Karl and Leah Bredendieck of Skibbereen based 'Remote Presence' put their R.O.V. (remotely operated vehicle- a robotic underwater camera system), into the lake in conjunction with the UCC event. People queued to see the video monitors onshore which showed live coverage as the R.O.V. made its way along the bed of the lake. Viewers were fascinated to see what was underwater in Lough Hyne and Karl was on hand to explain the process. Such was the demand to see this normally hidden facet of Lough Hyne, Karl and Leah demonstrated for almost 4 hours despite being soaked to the skin.  

Following this another hardy crew of participants turned up in the pouring rain to collect litter in Lough Hyne and its environs. Members of Skibbereen Tidy Towns and Skibbereen Rowing Club got drenched in their worthy endeavour and were joined by Seán and Mark of Russagh Mill and Jim and Neil of Atlantic Sea Kayaking. Terri from Skibbereen Heritage Centre along with Mary Browne and her son from Baltimore made up the crew, overall collecting 22 bags of litter.  

Skibbereen Heritage Centre, the organiser of these events, would like to commend all the participants in this day’s events for turning up in rain and gale to enable these worthwhile events to go ahead. Most people went home dripping wet but happy as the day was an extremely pleasant one in spite of the adverse weather conditions.  

Other events in the week were very well attended. James MacEoin and friends played a variety of musical instruments (uilleann pipes, flute and violin) every lunch time in the Courtyard of Skibbereen Heritage Centre. James was kind enough to perform for longer than advertised most days such was the demand from the audience.  

Later in the week Nic Slocum, who runs a marine wildlife watching operation along the West Cork coast, gave an illustrated talk at Skibbereen Heritage Centre on the Whales and Dolphins of West Cork. A very appreciative audience watched fascinating video footage of cetaceans, filmed from Nic’s boat, and this was followed by an informative and entertaining slide show. Nic kindly stayed on for a considerable time after the talk to answer questions from the very enthusiastic audience.

The following night saw Skibbereen Theatre Society presented its pageant ‘The Boldest Fenian Man’ on the life and times of Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa in the Courtyard of Skibbereen Heritage 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 performance.

                                                           

William Casey followed the following night with an illustrated talk on genealogy at Skibbereen Heritage Centre. The humorous and informative slide show gave the steps of how to go about tracing your family tree and some of the common pitfalls that researchers encounter when carrying out this gratifying endeavour. Many people took notes and William gave handouts and answered numerous queries from the audience, staying on for a considerable time after the talk to do so.

Skibbereen Heritage Centre’s open day on Saturday was very busy with a lot of local people calling in to see what the Centre is about. Skibbereen Historical Walks was the final event of the week, with Margaret Murphy guiding a large crowd around the streets of Skibbereen and its history.

Skibbereen Heritage Centre would like to sincerely thank all participants for giving their time and expertise to celebrate Heritage Week. Such a successful week of events clearly demonstrates how much we love and cherish our West Cork heritage.