Three-day conference to explore findings of Vinegar Hill archaeological dig
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ENNISCORTHY will welcome history buffs from all over the country over the weekend as the Vinegar Hill Archaeological Conference takes place at The Presentation Centre. The event seeks to debunk some of the myths and legends surrounding what is perhaps Ireland’s most prominent battlefield site.
The conference will take an in depth look at over four years of research, including a major architectural survey of the landscape, which aimed to identify the extent of the battlefield, areas which saw the most intense fighting, weaponry, domestic ware and mass graves.
The conference gets underway on Friday evening from 7 p.m. at The Presentation Centre where Chairman of the Municipal District Council Keith Doyle will welcome everyone to Enniscorthy with a drinks reception. There will also be an outline of everything the weekend will consist of before a full day of fascinating lectures on Saturday, getting underway at 9 a.m. Dr Ronan O’Flaherty will kick things off with an introduction to the project, followed by Jacqui Hynes who will speak on the History and Folklore of the Battle. Edmund Joyce will discuss the Architectural Landscape of Enniscorthy in 1798 while Dr Niall Brady will give a run down of the Underwater Survey carried out on the River Slaney. After lunch, Cian Hogan will outline the findings of a Geophysical Survey of Vinegar Hill before Damian Shiels discusses some of the findings of the metal detection.
On Sunday there will be field trip to Vinegar Hill so that those in attendance can get a real feel for the findings discussed the previous day. A big crowd is anticipated over the course of the weekend and it is hoped that a good crowd of locals will join those with an interest in archaeology from across the country. Tickets are priced at €25 for all of the weekend’s events and are available from www.enniscorthycastle.ie.