a tree in the Arboretum tocommemorate the 50th Anniversary of the MemorialPark.

John F. KennedyArboretum Co. Wexford

–––––––––––––––––OPW CELEBRATED 50 YEARS

OF JFK ARBORETUM & MEMORIAL PARK IN 2018

–––––––––––––––––

37


In 2018, JFK Arboretum and Memorial Parkat New Ross celebrated 50 years since itopened to the public.

The OPW has developed a new interpretationspace at the Visitor Centre for visitors to learnmore about the special historic landscape andimportant plant collection throughout thearboretum. This room was officially opened byMinister Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran on Sunday9th September 2018.

Dr Matthew Jebb of the National Botanic GardensGlasnevin gave a talk on on why John F Kennedywas honoured with an arboretum and thesignificance of the plant collection which hasdeveloped over the last 50 years.

NEWS

Minister of State Mr Kevin Moran, T.D., Matthew Jebb, Director of the National Botanic Gardens and CEO of the John F. Kennedy Trust, Sean Connick. Pictures ©Patrick Browne.

JFK Arboretum

and

Memorial Park–––––––––––––––––

OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE NEW INTERPRETATIVE EXHIBITION

–––––––––––––––––

Above left: Cllr Martin Murphy, MatthewJebb, Director of the National BotanicGardens, CEO of the John F. Kennedy TrustSean Connick, Minister of State Mr KevinMoran, T.D. and Cllr Anthony Connick.

Above right: Minister of State Mr KevinMoran, T.D., Matthew Jebb, Director of theNational Botanic Gardens and RosemaryCollier Principle Officer OPW.

Centre: L-R: Mr Kevin Moran, T.D., MatthewJebb and Sean Connick.

Below: Pictured at the official opening ofthe new interpretative exhibition at theJohn F. Kennedy Arboretum, New Ross, Co.Wexford. L-R: Bernie Sinnott, Gerry O’Niell,Leona Tuck, Matthew Jebb, Director of theNational Botanic Gardens, Minister of StateMr Kevin Moran, T.D., Rosemary CollierPrinciple Officer OPW, Louise O’Brien andDelia Hickey. Pictures © Patrick Browne.


Duffy was surprised to note that Berginpossessed a good degree of localknowledge on Monaghan town, ormore particularly, the local Protestantascendancy family, the Westenra’s oralso more commonly known as theRossmores (Lord Rossmore). Thisknowledge would not come as asurprise to the guides at CastletownHouse considering a significant amountof the Rossmore art collection is onloan to Castletown House. And this iswhere the conversation betweenhistorian and folklorist got interesting.Thriving on discovering real lifeconnections to literature and folklore,

the name Westenra drew Duffy’sattention and pausing for a moment asonly a folklorist struck by a new lightcan, observed that the Lords Rossmorebore the surname Westenra, the samesurname of one of Dracula’s mainfemale victim, Lucy Westenra.

Of course, as a historian and also as aguide at Castletown, Bergin could notrest until such a link had beeninvestigated and it is safe to say thepreliminary results are in! Indeed, onedid not have to look far to find that thislink has already been made by othersnotably, Frank McNally, a journalist for

Count Dracula, his female victims and

Castletown HouseText by Catherine Bergin


When one thinks of the statelyPalladian mansion,

Castletown House, the words BramStoker and Dracula, rarely, if ever,spring to mind! Yet thanks toMonaghan scholar Fearghal Duffy aconnection between this stately neoPalladian mansion and Bram Stokerhas finally come to light and like allgreat discoverys this one occurredquite accidentially!

It happened over a cup of tea inMonaghan with one of Duffy’s friendswho also happened to be a guide atCastletown House, Catherine Bergin.

Bram Stoker by W. & D Downey photograture, © National Portrait Gallery, London. The Dining Room at Castletown House


the Irish Times. Accordingto McNally’s article, it ispossible that Stoker knewthe Rossmore’s. Stokermay also have beenfamiliar with andparticularly struck by amemorial to Mary AnnWestenra, wife to thesecond BaronRossmore, LordWarner WilliamWestenra in StPatrick’s Church,Monaghan. The couplemarried in 1791 andhad three children.

Devastated by herdeath in 1807, herhusbandcommissioned amemorial to her.1.This memorial knownas The Parting Glance iscredited to ThomasKirk. And how is thisall linked to BramStoker? Stoker workedfo a number of years asan Inspector of PettySessions, a job thattook him all over thecountry, includingMonaghan town.According to localMonaghan tradition, itis believed that it was on such a trip thatStoker encountered Kirk’s work, TheParting Glance, a carving which depictedLord Warner William Westenra’s lastmoments with his wife, Mary Ann beforeher death. Locals claim that this carvingheld something of a fascination for Stokerand the tradition continues that this sceneaffected Stoker to the extent that herecreated in Dracula. The scene is said tohave inspired Bram Stoker’s description ofLucy Westenra’s last moments with herhusband before her death. Furtherreinforcing the connection, WilliamWarner Westenra’s mother, HarrietMurray, may have been the inspiration for

the name of Stoker’s main heroine, MinaMurray (married name Harker).

And what has this has all this to do withCastletown House and Parklands? Among thecollection of art in Castletown are the imagesof Mary Ann Westenra and Harriet Murray, inthe Blue Bedroom and Dining Roomrespectively.

This interesting connection has shed newlight and renewed interest in these wonderfulportraits! In order to see these treasures cometo Castletown, entering freely and of your ownwill….

‘The Parting Glance’ monument in Monaghan to

Mary Ann Rossmore by ThomasKirk. Photograph via Mon-

aghan County Museum

Picture 1: Harriet Murray (portrait attributed toRobert Hunter)

Picture 2: Mary Ann Westenra(posthumous portrait byWilliam Brocas)

Images © OPW/Castletown House

1. https://www.geni.com/people/Mary-Walsh/6000000009735577416 [12 Sept. 2018]

The church and round tower atDrumlane in Co. Cavan, have

been in the care of the Office ofPublic Works for the past 138 years.

The disestablishment of the Churchof Ireland in 1869 resulted in thetransfer of 139 architecturallyimportant ecclesiastical structures tothe ownership of the Commissioners ofthe Board of Works. These NationalMonuments included such well-knownsites as the Rock of Cashel,Clonmacnoise and Glendalough.Drumlane Abbey and Round Towerwere the fourth to be listed in the firstregister of National Monuments. Bythe end of 1880, the Board of Workshad appointed the well-knownarchitect, Thomas Deane, as Inspectorof National Monuments and beganconservation work on the churches atClonmacnoise and Glendalough.Following the political upheavals of1921, the Board of Works was the onlyGovernment Department to remainlargely unchanged under SaorstátÉireann (the Irish Free State) and theconservation of National Monumentscontinued under their remit.

I joined the National MonumentsTrim district in 2002 having previouslyworked in the Mallow district. TheDistrict Works Manager of the time,Tom Spears, brought me to see thechurch at Drumlane which is locatedon the shore of Garfinny Lough. Thegable of the church ruin dominates theround tower and tranquil cemetery. Onthat first visit, we came to inspect thelarge eastern gable wall of the churchwhich appeared to be gradually movingaway from the two side walls, slipping

slowly towards the lake. The presenceof a series of large buttresses againstthe outside of the long side wallsindicated a long history of structuralinstability. In an early image of thechurch, dating from 1792 in ‘TheAntiquities of Ireland, Volume 2’ byFrancis Grose, the church has a largesteeply pitched roof which must haveexerted a tremendous outward thruston the long side walls. The buttresseswere already in position in 1792 toprovide additional stability and preventthe roof from causing the side walls tocollapse. The outward pressure on theside walls was reduced when the roofperished but the gable wall was thenfully exposed to the weather and beganto deteriorate. We installed crackmonitors and over the following yearsregularly inspected the gable wall forsigns of active movement. In March2014 Kieran Walsh of the OPWStructural Engineering Section, and Icarried out a more detailed inspectionfrom a hoist in order to assess thecondition of the large vertical cracks atthe junction of the east gable and thetwo long side walls of the medievalchurch. The inspection confirmed thatthe gable wall had moved and was inneed of stabilisation works. The projectwas included in our 2014 business planand works began in June of the sameyear.

The first part of the project was theprotection of the grave slabs near theeast gable, enclosing them in timbercovers. We then erected a scaffoldaround the gable wall to facilitate theworks. We were able to examine themasonry work at close quarters and dosome preliminary opening up work.

DRUMLANEABBEY

and Round TowerText by Ana Dolan


43


The cracks did not extend fully toground level so there was no indicationof a structural problem with thefoundations. The cracks widened asthey moved further up the wall,confirming that the gable of the churchwas not strongly bonded to the two longflanking walls and had moved awayfrom them. Without the protection of aroof, walls will develop problems due tothe constant movement of waterthrough the structure. The mortar bondbetween the stones is gradually washedout until there is little structuralintegrity left in the masonry.

The OPW stonemasons carried outthe consolidation works to the gable,working during the summer monthswhen the days were long and thetemperatures suitable for lime mortars.We rebuilt large sections of the walls,particularly around the areas that hadmoved out of position. The rebuiltmasonry was strengthened withstainless steel ties to ensure a good jointwith the existing walls and the entiregable was repointed. As the worksproceeded upwards, a lime based groutwas introduced into the walls to ensurethat all the internal voids were filled andstable. Finally, the wall tops wereflaunched to ensure that the rainwaterran smoothly off the walltops. Workswere completed in April 2017 and theenclosing scaffolding cover was left inplace for an additional year to assistwith the curing of the lime mortars andgrout.

We are now confident that the gablewall is stable and the future of thisimportant ecclesiastical assembly issecure. OPW Trim NationalMonuments staff will continue tomonitoring the condition of thebuildings and maintain the church andround tower. We will assist theDepartment of Culture, Heritage andthe Gaeltacht in their role of conservingIreland’s unique heritage for the benefitof present and future generations. Theworks on site were supervised byTommy Halton, District WorksManager and carried out by MichaelDempsey, Willie Foley, Eamon Gilsenan,Ger Doherty, Brian Murray, EamonnHowley, Brendan Hussey, Willie Hussey,Derek Caroll, Thomas Donnelly, MarkLeavy and Ger Brennan.

Ana Dolan is a Senior ConservationArchitect with the Office of PublicWorks.

FEATURE DRUMLANE ABBEY

Images: Drumlane Abbey and Round Tower© OPW/Drumlane Abbey

Text by Aoife Torpey

K I L M A I N H A M G A O L ’ S S U F F R A G E T T E E X H I B I T I O N

‘From Prison to Citizenship: Mary Bourke-Dowling,Suffragette and Republican

To celebrate the centenary ofIrishwomen gaining the right to

vote in 1918, Kilmainham GaolMuseum’s latest exhibition ‘FromPrison to Citizenship: Mary Bourke-Dowling, Suffragette and Republican’focuses on a forgotten hero of theIrish suffragette movement.Born in Clontarf in 1882, MaryBourke-Dowling was an activemember of the Irish Women’sFranchise League and was involvedin the campaign for women’s rightto vote in the early 1900s. Sheworked on the suffragette paper TheIrish Citizen and spoke at meetingsaround the country. In their campaign for voting rights,the suffragettes often took part inmilitant protests. In November 1911,Mary Bourke-Dowling was amongstseveral hundred suffragettes arrested inLondon for smashing windows acrossthe city. She threw stones at thewindows of the British War Office,though they failed to break. She wastried at Bow Street Police Court on 27November 1911 and sentenced to 5

days imprisonment inHolloway Jail, alongsideseveral other Irishwomen.At their trials thesuffragettes claimed thatsuch destruction was theonly form of protestavailable to them. Upon her release fromprison in December 1911,Mary Bourke-Dowlingreturned to Dublin. At aspecial meeting of The IrishWomen’s Franchise Leagueto welcome back the releasedprisoners, she was presented with amedal engraved with the League’sstatement of intent: ‘From Prisonto Citizenship’. This medal, fromwhich the exhibition takes itsname, is displayed to the publicfor the first time. In 1918, the Representation ofthe People Act was passed. Thisgave women over 30, who alsohad property rights or auniversity education, the rightto vote. Women all overIreland cast their vote for thefirst time in the December1918 General Election.

Mary Bourke-Dowling was an Irish suffragette and republican who spent time in prison for both causes in the early years of the twentieth century.

An inscription on the front cover of MaryBourke-Dowling’s scrapbook, memorialising

her two periods of imprisonment


Medal presented to Mary Bourke-Dowling in Dec. 1911 by the Irish

Women’s Franchise League


Mary Bourke-Dowling later joinedthe republican women’s organisationCumann na mBan and took the Anti-Treaty side in the Irish Civil War. InAugust 1922, she lost her job as awriting assistant in the Civil Servicefollowing her refusal to sign adeclaration of fidelity to the Irish FreeState government. She was laterarrested in February 1923, and spentover six months imprisoned inKilmainham Gaol and the NorthDublin Union. As a member of thePrisoners’ Council, Bourke-Dowlingdrew on her experiences as asuffragette and advised her fellowprisoners on how best to resist theauthorities. She was released fromKilmainham Gaol in September, 1923.

The exhibition centres on ascrapbook created by Mary Bourke-Dowling to preserve documents andsouvenirs associated with herimprisonment in Holloway andKilmainham Gaols. A letter of supportfrom her brother, Joseph, andaddressed to ‘Miss Bourke-Dowling,

Sufferagette (sic), Bow StreetPolice Station, London’ is ofparticular interest. Other itemsinclude sketches andwatercolours painted byBourke-Dowling whilstimprisoned during the CivilWar. Many of these objects areon display to the public for thefirst time.

Unfortunately, little is knownabout Mary Bourke-Dowling’spolitical life after she leftKilmainham Gaol in 1923. Shespent years fighting to be reinstatedto her position in the Civil Serviceand was finally successful in 1932.She married William H. Lewers in1933 and as a result may have hadto leave her job once more. A‘marriage bar’ was introduced in the1930s which made it compulsoryfor female civil servants to stopworking once married. This wasnot repealed until 1973. MaryBourke-Dowling died at her homein Clontarf in July 1944.

EVENTS SUFFRAGETTE EXHIBITION

A watercolour of a fellow prisoner in one of the exerciseyards around Kilmainham Gaol, painted by Mary Bourke-Dowling in 1923.

An order for the detention of Mary Bourke-Dowling,signed in August 1923 by Richard Mulcahy, Minister for Defence

A letter sent by Mary Bourke-Dowling’s brother, Joseph,

addressed to her in Bow Street Police Station.

A sketch of the cells in the East Wing of KilmainhamGaol, painted by Mary Bourke-Dowling in 1923

Exhibition runs at Kilmainham Gaol Museum until Sunday, April 7th, 2019.

The massive stone fort of DúnAonghasa, situated on Inis Mór,

the largest of the Aran Islands, sitson the edge of a 90 metre cliff facingout into the North Atlantic. Theaverage visitor treks the 20 minutesfrom the visitor centre below to thetop of the hill, not alone to admirethe fort itself, but also the sweepingviews down along the westernseaboard. Once the fort is exploredand the mandatory glance over theedge to the Atlantic below iscompleted, for many visitors it’s offdown the hill to continue on theirjourney.

The island itself with its terraced,barren, treeless landscape, is not wherethey might expect to find wildlife, buthidden among the stones and theshadows of the fort are a huge varietyof plants and insects waiting to befound.

The entire landscape of Aran isshaped by human activity, mainly

through many generations of farming.Similar to the Burren, the ancientpractice of moving cattle to the higherexposed ground in winter also takesplace. Even though the Aran Islands arein County Galway they are a geologicalextension of the Burren and sit directlywest of County Clare. Dún Aonghasa iswithin a SAC (Special Area ofConservation), and the cliff face is anSPA (Special Protection Area) due tothe presence of breeding birds. Theexposed limestone, scoured by glaciersduring the last ice age dominates thearea.

The small field units are not suitablefor intensive farming or tillage. Thefields lower down on the island’s northside are the summer pasture for cattle,and moving up the terraces theincreasingly rocky fields are thewinterage. This movement andsporadic grazing by cattle is animportant contribution to the richbiodiversity of the fields. Without it thewild plants would fail to grow, as grass,bracken and shrubs would dominate.

In 2014 the "Aran Life" programmewas established to help farmers farmfor nature. This program has now beenrenamed "Caomhnú Árann", and runsunder the European InnovationProgramme (EIP). Its main drive is toimprove species-rich grassland and aidin conservation by clearing scrub toallow grazing especially.

Nature amongst the walls


Text by Ronan MacGiollapharaic

Dún Aonghasa Above: Dun Aonghasa Stone Fort, Inis Mór

Left: Bloody Cranesbill flower (Geraniumsanguineum) and Small Blue (Cupido minimus)butterfly


The Flora

The Flora of the Aran Islands is famous.Not just for the rarities but mainlybecause of the richness of its plants,some heat-loving, some cold loving,that grow side-by-side. Geology andAtlantic weather are just some of thereasons for this. Of Ireland’s 850 or soplant species, almost half grow in theAran Islands.

With spring come the Primroses(Sabhaircín) and Early Purple Orchids(Magairlín Meidhreach), quicklyfollowed by Spring Gentians(Ceadharlach Bealtaine) and amultitude of other flowers such as theBloody Crane’s-bill (Crobh Dearg).Whereas the Spring Gentian comes tomind as a floral symbol of the mainlandBurren, the Bloody Crane’s-bill couldalmost be a floral symbol for theIslands. It covers the landscape for alarge part of the spring. The PurpleMilk Vetch (Bleachtphiseán) is one ofour special flowers which only growson the Aran Islands and nowhere elsein country. Outside of Ireland itsclosest growing neighbour is on thecoast of the United Kingdom. We jokewhen asked how did it get here? “Itcame over on the boot of a Viking!”

As Spring progresses to Summer andthen Autumn the flowers change andthe insects feeding upon them change.By September the most abundantflower is Devil’s-bit Scabious (OdhrachBhallach) which feeds a large variety ofinsects. It also provides the nest for thelarva for one of Ireland’s mostendangered butterflies, the MarshFritillary (Fritileán Réisc). The list ofplants is too extensive to cover here but

on-site at Dún Aonghasa we regularlyidentify close to 100 species during aseason. From orchids such as the BeeOrchid (Magairlín na Mbeach), FrogOrchid (Magairlín an Loscáin),Pyramidal Orchid (Magairlín naStuaice) to Saxifrages (Mórán), YellowRattle (Gliográn), Birds-foot Trefoil(Crobh Éin) and many more.

Butterflies and Bumblebees� Of the 31 species of butterfliesnationally, 21 are to be seen flyingaround the area of Dún Aonghasa, fromthe tiny Small Blue (Gormán Beag) tothe large Dark Green Fritillary(Fritileán Dúghlas), different speciesemerge in their turn throughout theseasons.

Bumblebees are also very commonwith 12 of the 18 national species to befound on Inis Mór. The Aran Islandshave their own special variety of theLarge Carder Bee, Bombus Muscorumvar.allenellus (Beach an Tóin Buí). It

differs from the mainland version as ithas a different colour on the hairs onthe side of its thorax. It is often foundfeeding on Birds-foot Trefoil andDevil’s-bit Scabious.

Also found are the Cuckoobumblebees (Bumbóg Cuach), whichlike the Cuckoo bird invade the nest ofa different species, but dispatches theQueen and uses her workers to raiseher own young.

Birds� Being a cliff site there are a largevariety of birds to be seen. The seabirds are large and graceful, theterrestrial birds are smaller and flighty.In Spring the Wheatear (Clochrán), acommon migrant, arrives and nests inthe stones of the fort. The Skylark(Fuiseóg) drops from above, singing itschanging tune. Peregrines (Fabhcúngorm) and Sparrow hawks (Spioróg)cruise the site hunting for lunch and onwindy days Fulmars (Fulmaire) swoopthe cliff trying to land only to pull awaybefore attempting another approach.

The entire cliff face of Inis Mór is anSPA for breeding seabirds. Colonies ofGuillemots (Foracha), Razorbills(Crosán) and kittiwakes (Saidhbhéar)can be seen as dive-bombing gannet’s(Gainéad) hunt for fish.

My favourite time is when theChoughs (Cág Cosdearg) arrive. Withtheir scarlet beaks they probe theground for grubs, all the whilesquabbling with each other constantly.In flight they play with the windcurrents along the cliff edge, allowingthemselves to fall and then in a flashrecovering.

Bee Orchid

Aran Islands Large Carder Bee

Rose Chafer Bettle

The Sea

The sea, ever-changing from largerolling Atlantic waves, to days whereit looks like glass, is another habitatfull of life.

Dolphins (Deilfeanna) and Seals(Rónta) make an appearance fromtime to time and on rare occasionsWhales (Míolta móra) are sighted.Early in the season over the lastcouple of years we've been treated toBasking Sharks (Liamhán gréine)cruising along the cliff below DúnAonghasa, feeding on tiny plankton.The days the basking sharks appearthere is as an excitement in the air.Guides and visitors alike forgetabout archaeology for a time andrush to the cliff edge to catch aglimpse before these leviathansdisappear.

There are many other aspects to beexplored in relation to nature of thesite. Stoats (Easóga) winding amongthe rocks, Lizards (Laghairt) baskingin the sun, colourful day flying mothslike the Transparent Burnet (BuirnéadTrédhearcach) and the shiny GreenRose Chafer beetle (Ciaróg Glas) thatbuzz the tourists.

As spring approaches remember notto cut your Dandelions (Caisearbhán),they are not weeds, they are powerfuel for bees and others to set them upfor the season ahead.


Wheatear

Fulmar

Medow Brown Butterfly

Juvenile Gannet

Dark green Fritillary

Small Blue onBirds foot trefoil

Choughs

Common Lizard


Lighting the ColumnILLUMINATING THE ICONICPHOENIX COLUMN IN THEPHOENIX PARK

The Office of Public Works was delighted toannounce the lighting of the Phoenix

Column on Chesterfield Avenue in thePhoenix Park. Mrs. Sabina Higgins, wife ofPresident Michael D. Higgins, who inspiredthe initiative, officiated at the lightingCeremony, which took place on 17 September2018 at the Phoenix monument.The fourth Earl of Chesterfield erected the PhoenixColumn in 1747 as a focal point on Chesterfield Road,the same year the Phoenix Park was open to the publicfor the first time. In the 1840s, Decimus Burton, therenowned English Architect, produced a master plan forthe Phoenix Park which included the building of newgate lodges, the restoration of the boundary wall andcreation and realignment of the Park roads, whichincluded Chesterfield Avenue. This latter projectinvolved the relocation of the Phoenix Column on themain avenue. In 1929 the Phoenix Column was movedagain to an open grass area near the Áras Demesne tofacilitate the car races held at that time. It was finallyreturned to the ‘Burton’ location as part of the 1986Phoenix Park Management Plan where it is now locatedin the centre of the Park and forms a focal point of a largeroundabout on the beautiful tree-lined ChesterfieldAvenue.

The Column comprises a Portland Stone CorinthianColumn on a tall lettered pedestal. Above the capital, isa sculpture of a phoenix bird rising from the ashes. TheColumn will be illuminated in white - the Phoenix wingsin white and the flames in red. The LED colour lightsystem installed uses the latest technology whereby thecolours can be adapted to any colour system needed (e.g.the lighting up for St. Patrick’s Day etc.) The system isenergy efficient with each fitting using only 50 watts.

Pictures: Lighting Ceremony at the Phoenix Monument,Chesterfield Road, Phoenix Park, Dublin on 17th September 2018,officiated by President Michael D. Higgins and his wife SabinaHiggins.

Inset image: Greening of the Phoenix Park Column for St. Patrick’s Day 2019.


The OPW worked with the Roscrea Chamber ofCommerce and Tipperary County Council to bring thisinitiative to fruition. Under the initiative, shoppersspending €15 in local participating retail outlets will beprovided with a voucher which will entitle them to a freefamily entry at Roscrea Castle, Damer House and theBlackmill. A similar initiative has been in operation inCashel since March 2015 and has proven to be a greatsuccess in promoting tourism and economic activity in thetown.

Speaking at the launch of the initiative in Damer House,Minister Moran said, "I am delighted that my Office, theOPW, in conjunction with all the local partners haveinitiated this scheme today for Roscrea. Its success hasbeen proven in Cashel and I hope that a similar positiveimpact is experienced in Roscrea. The importance oftourism to the Irish economy cannot be underestimatedand while the remit of the OPW is conservation andpresentation, I am delighted that my Office can getinvolved in schemes such as this”.

Roscrea Loyalty Scheme

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran T.D., Minister of State forthe Office of Public Works (OPW) and Flood

Relief, launching the Roscrea Loyalty Scheme last summer, a initiative to

encourage people to shop locally and to visitRoscrea Castle, Damer House and

the Blackmill for free.––––––––––––––––––––––––––––


L-R: Michael Madden (Roscrea Chamber), NigelBradley (Roscrea Chamber), Shauna Walsh, AmeliaLown, Brian Coakley (Supervalu Roscrea), SeamusBrowne (Roscrea Chamber) with Kevin ‘Boxer’ MoranT.D., Minister of State for the Office of Public Works(OPW) and Flood Relief in association with RoscreaChamber of Commerce at the launch of the RoscreaLoyalty Scheme, a new initiative to encourage peopleto shop locally and to visit Roscrea Castle, DamerHouse and the Blackmill for free.

Photograph by David Ruffles


ROSCREA CASTLE

The stone castle consists of a gate tower, curtain walls andtwo corner towers dating from the 1280’s. The castlerooms are furnished and host temporary exhibitions. Itschimneys and gables are early 17th Century features, butthe lower levels of the castle are the original stonework.The two towers housed three storeys, one of which has anoctagonal interior called the "Duke of Ormond's Tower".

DAMER HOUSE

Built in the early 18th century in the Queen Anne style, DamerHouse is an example of pre-Palladian architecture. This elegantthree-storey Georgian house with nine bay windows was built byJoseph Damer in the early 18th century in the courtyard of RoscreaCastle. One of the rooms is furnished in period style.

BLACK MILL

A restored mill displaying the original St. Cronan's high cross andpillar stone.

An extensive exhibition ofnew works by Gabhann

Dunne will open in FarmleighGallery on 14th March 2019.

‘May you never see the corncrakeagain!’ (Nár fheice tú an traonach arís)was once a way of wishing someonebad luck or worse, since you werehoping they wouldn’t live to seeanother summer. The imprecationimplies a culture familiar with thecorncrake and its distinctive call, andperhaps, more significantly, with theknowledge that it was a summer visitor.Once common along the riverShannon, the corncrake is now almostextinct due to human and climaticfactors that stretch from here to itswintering habitats in Africa and themigration routes in between.

In his Farmleigh Gallery exhibition'Crossing the Salt', Dunne reflects onchanges wrought by the journeyings ofwater and the migration of wildlife andwhat they have to tell us about ouridentity. Cristin Leach the SundayTimes art critic said of it “'Crossing theSalt' is, in equal parts, disturbing anddelightful, ambitious in scale butdelicate and measured in its

presentation”. Over a hundred birds,painted on separate panels, plunge,swoop and fly in this large installation.In this and other works in the showDunne uses colour and gesture to evokethe vulnerability and energy of hissubject, and asks the viewer to think onissues of emigration, migration,absence, and our changing climate.

Gabhann Dunne is a Dublin-basedpainter. He studied Fine Art Painting atthe Dublin Institute of Technology andNCAD, Dublin. He is also a formerwinner of the RDS Taylor Art Award(2011) and the Hennessy CraigScholarship and the Whytes Award forPainting for his entry to the RHAAnnual Exhibition (2009). Dunne has

exhibited widely, his recent showsinclude 'Crossing the Salt', LimerickCity Gallery (2018), 'In the PresenceofBirds' (2017), 'The Flower’s Pilgrim'at the Molesworth Gallery in Dublin(2015), and 'Magenta Honey' at The Labin Dublin (2015).

gabhanndunne.ie

The exhibition is open to the publicand is free of charge.

Farmleigh House and Estate,Phoenix Park,Dublin 15,D15 TD50

Tel: +353 (1) 815 5900Tel: +353 (1) 815 5981Fax: +353 (1) 815 5968

Email: [email protected]: www.farmleigh.ie

‘Crossing the Salt’by Gabhann Dunne | 14th March – 26th May

54

EVENTS GUIDE EXHIBITION

FarmleighGallery

Open 10.00-17.00 daily (Excluding Mondays)

Celebrating the 50th anniversary ofSir Alfred Chester Beatty’s

magnificent bequest, Gift of a Lifetimepresents a choice selection ofmasterpieces from this uniquecollection. An internationallysuccessful mining magnate andgenerous philanthropist, Beatty wasone of the most prolific anddiscerning collectors of hisgeneration. From his early years inNew York, through his career inLondon and travels overseas, Beattyacquired rare books, manuscripts anddecorative arts of the highest qualityand rarity from Europe, the MiddleEast and Asia.

Following his retirement, Beattybrought these collections to Ireland, laterplacing them in trust to the nation on hisdeath in 1968. From objects of the

greatest beauty crafted forpowerful rulers to treasurestracing the history of worldreligions, the artworks drawntogether in this exhibition and

accompanying catalogue capture thebreadth and wonder of this exceptionallegacy: a gift to the nation, for Irelandto share with the world.

Admission is free.


Left: Chester Beatty walkingdown Mont Dore street. c. 1934

EXHIBITION

19 October 2018 – 28 April 2019AT THE CHESTER BEATTY LIBRARYDublin Castle Gardens


EXHIBITIONRUDOLF HELTZEL: IN PRECIOUSMETALState ApartmentsGalleries, Dublin Castle

09:45 -17:15 dailyCost:€3

The Office of Public Works presents astunning exhibition of sculptural pendantsand rings by master-goldsmith Rudolf Heltzel,at the State Apartments, Dublin Castle – ontour from the National Design & CraftGallery and Design & Crafts Council ofIreland. An icon of Irish craft and design,Rudolf Heltzel has gained an internationalreputation for the originality, quality andtimeless aesthetic of his craftsmanship witheach piece created meticulously by hand usingsome of the world’s oldest jewellerytechniques.

This exhibition will showcase many of hismost ambitious and technically complexdesigns, presenting pieces selected from hispersonal archive alongside new work in threeof his sculptural pendant collections – Rock Crystal, Tourmaline Butterfly and Druzy. A series of spectacular gem ringsdesigned by Heltzel will also be presented in the exhibition.

Dublin Castle, Dame Street, Dublin 2, D02 V240. Tel: +353 (1) 645 8813 Email: [email protected] Website: www.dublincastle.ie

EVENTS GUIDE

Exhibition runs November 24, 2018 – March 24, 2019

SeanachaíStorytelling SessionsCabinet Kitchen, Farmleigh House, Phoenix Park

Date: 16th March 2019 Times: 10.15am & 11.30am. Cost: Free of charge.To celebrate the Irish language during ‘Seachtain naGaeilge’ the OPW hasinvited children’s Seanachaí Seó Ó Maolalaí to Farmleigh. Seó will intrigueadults and children alike with his bilingual tales. Seosamh tells stories inEnglish and in Irish. He tells all kinds of tales – funny stories, Irish andinternational folk tales, anecdotes and rhymes. He might even sing a songor two! The first session will take place at 10.15 and a second session willstart at 11.30 and each will last approximately one hour.There will be an Irish language guided tour of the house at 12.30.

www.farmleigh.ie

www.farmleigh.ie

Irish HeritageSites GoGREEN for St. Patrick’s Day

The Office of Public Works (OPW) was delighted toparticipate in the ‘Greening’ of Heritage Sites and StateBuildings as part of the 2019 National St Patrick’s Festival.The OPW in association with Fáilte Ireland and the St.Patrick’s Festival Organisation was delighted to announcedetails of the ‘Greening’ of Heritage sites and Statebuildings for the duration of the 2019 St. Patrick’sFestival. This campaign, which celebrates St. Patrick’s Day andpromotes Ireland both nationally and internationally, has gonefrom strength to strength with significant numbers of notablelandmark buildings which are 'Greening' for the Festival.The OPW lit Heritage sites and State buildings for theduration of the festival, from 14 - 18 March 2019, by usinggreen filters, specialist lamps and existing lighting controlsystems.Minister for the OPW and Flood Relief Kevin 'Boxer' Moransaid, "My Office is delighted to participate once again in thisvery important national and international initiative whichcelebrates our unique cultural heritage and shines a light onIreland. I would encourage all to participate in the St.Patrick’s Festival events and to celebrate what we, as anation, have to offer as represented by our world-renownedHeritage sites and State buildings."

The following are the Heritage sites and State buildingsthat were transformed for the five-day greeningcelebration:

52 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin (OPW Dublin Office)•Áras an Uachtaráin, Dublin•Athenry Castle, Athenry, Co. Galway•Boyle Abbey, Boyle, Co. Roscommon•Cahir Castle, Cahir, Co. Tipperary•Carlow Castle, Carlow, Co. Carlow•Casino Marino, Dublin•Collins Barracks, Dublin•Custom House, Dublin•Donegal Castle, Donegal Town, Co. Donegal•Dublin Castle Lower Yard, Dublin•Dublin Castle Upper Yard, Dublin•Ennis Court House, Ennis, Co. Clare•Ennis Friary, Co. Clare•Dept. of Business, Enterprise & Innovation, Dublin•Farmleigh Estate – The Water Tower, Dublin•Four Courts, Dublin•

Government Buildings, Dublin•Iveagh House, St Stephen’s Green, Dublin•Kilkenny Castle, Kilkenny•Kilmainham Courthouse, Dublin•Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin - Entrance•Leinster House, Dublin•Dept of Education & Skills, Marlbourgh Street Complex, Dublin•National Concert Hall (NCH), Dublin•National Gallery, Merrion Street Entrance, Dublin•National Library, Kildare Street, Dublin•National Museum, Kildare Street, Dublin•Natural History Museum, Dublin•Phoenix Monument, Chesterfield Avenue, Phoenix Park, Dublin•Quin Abbey, Quin, Co. Clare•Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin•Rock of Cashel, Cashel, Co. Tipperary•Ross Castle, Killarney, Co. Kerry•Royal Hospital Kilmainham (RHK), Dublin - Clock Tower•St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin – entrance (Shelbourne Hotel Side)•Trim Castle, Co. Meath•

57



* An OPW Family Heritage Card provides FREE admission for 2 Adults and 5 Children into allfee-paying state-managed sites throughout the country. Make precious memories this summer!

Viwww.heritageireland.ie


Leis an gcárta seo, beidh cead isteach gan teorainn ag ansealbhóir chuig gach Láithreán Oidhreachta atá sa bhróisiúrLáithreáin Oidhreachta na hÉireann ar feadh aon bhlianaamháin (seachas Feirmeacha Traidisiúnta Mhucrois).Tá an cárta seo neamh-inaistrithe agus ní fhéadfaidhach an sínitheoir leas a bhaint as.Ní bheidh aon dliteanas ar Oifig na nOibreacha Poiblí ná aran Stát as díobháil, gortú nó caillteanas ar bith a tharlaíonndon duine nó do shealúchas daoine a thugann cuairt ar naláithreáin seo, beag beann ar an gcaoi ar tharla sé.

This card gives the holder unlimited admission to all Heritage Sites listed in the brochure Heritage Sites of Ireland for one year (with the exception of Muckross Traditional Farms).This card is non-transferable and may only beused by the signatory.No liability shall attach itself to the Office of PublicWorks or the State for any damage, injury or loss to the person or property of visitors to these siteshowsoever caused.

PHOTO

: COURTESY O

F THE DEPARTMEN

T OF ARTS, HERITAGE AN

D THE GAELTACHT

12345

SEANÓIR - SENIOR CITIZEN


Leis an gcárta seo, beidh

cead isteach gan teorain

n ag an

sealbhóir chuig gach Lái

threán Oidhreachta atá

sa bhróisiúr

Láithreáin Oidhreachta na hÉireann ar feadh aon bhliana

amháin (seachas Feirmeacha Traidi

siúnta Mhucrois).

Tá an cárta seo neamh-inaistrithe agus ní fhéadfaidh

ach an sínitheoir leas a bhaint as.

Ní bheidh aon dliteanas a

r Oifig na nOibreacha Po

iblí ná ar

an Stát as díobháil, gortú

nó caillteanas ar bith a

tharlaíonn

don duine nó do shealú

chas daoine a thugann c

uairt ar na

láithreáin seo, beag bea

nn ar an gcaoi ar tharla s

é.

This card gives the holde

r unlimited admission to

all Heritage Sites listed i

n the brochure Heritage

Sites of Ireland for one year (with the ex

ception

of Muckross Traditional Farm

s).

This card is non-transferable and may only be

used by the signatory.

No liability shall attach it

self to the Office of Publ

ic

Works or the State for any

damage, injury or loss

to the person or propert

y of visitors to these site

s

howsoever caused.

PHOTO

: COURTESY O

F FÁILTE IRELAND

12345 CLANN - FAMILY

ANNUAL Heritage Card prices: Adult €40, Senior €30 (60 years +), Student/Child (age 12-17) €10, * Family €90

Heritage Cards are vaild for 1 Year from date of first use.

bñéäçêÉ=fêÉä~åÇÛë=eÉêáí~ÖÉThe O�ce of Public Works Heritage Card provides for free admission to all fee-payingstate-managed OPW Heritage Sites located throughout the country.

2019 is a great year to visit a heritage site as many sites have new and additional developments, events andexhibitions. For information on location and opening times of sites that can be visited with an OPW HeritageCard, please visit www.heritageireland.ie/en/info/heritagecards. This is your opportunity to exploreIreland’s iconic sites such as Kilmainham Gaol, Newgrange, Dublin Castle, the Rock of Cashel andClonmacnoise. Not only visit these jewels in the crown of Irish tourism, but to also discover the hidden gems –Portumna Castle, Emo Court, Swiss Cottage, Glebe House & Gallery, Mellifont Abbey, Knowth, Parke's

Castle – to name but a few. Lose yourself at these gorgeous, lesserknown sites and find a new favourite every visit.

How many can you explore this Spring/Summer?

Visit and enjoy Ireland’s wonderful Heritage sites

Clonmacnoise © Failte Ireland

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