Burren shows how the west can be won
VISITING my mother means I get to check out the changing face of my dirty old home town. Increasingly, it brings to mind that cute hoor Dutchman Peter Minuit, who (the story goes) in 1626 bought the island of Manhattan from the Lenape Indians for $24 worth of glass beads and trinkets, in possibly the biggest swindle ever perpetuated.
For all that glitters is not gold. Indeed, the bright lights of a big city can blind you to the relentless demolition of remnants of the past that constitute a large part of a city’s charm. The colossal constructions of concrete, glass and steel going up in their place seem designed to both dwarf and disconnect us from each other and the earth.
Certainly, you will be hard pressed to find the latter in terms of green spaces, only red for danger ribbons tied around old growth trees that are likewise, disgracefully, destined for the chop. Making ‘the big smoke’ seem little more than a series of lucrative sites for sale for investors rather than a breathing space for a real community.
Thankfully, there are rural communities beyond the pale that strive to shun such an exploitative ethos. And while the conveniently so-called ‘new world’, in which Manhattan was Mecca, urged land grabbing pioneers to go west, that is exactly where to head on this island to find the antithesis of avarice, in the form of folk who feel passionately connected to the land on which they live.
They will be out in force at the annual Burren Winterage Weekend over the October Bank Holiday, to celebrate and share ideas on the unique farming traditions of not just the Burren but also other ‘high nature value’ farming landscapes across Ireland and Europe. For this community-led initiative, co-ordinated by the awardwinning landscape charity Burrenbeo Trust, relies heavily on the voluntary support of locals, in particular the Burren Irish Farmers Association and the Burren Farming for Conservation Programme.
This year’s theme of “building healthy futures for people, food and nature” will provide the focus for its Burren Winterage School on sustainable farming. Everyone is welcome to the packed programme of events, many of which are free, from food fairs to a fund-raising herdsman’s walk with farmer/poet Patrick McCormack which takes time out for tea and scones at Glanquin House, better known as the home of Father Ted. Book readings include one by yours truly from her collection Lay of the Land, while the Farming for Nature Awards are in the spotlight on Saturday.
Perhaps the most poignant event occurs next Sunday, when you have the chance to literally follow in the footsteps of your forebears by accompanying a local farming family as they lead their cattle to winter grazing.
And who knows — if someone spreads the rumour that there be gold in them far off hills, we might even dupe a few developers into disappearing with them into the mist.