Abarta Heritage in 2019

This year we’ve had the privilege of working on some fascinating heritage projects alongside dedicated professionals and wonderful communities.

The Winter Solstice marks the turning point in the year, so we felt that it might be an appropriate time to reflect back on 2019. This has perhaps been our busiest year so far, and we’ve been fortunate to work on so many exciting and rewarding projects. We’re rarely in this alone, instead we work alongside councils, communities and practitioners in each of the projects that we undertake. Here’s a bit of an insight into some of the projects that were involved in this year.

January – February 2019

The heritage world is often a little quieter at the start of the year as funding streams are set up and projects identified. One of the main (and most difficult tasks) that we had in January was to sort, review and present to the panel information on all the new applications from communities who wished to join the Adopt a Monument Scheme. This year we had almost 50 applications, and after careful consideration the panel chose these seven fantastic communities. The start of the year also saw the release of the audioguide to Kilcormac and Lough Boora on behalf of Kilcormac Development Association. With history going back over 9,000 years there’s certainly lots to discover there!

Along with beginning work to research and write more audiobooks and audioguides, we also presented the results of projects that we had completed in late 2018, such as the Heritage Audit of the Shannon Estuary Way for Clare County Council, and a heritage tourism concept for the Lough Oughter region of County Cavan for Cavan County Council.

March – April 2019

As the spring arrived we started work on a project to develop the Patrick Kavanagh Trail for Monaghan County Council. This project aims to animate the places of Kavanagh’s youth through a trail including key sites from the poet’s childhood and places that he referred to in his poetry. The importance of place is a key thread that runs through much of Kavanagh’s work. As Kavanagh himself wrote “all great civilisations are based on the parish”. His writings are imbued with the atmosphere and scenery of Monaghan and we worked with the council and the Patrick Kavanagh Centre on ideas for engaging and sustainable tourism trails.

March also saw a new episode of the Amplify Archaeology Podcast, which featured a fascinating chat about Mesolithic Ireland with Graeme Warren, if you haven’t caught the episode yet Graeme gives such amazing insights into the period! You can now find Amplify Archaeology on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Acast, SoundCloud and wherever you usually like to get your podcasts.

In April, Neil delivered a workshop on heritage interpretation and how to tell the story of the past to participants at Burrenbeo. It was a great experience, and we always jump at any opportunity to visit the Burren – one of our very favourite places! In March we worked with Transport Infrastructure Ireland on the Hidden Voices audiobook, that details the remarkable archaeological discoveries found during excavations in North Cork. April also saw another edition of Amplify Archaeology – this time Professor Tadhg O’Keeffe discussed the origins of Irish castles and how Irish castles compare with those of England, Wales and the rest of Europe.

May – June 2019

In late Spring and early Summer we had the opportunity to work with the Dublin Mountains Partnership on the heritage of the Dublin Mountains – a place very close to our heart after our experiences at the Hellfire Club!

In May we took a walk in one of Ireland’s oldest forests, St. John’s Wood outside Lecarrow in County Roscommon – a real treat for the soul! We also released three new episodes of Amplify Archaeology between May and June – beginning with a fascinating discussion with Jessica Smyth about Ireland’s passage tombs and the communities that built them. We also took a trip to Bloom2019 to visit the UCD Bloom Show Garden that demonstrates a selection of key food plants from Ireland’s past. All the plants are based on archaeological evidence and seeing, smelling and touching the plants helps you to gain a tangible glimpse into the changing nature of diet from the earliest settlers in Ireland to the present day. We also recorded an episode on the enigmatic Beaker Folk with Neil Carlin, that looked at trade and cultural exchange and how the coming of the age of metal changed Ireland forever.

Moving into later June, we began a tour guide training and mentoring project with the community in Mountbellew, County Galway, we also managed to take a break in Connemara and we visited the magical Inishbofin – what an utterly beautiful, story-filled place!

July – August 2019

In July and August we carried out fieldwork for a heritage audit on behalf of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, it was wonderful to spend time in the beautiful glens and coast of Antrim. We met so many dedicated communities to discuss their heritage projects, and we even had the opportunity to go to Rathlin Island – certainly a place we hope to revisit soon!

In the summer we also put together an interpretation plan for the historic town of Clarecastle in County Clare, and Conor continued work on the Fingal Fieldnames Project where he worked with volunteers and historical societies across County Fingal to research and record an important piece of intangible heritage. Over the summer we had the opportunity to work with Cork City Council to tell the remarkable story of Elizabeth Fort. As well as researching and writing the story we also provided audio headsets with translations into French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Irish and Italian.

In July we also recorded the Carrowkeel Episode of Amplify Archaeology. This episode detailed the re-evaluation of the human remains from the Carrowkeel passage tomb complex that revealed several new and important insights about life, death, and mortuary practice in Neolithic Ireland. This project was carried out by Doctors Thomas Kador, Lara Cassidy, Jonny Geber, Robert Hensey, Pádraig Meehan and Sam Moore in a multidisciplinary project that combined archaeology, osteoarchaeological examination of human remains and DNA analysis to gain new insights into Neolithic Ireland. Thomas, Lara, Robert and Pádraig chatted with Neil to discuss the incredible results that have changed the way that we look at life and death in Neolithic Ireland.

One of the main highlights of the year was our visit to Skellig Michael. We’d already been fortunate enough to visit back in 2013, but unfortunately it was late in the season so we missed the puffins. Seeing as Neil’s New Year Resolution was to see puffins in 2019 we thought it would be a great excuse to go back! It was much busier than our previous visit (and much more expensive), but it remains a truly magical experience.

September – October 2019

As Autumn began to fall we began work on a Conservation Management Plan for one of the most important archaeological sites discovered in Ireland – the large Viking settlement at Woodstown in County Waterford. The discovery of this previously unknown site at Woodstown has had profound implications on our understanding of the earliest phases of Viking interaction with Ireland. This Conservation Management plan is informed by consultation and best practice and the previous work, reports and guidance of the Woodstown Steering Committee that includes representatives from Waterford City & County Council, the Heritage Council, National Monuments Service, National Museum of Ireland, Department of Archaeology University College Cork, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, Vestfoeld Fylkeskommne, the National Biodiversity Data Centre, the Norwegian Embassy and Déise Medieval. This project is due to be completed in early 2020.

We were also given the privilege of managing the Irish Walled Towns Network on behalf of the Heritage Council. The IWTN is an exceptionally important programme which enables the conservation, interpretation and promotion of these wonderful reminders of our past. Along with those projects, we also carried out a tour guide training and mentoring programme on behalf of the Munster Vales. We also travelled to Kilkenny to chat with Cóilín Ó Drisceoil, and his team from Kilkenny Archaeology to hear about their exciting excavations at Kilkenny Castle for Amplify Archaeology.

Ireland and Wales have deeply entwined connections across much of our history, and so we were thrilled to begin work on the Rediscovering Ancient Connections Project alongside our partner in Wales Angharad Wynne. This project seeks to research, understand, celebrate and share the stories and themes that connect North Pembrokeshire in Wales and County Wexford in Ireland. The project is supported by the European Rural Development Fund and it is led by Pembrokeshire County Council, with project partners and joint beneficiaries Wexford County Council, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority and Visit Wexford.

November – December 2019

Thanks to support from Creative Ireland and the Heritage Council we managed to secure funding for a number of Adopt a Monument Groups. The scheme was intended to enable Adopt a Monument programme participants to continue their work in conserving and protecting their adopted monuments or to start new initiatives to improve the condition, accessibility, interpretation and engagement with their local heritage. You can read more about this here.

This is always a busy time of year, but we were delighted to have the opportunity to work to produce a heritage audit for Dunhill in County Waterford. It’s a lovely part of the country and absolutely packed with incredible heritage from megalithic tombs to a fine tower house – pretty idyllic by our standards! We also released another edition of Amplify Archaeology – where we travelled to Fethard to discuss digital heritage, cadaver tombs and sheela-na-gigs with Gary Dempsey and Orla Power.

A Growing Team

One of the most important things that happened for us this year is that Geni, Tara and Sara all joined Abarta Heritage. We’re so fortunate and grateful that such skilled and dedicated people have chosen to come and work with us, and we’re really looking forward to continuing our work in helping people to connect with Ireland’s heritage. You can find out more about Abarta Heritage and our team here.

The New Year

We have some really exciting projects lined up already for 2020, and we’re looking forward to continuing our work on ongoing projects like Adopt a Monument and the Irish Walled Towns Network.

We also have big plans for a new direction that we can’t wait to start implementing – watch this space in early Spring!

We are deeply grateful to everyone for all of your support over the past year. We wish you all a very happy Christmas and a wonderful new year!

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