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Heritage
Week 2010 |
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Skibbereen Heritage Centre is celebrating its
10th anniversary by holding a special series of
Heritage Week events in 2010. All of the events are
free of charge!
Saturday 21st of August 12-2pm - Touch
Tanks at Lough Hyne
UCC scientists once again give their
time to interpret common species to be found in
the lake. See, handle and learn about
creatures normally only seen underwater. Meet
North Pier, Lough Hyne Marine Nature
Reserve. No admission fee but weather
dependent so check if running in the event
of inclement weather!.
ROV will NOT be at Lough Hyne this
year.
Saturday 21st of August 2-4pm - Caring
for Lough Hyne Litter Pick
Come along and help Skibbereen Tidy
Towns Committee and members of Skibbereen
Rowing Club in their ‘Caring for Lough
Hyne’ litter pick. Bags, gloves and all
equipment provided; please come along to
North Pier to help! Meet North Pier Lough
Hyne.
Sunday 22nd of August 2-6pm - Genealogy
Afternoon
Come along and talk to experienced
genealogists who will be on-hand to guide
you regarding the records available to
researchers in Ireland. 30 minute slots
available by appointment please call
028 40900 to reserve a place. Free admission
to the exhibitions between 2 and 6pm. Venue
- Skibbereen Heritage Centre
Monday 23rd of August at 8.30pm - The
Archaeology of Lough Hyne and Area by
Terri Kearney. An illustrated talk on the
sites and monuments of the area and what
they tell us about who lived there and when.
Spaces limited, please call 028 40900 to
reserve a place. Venue - Skibbereen Heritage
Centre.
Tuesday 24th of August at 8pm. The
Boldest Fenian Man, SKIBBEREEN Theatre Society present their acclaimed pageant 'The Boldest Fenian Man' about the fascinating life and times of locally- born Irish revolutionary extremist Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa.
Venue - Skibbereen Heritage Centre.
Tuesday 24th of August at 8.30pm The
Great Irish Famine: Remember Skibbereen a
screening of the documentary on the Great
Famine in Skibbereen featuring local
historians Gerald O'Brien and Philip
O'Regan. Also interviews with Prof. Joe Lee,
Dr Larry Geary and Gary White Deer of the
Choctaw Nation. Booking essential as spaces
are limited. Venue - Skibbereen Heritage
Centre.
Wednesday 25th of August at 8.30pm Louis
Renouf and the history of marine research at
Lough Hyne, an illustrated talk
given by Paddy Leahy. Renouf was a pioneer in
marine research and made Lough Hyne known to
the scientific world leading to its
designation as Ireland's first Marine Nature
Reserve. Spaces are limited so please call
028 40900. Venue - Skibbereen Heritage
Centre.
Thursday 26th of August at 8.30pm The
Loan Funds of West Cork William
Casey will give a talk on these 19th century
institutions that provided pre-Famine credit
to the poor of West Cork. The Famine
decimated these organisations and the follow
up reports show how it affected the
borrowers and gives their names and what
happened to them subsequently. Spaces are
limited so please call 028 40900. Venue -
Skibbereen Heritage Centre.
Friday 27th of August at 8.30pm Roses
of the Heart Tour Australian
historian Christina Henri has researched
women convicts shipped from Ireland to
Australia in the 1800s and she tells their
story accompanied by Australian musicians
and local musicians from Comhaltas
Ceoltóirí Éireann. This is a moving
tribute to these forgotten women and one not
to be missed. For further details please see
Christina's website www.christinahenri.com.au
Venue - West Cork Hotel
Saturday 28th of August at 8.30pm
A
talk on the ongoing survey of old West Cork
graveyards Margaret Murphy and
William Casey will recount some of the
stories that have emerged about the people
and history associated with these ancient
graveyards, that came to light as a result
of the survey. Spaces limited so booking
essential on 028 40900. Venue - Skibbereen
Heritage Centre.
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Skibbereen
Documentary Broadcast |
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'The Great Irish Famine: Remember Skibbereen'
documentary is being broadcast on TG4 on
Sunday the 18th of July at 8.30pm. The
documentary was made by award-winning film-maker
Pat Collins of Harvest Films. Please see 'Famine
DVD' page for further details.
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Skibbereen
and District Historical Sociey's Next Summer Outing |
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Skibbereen
and District Historical Society's next field
trip will be held on Wednesday 14th July. The
subject is Aughadown House, its history, and a
general history of the Aughadown area. We will
also visit and hear about the Roaringwater
Copper Mines. Our guide is William Casey who is
originally from Church Cross and now lives and
works in Cork. He hss a great love and knowledge
of history, local history and genealogy, the
last having been the subject of a previous talk.
We will gather at Hollyhill layby at 6pm. Those
with cars might transport those without.
Information on this from Brendan McCarthy at 028
21094. All are welcome.
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Skibbereen
and District Historical Sociey's Summer Outing |
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Skibbereen
and District Historical Society's big trip of
the year will be to Derrynane, Co. Kerry on
Saturday June 26th. Derrynane was the home of
Daniel O'Connell and we will have the services
of a guide and a video presentation on his life
and the history of the house and surroundings.
The grounds and the beach are very attractive
and we will spend some time there. Following
lunch we will travel on to Stague Fort and the
visitor centre. The coach will depart the grotto
area of Cork Road at 09.00 and we expect to
return by 7pm. The cost of the trip is 20-25
euro, excluding lunch, depending on numbers. For
bookings please contact Liz Threapleton on 028
23530 as soon as possible.
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Opening
Hours |
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Skibbereen Heritage Centre's summer opening
hours are now in operation. We open daily from
10am to 6pm. We look forward to welcoming you!
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National
Famine Commemoration 2010 |
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The 2010 National Famine Commemoration will take place in Murrisk in Co Mayo on Sunday the 16th of May.
In recognition of this year’s commemoration, Skibbereen Heritage Centre is running an ‘open afternoon’ on Saturday the 15th of May. Between the hours of 2pm and 6pm visitors will be admitted free to the Famine Exhibition and there will also be special showings of the Famine documentary
‘The Great Irish Famine: Remember
Skibbereen’ which was made as part of the 2009 National Famine Commemoration.
The 2009 Commemoration took place in Skibbereen and the people of the area came together to put together a varied week of Famine-related events which culminated in the National Commemoration at Abbeystrowry Cemetery. The events of the week were recorded and released on DVD alongside the Famine documentary
‘The Great Irish Famine: Remember
Skibbereen’.
The DVD has been shipped all over the world and is used in many
universities, including NYU, as part of their Famine Studies curriculum. It is also being shown at many venues across America to mark the 2010 Commemoration including the Boston Irish Cultural Centre, the Irish Consulate in New York and the Irish American Heritage Centre in Chicago. The Famine documentary has already been broadcast on Canadian TV and will be broadcast by TG4
this summer.
Admittance is free to the Famine Exhibition at Skibbereen Heritage Centre from 2pm – 6pm and the Famine documentary
‘The Great Irish Famine: Remember
Skibbereen’ will show at 2pm, 3pm, 4pm and 5pm. To book a space to view the documentary, please call Skibbereen Heritage Centre on 028 40900.
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Seeking
help in identifying Graves in the old
Graveyards of West Cork |
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Graveyards are very important places, both as a respectful resting place for our loved ones and as part of our valuable heritage. Older graveyards, even with the best efforts, erode over time and many of the older headstones become illegible. It is really important, therefore, to preserve the identity of those who are buried in these older graveyards, so that a permanent record exists alongside the vulnerable headstone.
With the support of the Heritage Council, we are carrying out a survey of the old graveyards of Drimoleague, Drinagh, Creagh, Kilcoe (by the Castle) and old Aughadown graveyard. By so doing, a permanent record will be created that will be available to future generations. Upon completion, a copy of the survey will be given to each Parish.
Over the past months, all the headstones in the old Drimoleague, Drinagh, Creagh, Kilcoe and Aughadown graveyards have been transcribed. However, there are some unmarked graves and it may be possible, with the assistance of the local community, to identify and record some of those who rest in these unmarked graves.
If you would like to help in this project, please come along to the meetings at the old graveyards on the following dates/times where we will be on-hand to record any information that you may have:
Old Graveyard Drimoleague, 2nd of May 1-2.30pm
Old Graveyard Drinagh, 2nd of May 4-5.30pm
Creagh Graveyard 9th of May 3-5pm
Aughadown Graveyard 23rd of May 3-5pm
Kilcoe Graveyard 30th of May 3-5pm
We would really appreciate any assistance that you can give and, if you cannot make the meetings at the graveyard, please give us a call on 087 930 5735 or by email to mgthurley@hotmail.com. This valuable information is being lost year-on-year and any information that you may have is very
worthwhile and would be much appreciated.
Thank you. Margaret Murphy, Shandrum, Drinagh.
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Skibbereen
and District Historical Society Summer Outings |
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The Society has two events planned:
On Saturday, the 15th of May, it will take an
historical tour of Cork Harbour taking in Spike
Island, Haulbowline, Camden Fort and other
places of interest. For full details and to
book, please contact Chairman Brendan McCarthy
on 028 21094 or email him on
brendanmor@gmail.com
On June the 26th, a trip to Derrynane Co Kerry
is planned, taking in the home of Daniel
O'Connell and Stague Fort Visitor Centre. For
full details and to book, please contact the
Secretary Liz Threapleton on 028 23530
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National
Famine Commemoration 2010 |
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Éamon Ó Cuív,
T.D., Minister for Community, Rural and
Gaeltacht Affairs, outlined the National Famine
Commemoration Committee’s plans for the
National Famine Memorial Day 2010. The
Committee has agreed the following for this
year’s commemorations:
- It
is proposed that the national event will
take place on 16 May 2010 in Murrisk, Co.
Mayo;
- The
parallel international event will be held in
New York;
- That
communities around the country should be
encouraged to hold their own local events to
commemorate the Great Famine; and
- That
all public and sporting events should
observe a minute’s silence on the National
Famine Memorial Day.
The
National Famine Monument at Murrisk is situated
close to the Croagh Patrick Visitor Centre and
was unveiled by the then President of Ireland,
Mary Robinson, in 1997. The sculpture by John
Behan depicts a ‘Coffin Ship’ with skeletal
bodies and commemorates the Great Famine of the
1840s and is the largest bronze sculpture in
Ireland. A similar sculpture was unveiled in
November 2000, outside the United Nations
building in New York City, representing those
immigrants who survived the journey to America.
Minister Ó Cuív also announced that the
parallel international famine event will take
place in New York during May in 2010.
For details of the 2009 Commemoration -
programme, photos and DVD - please see our
'Famine DVD' page.
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Upcoming
Historical Talk |
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Skibbereen and
District Historical Society's next Talk will be
in the West Cork Hotel at 8.30pm on Thursday
22nd. April. The speaker is Conor Kelleher a
native of Skibbereen. The title of his Talk is
"Irishbatt in Unifil". He will brief
us on the culture and history of Lebanon
pre-1978 and tell of the various groups'
involvements - Amal, Hizbollah, Shiite and
Sunni, and the Palestinian element in Lebanon.
Conor has brought mementoes from his many tours
of duty, e.g. Irish, Israeli and Lebanese
flashes and much more. He will outline the
typical duties of the soldiers of Irishbatt. He
is a mine of fascinating information which
should be of enormous interest to all. Everyone
is welcone. A small charge will be requested of
non-members
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Spring
has arrived! |
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Finally it's happened - spring has arrived in
West Cork. The sun is shining, the flowers are
out and Lough Hyne is just stunning with the
bluebells and lesser celandines and the first
swallows are drinking from the Ilen river.
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Historical
Society Talk |
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Skibbereen and District Historical Society's
next Talk will be on Thursday, 25th March in the
West Cork Hotel at 8.30pm. The subject is
"The History of the O'Mahony Clan".
Our eminent speaker is Nora Hickey from Kinsale
who is the Archivist of the O'Mahony Society.
All O'Mahonys are encouraged to attend, but
everyone is welcome. A small charge will be
requested of non-members.
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Skibbereen
Heritage Centre re-opens fully for the season |
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Skibbereen Heritage Centre is delighted to
re-open its doors for the summer period on
Tuesday the 16th of March. From that date, the
Centre will open Tuesday to Saturday inclusive
from 10am to 6pm. We look forward to welcoming
you!
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Fleadh
Cheoil in Skibbereen |
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Skibbereen Comhaltas are proud to be the hosting
branch of Fleadh Cheoil Chorcai 2010. This will
be the eight occasion that the County Fleadh
will take place in Skibbereen. The event takes
place in Skibbereen between the 7th and the 10th
of May. For more information on the event please
go to the the Cork
Fleadh Cheoil website
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Famine
Documentary Canadian Broadcast |
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Canadian television viewers in Eastern Canada will experience West Cork on February 14th when the documentary ‘The Great Irish Famine; Remember Skibbereen’ is broadcast on Rogers TV in the Province of New Brunswick, on the east coast of Canada. It will be broadcast on the eve of Heritage Day in Canada and the documentary on the Great Famine in Skibbereen will be book-ended by a panel discussion on the impact that famine migration had on New Brunswick.
The documentary ‘The Great Irish Famine; Remember Skibbereen’ was produced in 2009 as part of the National Famine Commemoration and was made by the award-winning film-maker Pat Collins, of Harvest Films. Commissioned by Skibbereen Heritage Centre and supported by West Cork Development Partnership, the documentary features Dr Larry Geary, Prof Joe Lee, Prof Mark McGowan, Fr Patrick Hickey, Gary White Deer and local historians Philip O’Regan and Gerald O’Brien. The documentary examines how the Famine affected Skibbereen and the human aspect of this tragic period of Irish history. Launched in July 2009 on DVD, the documentary has sold all over the world and has featured on numerous media publications worldwide.
The Canadian broadcast came about due to the involvement of Bruce Driscoll, a former Chieftain of the O’Driscoll Clan, who is a member of the Irish Canadian Cultural Association of New Brunswick (ICCANB). The Association has membership of around 850, including families and individual members, and is very supportive of the documentary broadcast in Canada. Bruce and the members of his Association, who have worked for several months on this project, consider this to be one of the most important undertakings they have worked on in the past few years. “The Famine years saw hundreds of thousands of dispossessed Irish citizens travel across the Atlantic in barely humane conditions, and settle in Canada and the US. Nearly 20,000 landed in the City of Saint John in 1847 alone, while famine ships also landed in Miramichi and St. Andrews. A number of those ships left from Cork harbour. The history and the culture of New Brunswick were changed forever by the famine migrations, and by earlier Irish migrations, but little mention is made of it in modern times. Our role is to change that, and airing this documentary will go a long way to helping us achieve our goal. Our website http://www.newirelandnb.ca/ can provide more information on what we are trying to do to highlight the impact our Irish ancestors had on our Province”
The panel discussion will feature Farrell McCarthy, a founder-member of the ICCANB in 1984, who is the current editor of “The Shamrock Leaf” - a well-respected twice-yearly New Brunswick newsletter dedicated to Irish history, culture and events. Linda Evans, who is also participating, is a noted Irish historian and researcher and has also served as editor of “The Shamrock Leaf” over the years. Peter Toner, Professor Emeritus, UNB Saint John, who is an acknowledged expert in the field of Irish Canadian History, will also take part in the discussion. As one colleague observed, he “single-handedly created the field of Irish Canadian history of New Brunswick” and this work has resulted in a series of edited books, journal articles, conference papers and archival collections. Both the documentary broadcast and panel discussion will raise awareness of the Great Famine and the important cultural links between Ireland and Canada.
The documentary will be broadcast on Sunday the 14th of February at 9pm Atlantic Standard Time (1am Monday the 15th GMT) and can be picked up by Rogers TV cable subscribers in the cities of Bathurst, Miramichi, Moncton, Saint John and Fredericton and surrounding areas. Discussions are also underway regarding future Irish and US Television broadcasts of the documentary ‘The Great Irish Famine;
Remember Skibbereen’ which will further raise the profile of the Great Famine in West Cork.
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Skibbereen
and District Historical Society's next two
events... |
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Thursday the 28th of January William
Casey will give a talk on how to research your
ancestors. This genealogy talk will be at the
West Cork Hotel at 8.30pm and is open to
members and also to non-members on payment of a
small fee.
Thursday 25th of February The
Society's Annual General Meeting will be held at
the West Cork Hotel and will be preceeded by a
short film, 30 minutes, about 'Skibbereen in the
1950s'. Members are asked to attend with
suggestions for summer outings.
Thursday the 25th of March Nora
Hickey will give a talk on the O'Mahony clan
Thursday the 22nd of April Connor
Kelleher will give a talk on the peace keeping
forces in the Irish Army
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Rosscarbery
& District History Society: Programme
2010 |
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Jan 21st - Ken Nicholls will give
a talk on the Norman families of West Cork.
Venue is the Church of Ireland Parish Hall and
the talk starts at 8pm.
February 18th - Colman O'Driscoll
will give a talk on The O'Driscolls of West
Cork. Venue is the Church of Ireland Parish Hall
and the talk starts at 8pm.
March 18th - Cal Hyland will give
a talk on Ceallachain, King of Munster, his
forbearers and decendants. Venue is the Celtic
Ross Hotel and the talk starts at 8pm.
April 15th - Hazel Vickery will
give a talk on the Whites of Bantry House. Venue
is the Celtic Ross Hotel and the talk starts at
8pm.
Summer outings are provisionally arranged as
follows:
May's outing is a full day outing to Bere
Island; June and July will be evening outings
with locations to be advised and September's is
a full day outing to Cahir Castle and Swiss
Cottage in South Tipperary.
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Upcoming
Historical Society Talk |
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Skibbereen and District
Historical Society's next Talk will be on Monday
23rd November at 8.30 in West Cork Hotel. The
Talk is entitled "How the European Union
operates". The Talk will focus on Ireland's
involvement in the EU since we joined in 1973.
The speaker, Dr.Sean McCarthy, is a native of
Drinagh and attended St. Facthnas in Skibbereen
between 1971 and 1976. He studied at UCC where
he completed his PhD in Electrical Engineering.
Today he runs a company that designs training
courses for scientists. A part of his work
involves training scientists on EU programmes on
Research and Development.He has written three
books on EU research programmes. Since 1997 over
30,000 people have attended his courses in 28
different countries. His company is called
Hyperion Ltd., and details of their activities
can be seen on www.hyperion.ie.
All are welcome to this Talk. A small
subscription will be requested of non-members.
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Winter
Opening Hours |
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Skibbereen Heritage Centre will be open on Bank
Holiday Monday the 26th of October and will be
open from Monday to Friday 9.30am - 5.30pm from
next week until the 20th of November. It will
open by appointment after that date.
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Skibbereen
and District Historical Society's Upcoming
event |
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Skibbereen and District
Historical Society's next Talk will be held on
Thursday 29th October in West Cork Hotel at
8.30pm.The title of the Talk is
"Farming-pre and post Famine". Our
speaker is Dr. Liam Downey. Dr. Downey's stellar
career has encompassed four Director
Generalships of which one was ERAD 1988 to 1992
and another was Teagasc 1994 to 2001. In 2001 he
was awarded Honorary Professorship in
Agriculture Food and Science at UCD and in 2oo2
and Honorary Professorship of Science at NUI,
Maynooth. He is a Fellow of the Department of
Archaeology at UCD. He spends his holidays in
Allihies and has a love of the history and
archaeology of Beara. He will concentrate his
Talk on three different areas- 1)Markets: A
famous statement of the Director of the CSO in
1908 "Ireland was and always will be a
primarily livestock culture"In the period
1800 to 1850 we produced more crops then
livestock.This will be explained. 2)Farming -
general:Ploughing,haymaking, our contribution to
the development of the tractor. Farm implements
such as the seed fiddle, flails,sickles, hooks
and scythes. the different types of cattle,
sheep and pigs, will be discussed. 3)The
critical role of women:This was hugely
important. Included was poultry keeping, egg
production and buttermaking. All are welcome to
what promises to be a most informative and
fascinating look into the past. A small
contribution will asked of non-members.
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Ilen
Street Vintage Day Festival |
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Bank Holiday Monday the 26th of October sees
Ilen Street in Skibbereen transformed - vintage
day with its many events is free to attend and
guaranteed good craic. Ilen Street is the street
just next to Skibbereen Heritage Centre so come
to the Centre for a visit afterwards!
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Heritage
Week 2009 |
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Heritage Week in Skibbereen
kicked off in Lough Hyne with UCC’s
well-attended ‘Touch Tanks’ event. Professor
John Davenport and Dr. Mark Jessop entertained
and informed a lively and interested crowd with
small creatures from the lake. Sea-urchins,
starfish and a variety of other small animals
were passed around from hand to hand while the
scientists explained about their characteristics
and life-cycles. Also at the event were Karl,
Leah and Melanie Bredendieck of Skibbereen based
'Remote Presence' who put their R.O.V. (remotely
operated vehicle) in the lake, transmitting
images of what was to be seen underwater. With
an impressive range of equipment, Karl gave the
viewers an opportunity to see what is at the bed
of the lake while explaining what his varied
work entails and what the equipment is capable
of. This highly-successful event was followed by
the ‘Caring for Lough Hyne’ litter pick with
members of Skibbereen Tidy Towns and Skibbereen
Rowing Club who were joined by Séan, Mark and
Clare of Russagh Mill and Mary Browne, Terri
Kearney and Catherine Barry. The volunteers
collected any waste around the lake and left it
in pristine condition as well as having some fun
doing so.
During the week there was a variety of
well-supported free events at Skibbereen
Heritage Centre starting with a showing of
‘The Great Irish Famine: Remember
Skibbereen’ on Monday night. This Famine
documentary, made earlier in the year following
the National Famine Commemoration in Skibbereen,
is now on sale throughout
West Cork
and this special viewing was booked out and very
well received. Tuesday night saw Declan
O’Donnell, of the National Parks and Wildlife
Service, give his illustrated talk on Lough Hyne
to a full-house at the Heritage Centre and, such
was the level of interest, questions and answers
went on for a considerable time after the talk.
Declan explored some lesser-known aspects of
Lough Hyne including the history of marine
research and surprised the audience with some
stories of bizarre synchronicity about those
involved with Lough Hyne over the years. On
Wednesday night, Helen Collins kindly gave
another public screening of the historical film
‘Letter From Home’ which features well-known
local historian Gerald O’Brien as well as Lord
David Puttnam
, Senator Eoghan Harris and Jeremy Irons. This
excellent presentation gives an overview of
West Cork
’s history seen through the eyes of Gerald
O’Brien and was much appreciated by the
audience on the night. A large crowd attended
William Casey’s talk on Thursday night at
Skibbereen Heritage Centre for his talk on
‘The History of Aughadown House’. William
enthralled the audience with his extensive
research as he uncovered a link between a former
occupant of Aughadown House and the founder of
Boston
city, John Winthrop. Following the history of
the house, he covered many aspects of Irish
history generally and some of the prominent
families of
West Cork
.
There were many questions after the talk which
he good-humouredly answered while inviting
participation from the audience.
On Friday night, the final night of Skibbereen
Heritage Week events, there was a booked-out
historical walking tour of the town guided by
Margaret Murphy of Skibbereen Heritage Centre.
Margaret, with her enthusiasm and knowledge,
enlightened the walkers with some hidden aspects
of Skibbereen’s history and her talk was very
well received. Following this, Skibbereen
Theatre Society’s pageant ‘The Boldest
Fenian Man’ was staged in the Courtyard of
Skibbereen Heritage Centre on the life and times
of Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa. Centre. Frank
McCarthy’s performance as Rossa, the esteemed
locally-born revolutionary, had the audience
enthralled while Con Downing gave an excellent
presentation as the narrator. This well-written
pageant covered the life of Rossa in a succinct
and entertaining 25 minute performance and
finished with Brendan McCarthy giving a
rendition of the song, ‘A Nation Once Again’
while the audience joined to give a stirring
finale to the pageant. St. Fachtna’s Silver
Band gave a performance after the pageant from
the general brass band repertoire. The Band, an
integral part of Skibbereen’s heritage for
almost 150 years, had the audience singing and
dancing to its distinctive sound and even horses
joined in the party, running around a nearby
field, seemingly in time to the music. The final
event of the night, a fund-raising céile in the
Town Hall, drew a large crowd of enthusiastic
dancers and raised much-needed funds for Cara
House while the participants enjoyed an evening
of dancing and fun.
Skibbereen Heritage Centre would like to thank
all participants in the week who gave their time
voluntarily to promote the appreciation of our
valuable heritage. The events were a testament
to community involvement and prove that giving
something back to one’s community can also be
great fun. Congratulations and thanks to all
involved.
For a photo album of the week
click here.
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Skibbereen
and District Historical Society's Upcoming
events |
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On Saturday the 26th of
September, the Society will take a trip to Cork
to visit Shandon in the morning, where there
will be a guide and the afternoon will take in
the museum at Fitzgerald Park. The bus leaves
Skibbereen at 9am to arrive back at 6pm and
approx. cost will be 25euro per person. For
bookings, contact Jerome 028 36269
On Thursday the 29th of October at the West Cork
Hotel at 8.30pm. Dr. Liam Downey will give a
talk on 'Farming, pre and post Famine'. A small
charge will apply to non-member.
On Monday the 23rd of November at 8.30pm in the
West Cork Hotel, Dr. Sean McCarthy will give a
talk on 'Ireland in the EU'. Again, a small
charge will apply to non-members.
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Heritage
Week 2009! |
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Saturday the 22nd of
August at 12 noon – Touch Tanks at
Lough Hyne
UCC scientists once again give their
time to interpret common species to found in
the lake. See, handle and learn about
creatures normally only see underwater. Meet
North Pier, Lough Hyne Marine Nature
Reserve. No admission fee.
Saturday the 22nd of
August at 12 noon – R.O.V. at Lough Hyne
Skibbereen based 'Remote Presence' will be placing their R.O.V. (remotely operated vehicle), a robotic underwater camera system, in the Lough. The R.O.V. will swim along the lough bed and send back live video to monitors in the control van. Remote Presence kindly donated their time and energy in 2008 for what was an enthusiastically received occasion and hope to do so again this year. Please note, as they are a sometimes called out for emergency operations, attendance cannot be guaranteed.
Please refer back to this site for updates.
Saturday the 22nd of
August at 2pm – Caring for Lough Hyne
Litter Pick
Come along and help Skibbereen Tidy
Towns Committee and members of Skibbereen
Rowing Club in their ‘Caring for Lough
Hyne’ litter pick. Bags, gloves and all
equipment provided; please come along to
North Pier to help! Meet North Pier Lough
Hyne.
Monday the 24th of
August at 8.30pm - Screening of the
Famine Documentary The Great Famine in
Ireland: Remember Skibbereen.
Award winning film-maker Pat Collins'
documentary on the Famine in Skibbereen and,
in the broader context, of Ireland. Venue
Skibbereen Heritage Centre. No admission fee
but booking essential on 028 40900
Tuesday the 25th of
August at 9pm – Aspects of Lough Hyne,
an Illustrated talk by Declan
O’Donnell
Declan’s fascinating illustrated talk
will concentrate on the geological and
archaeological history of Lough Hyne and
will include some stories about early
research at the lake. Venue: Skibbereen
Heritage Centre, no admission fee but
booking essential on 028 40900
Wednesday the 26th of
August at 8pm – A Letter From Home,
an historical movie featuring Gerald
O’Brien
West Cork’s history seen through the
eyes of local historian Gerald O’Brien who
interviews Eoghan Harris, David Puttnam,
Jeremy Irons and many more…
Venue: Skibbereen Heritage Centre and
booking essential on 028 40900 no admission
fee.
Thursday the 27th of
August at 8.30pm – The History of
Aughadown House, an illustrated talk by
William Casey
Local historian William Casey talks
about the history of Aughadown House and the
extraordinary links between it and the
founding of
Boston
.
Venue: Skibbereen Heritage Centre and
booking essential on 028 40900 admission
free.
Friday the 28th of
August at 6.30pm, Historical Walk of
Skibbereen
Town
Free guided historical walking tour of
Skibbereen which will finish at Skibbereen
Heritage Centre to lead into the next
event of the evening.
Venue: Meet at the Cathedral,
North Street
and booking essential on 028 40900
Friday the 28th of
August at 8.00pm, The Boldest Fenian Man,
A Pageant on the life of O’Donovan Rossa
Skibbereen Theatre Society present their
acclaimed pageant 'The Boldest Fenian Man'
about the fascinating life and times of
locally- born Irish revolutionary Jeremiah
O'Donovan Rossa. Pageant will finish at
8.30pm
for next event of the evening
Venue: The Courtyard at Skibbereen Heritage
Centre no admission fee.
Friday
the 28th of August at 8.30pm,
St.
Fachtna’s Silver Band recital
Skibbereen’s Silver Band, which has been
playing for 150 years for the people of
Skibbereen, will give a recital from their
general brass band repertoire.
Venue: The Courtyard at Skibbereen Heritage
Centre and no admission fee.
Friday the 28th of August at 9pm Céilí
in the Town Hall
Skibbereen Geriatric Society is
running a fund-raising dance for Cara House
in the Town Hall. Admission fee is 8 euro
and dancing is to the music of Tim Joe and
Ann. For further details contact 028 22269
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Skibbereen
and District Historical Society |
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Skibbereen and District
Historical Society will play host to Cork
Historical and Archaeological Society's trip
to Skibbereen on Sunday 28th June. Having
visited the William Thompson Memorial at
Rosscarbery they will travel to Skibbereen.
The purpose of their trip is a visit to
Abbeystrewery Cemetery. At 2pm we will
assemble at Skibbereen Heritage Centre. We
will walk via Bridgetown to the graveyard
where we will hear of its history from
Gerald O'Brien. Thereafter we will return to
the West Cork Hotel. All are welcome to
accompany us on this occasion.
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Skibbereen
and District Historical Society |
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Skibbereen and District
Historical Society have planned a trip to
Heir Island and Sherkin for Sunday June 14.
Departure from Baltimore at 11.00. Eugene
Daly, noted local historian, will talk to us
about Heir Island whilst we are there. We
will then continue to Sherkin Island where
we will lunch. Eugene will again show us and
tell us about Sherkin Abbey. The boat fare
is 10 euro, food extra. To make a booking
please contact Brendan McCarthy asap on 028
21094. Should anyone require advance info on
our proposed trip to Battle of Kinsale site
on Wednesday 22nd July, they may ring Jim
Byrne on 086 2463589 or Liz Threapleton on
028 23530
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National
Famine Commemoration Events in May |
| |
The full programme is now available by going
to:
http://www.skibbheritage.com/Memorial_Programme.pdf
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Upcoming
Talk on Lough Ine with Skibbereen and
District Historical Society |
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Skibbereen and District
Historical Society's next Talk will be on
Thursday 30th April at 9pm in the West Cork
Hotel. The title of the Talk is
"Aspects of Lough Hyne" and our
speaker will be Mr. Declan O'Donnell.
Declan, a biologist,works for the National
Parks and Wildlife Service who manage Lough
Hyne as a nature reserve.He will look at
historical aspects of Lough Hyne and its
geological and research history. All are
welcome to this Talk which is doubtless of
great local interest and further afield. A
small subscription will be requested of
non-members.
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Upcoming
Festival |
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The 11th West Cork Tourism Walking Festival takes
place between the 15th and the 17th of May
2009 and there is a series of walks around
the Baltimore area including Lough Hyne and
Sherkin and Cape Clear Islands. To download
full details get the programme on
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Skibbereen
and District Historical Society |
| |
Skibbereen and District Historical Society's
next Talk will be held on Wednesday 25th
March in West Cork Hotel at 8.30pm. The
Title is "The O'Driscolls of Corca
Laoighe" and the Speaker is Colman
O'Driscoll.
Colman is a teacher of Irish, History and
Geography at St. Fachtna's De la Salle
school in Skibbereen. He will take us from
the O'Driscoll's pre-history origins to the
17th century, including and up to the Battle
of Kinsale and The Sack of Baltimore. All
are welcome to this Talk which will have a
very wide appeal. A small subscription will
be requested of non members.
The talk following is on Lough Hyne on the
30th of April with Declan O'Donnell as the
speaker and the May event will be part of
the Famine Memorial Week featuring Dr Larry
Geary on the 14th of May
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Upcoming
Festival |
| |
The Fastnet Short Film Festival will run
from Thursday 14th to Sunday 17th of May in
the seaside town of Schull in West Cork.
It's main aim is to encourage the making of
short films by bringing together film makers
of all ages and all levels of experience, to
share their knowledge and techniques, to
screen short films in many different
categories and to have a wonderful
experience of West Cork that they will take
away with them and remember for years to
come. www.fastnetshortfilmfestival.com.
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Skibbereen
and District Historical Society |
| |
Skibbereen and District
Historical Society is holding its AGM on
Thursday the 26th of February at 8.30pm at the
West Cork Hotel. Last year's activities will
be discussed as well as plans for the coming
year and all members are invited to
participate.
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Rosscarbery
Historical Society |
| |
Rosscarbery Historical Society's
next events are on the 19th of March with a
talk by Declan Waugh on Global Warming and the
following is on the 16th of April with Paddy
O'Shea on Rhodesia. The venue for both is the
Celtic Ross Hotel at 8pm.
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Lough
Hyne Features on RTE Programme Eco Eye |
| |
Duncan Stuart, presenter of the
RTE programme Eco Eye, visited Skibbereen last
year and the resulting programme which
concentrates on Eco Tourism in West Cork can
be seen on the website http://www.rte.ie/tv/ecoeye/avlong.html?2485613,null,243.
Lough Hyne looked beautiful and the
whale watching off West Cork also featured on
the programme.
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Historical
Society Talk |
| |
Skibbereen and District
Historical Society's first Talk of 2009 will
take place in West Cork Hotel on Wednesday
28th January at 8.30pm. The speaker is Mr.
Connie Murphy from Castletownbere and the Talk
is entitled "Prehistoric Inhabitants of
West Cork". Mr. Murphy is a retired
teacher whose abiding hobby is archaeology. He
has mapped and recorded monuments all over
West Cork. No written records exist for the
period under discussion. There exist some
pre-history monuments. In the main the lives
of the people and culture are interpreted
through the monuments, stone circles, standing
stones, tombs and the like. He will through
mapping of the monuments show the places most
likely inhabited. He will discuss the period
up to the end of the Bronze Age. This promises
to be an enthralling subject and all are
welcome. A small charge will be requested of
non-members.
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Big
Famine event for Skibbereen in 2009 |
| |
Éamon Ó Cuív, T.D., Minister
for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs,
has announced that the National Famine
Memorial Day 2009 will be held in Skibbereen
on the 17th of May. As this is the
inaugural year for this newly-created annual
memorial day, there should be large media
interest both at home and abroad. There will
also be a ceremony held in Canada on the same
date to commemorate this important era of
Irish history. Skibbereen is honoured to be
chosen to host this auspicious event. Watch
this space for further details.
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