Heritage weekend offers huge array of events

The Heritage Weekend organised by Ballymote Heritage Group will this year, as usual, provide a comprehensive programme of lectures of a cultural and historical nature by experts acknowledged nationally, and will organise a series of history tours over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

A unique feature of the 2017 programme will be the publication of the 50 th issue or edition of the Ballymote Group’s journal, the Corran Herald.

The lectures on Friday 4 th, Saturday 5 th, Sunday 6 th and Monday 7 th August will be delivered in the Teagasc Centre.

Dr. Patrick Wallace, former Director of the National Museum of Ireland, will officially open the Heritage Weekend on Friday 4 th August and he will then impart his knowledge derived from his immense experience of work in the Museum. The title of Dr. Wallace’s lecture is ‘ The Museum, Past, Present and Future’. Dr. Wallace led the National Museum of Ireland team on the Viking Wood Quay project between 1974 and 1981.

On Saturday 5 th August at 9.00 a.m. the first outing of the weekend will bring the intrepid group of history tourists to Fenagh Abbey, St. Catherine’s Church of Ireland Church, Fenagh, Co. Leitrim, and to the recently reconstructed St. Mel’s Cathedral, Longford. Saturday evening’s lecture is entitled ‘Re-imagining the Classical House as a Gothic Castle: Francis Johnson at Markree Castle in the Early Nineteenth Century’. A distinguished member of the Irish Georgian Society, Limerick based Dr. Judith Hill, Architectural and Art Historian will be the lecturer. Dr. Hill has provided Heritage Consultancy for a vast array of projects, including the Management Plan for Kilkenny Castle, Limerick Urban Centre Revitalisation, a Conservation Plan for King John’s Castle, Limerick, Dromoland Castle Hotel and more.

Sunday’s tour (6 th August) will commence at 2.00 p.m. with Collooney as the destination. Peter Bowen-Walsh, the eminent railway historian, will enlighten the group on site,

Martin A. and Mary B. Timoney will demonstrate the unique features of the Churches of Collooney, a number of significant archaeological and geological sites at Rathdooneybeg, Carnareee and in the Ox Mountains. Alf Monaghan will be the lecturer for Sunday evening’s discussion. This lecture is ‘Monastic Ireland – A Gift of the Nile’.

The 9am outing on Bank Holiday Monday 7 th August, will bring the group to Belvedere House and Gardens, Mullingar and to the Church in Multyfarnham Friary.

On the return journey Ballymote the coach will visit the Church in Multyfarnham Friary. Fr. Loman McCoy OFM will outline the story of the Abbey church that was originally built in 1270.

Monday’s 8.30 p.m. lecture will be the work of Sam Moore, Archaeologist.

For further information please contact 087 4169557.