Raising awareness of conservation

THE inaugural Doolin Heritage Weekend begins this Saturday, bringing local and national experts and enthusiasts together to raise awareness about importance of conservation.

Talks on archaeology of the Burren, conservation and built heritage will be held in the Russell Cultural Centre Doolin, beginning at 10.15am on Saturday and 10.30am on Sunday.
In what promises to be an interesting and informative weekend, the keynote speaker, Dr Peter Harbison, will give a talk on 12th-Century Pilgrimage in the Burren  and Christine Grant of the National Monuments Service will speak on Archaeology and Everyday Life; Finding the Right Balance.
Other speakers on Saturday will include Dick Cronin, architectural conservation officer with Clare County Council, who will speak on Building Technology and Practice in Medieval Ireland, while Graham Hull, director with TVAS Archaeology, will give details of the archaeological excavation at Caherconnell.
The weekend begins with an overview of the Killilagh Church window project by Joseph McCooey, member of Doolin Heritage Committee, at 10.15am on Saturday.
“The main objective of the weekend is to raise awareness both locally and nationally of the need to conserve and restore heritage buildings in the Doolin area, commencing with work to Killilagh Church window,” explained Mr McCooey.
“We hope to carry out stabilisation works and restore the window in the transept of Killilagh Church this year.
“The programme on Sunday also promises to be informative and interesting,” he continued. “Of particular interest to the people of Fisher Street in Doolin will be a talk on The Power and Symbolism of Axes in Prehistory and the significance of Fisher Street, Doolin by Dr Carleton Jones, NUI Galway.
“Simon Large will discuss medieval churches and their survival, which is directly relevant to the work we hope to carry out at Killilagh. Michael Lynch is currently carrying out an important excavation at Fanoremore and we are delighted that he will give an overview of the project on Sunday also,” he went on.
Each talk will be followed by a question and answer session, which will give participants the opportunity to probe the subject matter further.
Mattie Shannon will give a presentation on local monuments of interest, before participants will be led on heritage walks in the area and given the opportunity of a site visit to Killilagh Church. Tickets will be sold on the day at the Russell Centre.
Anyone interested in purchasing tickets in advance can do so by expressing their interest on the Save Killilagh Church Window Doolin facebook page or by emailing seosamh33@eircom.net.
Tickets are also available from members of Doolin Heritage Committee.