A week of heritage events throughout the county

WALKS, talks and adventures are some of the events being held in South Galway next month as part of National Heritage Week.

There are more than 1,100 events scheduled to take place countrywide. Organisers of events in Galway believe they will attract large crowds including many people who wouldn’t normally attend heritage events.
“We are hosting a family nature event, which will give people the opportunity to explore Coole Park and its woodlands and learn a bit more about biodiversity because this is also the international year of biodiversity,” said Hilda MacLochlainn, supervisor guide, National Parks and Wildlife Services, Coole Park.
Cultural, historical and natural heritage are all explored during the week of activities in South Galway.
“We are having a night-time bat walk to see what bats there are at Coole and visitors will have the chance to learn the story of Coole through its magnificent trees on a guided walk through the woodland. Then we also have an afternoon walk to learn more about the Gregorys of Coole and the history of the Gregory family here. So anyone who is interested in learning more about the family and Lady Gregory herself would enjoy that walk,” Hilda continued.
According to Hilda, Heritage Week events attract a diverse crowd.
“You would often get people coming to something during Heritage Week who wouldn’t come to events during the rest of the year. There are a number of reasons for this. It might be because of the concentration of events that people are more aware of the activities. Also because there are things going on throughout the country during that week, it highlights to people what is going on in their own neighborhood. They might learn something new about places they are familiar with or perhaps go somewhere they haven’t been before because there is a special activity going on,” she outlined.
National Heritage Week, which is co-ordinated by the Heritage Council, runs from August 21 to 29 and the majority of events throughout the week are free.
Because of this, Hilda believes there has never been a better time for people to find out more about heritage.
“The events at Coole are free and are really aimed at all ages so it is great for families to come along to things before the kids go back to school,” she concluded.
According to Michael Starrett, CEO of the Heritage Council, more people than ever are taking an interest in heritage activities.
“Over the last few years, we have seen a definite change in attitude towards heritage. We are seeing a growing interest in heritage matters amongst the general public and, in particular, an increase in the number of people wanting to not only experience heritage but get involved in and learn more about their heritage. National Heritage Week provides a fantastic opportunity for people of all ages to participate and have fun. There are events for all interests throughout the week so I would encourage people to pick up a copy of the event guide or log on to heritageweek.ie and see what is on offer in their county,” he said.
“National Heritage Week attracts more than 200,000 people to events each year. Many of these are overseas visitors, making it the ideal opportunity to showcase our natural, cultural and built heritage,” he added.
The Burrenbeo Trust Centre in Kinvara is also hosting a number of events as part of Heritage Week.
“Heritage week opens up the Burren heritage, both natural and cultural, to the wider community from adults to children. It allows people to delve deeper and learn more about the rich heritage that is the Burren. By learning more about the heritage, by being more informed as a community, we can make better decisions on the future of it and its management,” said Brigid Barry of Burrenbeo Trust.
As well as a selection of events in Coole Park and in the Burren, Heritage Week will include a number of guided tours of the award-winning Kiltartan Gregory Museum as well as a guided tour of Kilmacduagh with guide, local archaeologist and historian, Rory O’Shaughnessy.
Further details of the events can be found on heritagecouncil.ie or from individual venues.