Hi All,
The month of May is around the corner and there is a fantastic line-up of events over the next few weeks, commencing this evening.
May 4th will see the commencement of Centenary Commemorations regarding the US Naval Service in Cork and many further WWI themed events have been proposed throughout the summer (more to be announced in the next heritage email update).
The inaugural Cruinniú na Cásca on Easter Monday, 17th April, was a phenomenal success and a DVD of the day is currently being produced with more on this in the coming weeks. Indeed, over the coming months there will be a range of Creative Ireland Events and Projects and the next email update will include information in this regard.
The month of May will see National Biodiversity Week running from the 19th to the 27th and it is also the time to start planning Heritage Week events for inclusion in the National Heritage Week Programme undertaken by the Heritage Council (see www.heritageweek.ie) for more information.
Upcoming events are now listed in full:
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UPCOMING EVENTS:
Date/Time: Tuesday 25th April to May 26th 2017
Event: : Ford - the Cork Connection, an exhibition by Cork County Library
Location: County Library Building, Carrigrohane Road, Cork
Additional Information: Coinciding with the hundred year anniversary of Ford Ireland, the Local Studies Library launched an exhibition, Ford - the Cork Connection on Monday 24th April by the County Mayor, Cllr. Seamus McGrath. Miriam Nyhan also gave a wonderful talk, having authored the publication 'Are you still below?' The Ford Marina Plant, Cork, 1917-1984'. The exhibition focuses on various aspects of the Marina plant, why Cork was chosen, years of unrest, the Ford family's Cork ties and the sad closure in 1984. The exhibition is both educational and thought provoking and has been compiled using the resources of Cork County Library's Local Studies library. The exhibition will be on display in the County Library Building from April 25th to May 26th, Monday to Friday from 9am to 5.00pm. All welcome.
Date/Time: Thursday 27th April 2017 at 20:00
Event: : The May Morning Hare - An illustrated talk
Location: Ballygarvan Community Centre, Ballygarvan, Co. Cork
Additional Information: Shane Lehane will give a talk on the May Morning Hare. The talk has been organised by the Ballygarvan Local History Society and all are welcome to attend. Admission is €5 to cover costs on the night.
Date/Time: Thursday 27th April 2017 at 20:00
Event: : Tracking the Americans in Cork Harbour 1917-1919 - An illustrated talk
Location: Aghada GAA Club, Rostellan, Co. Cork
Additional Information: Renowned Heritage Expert Damian Shiels will give a talk on the American involvement in Cork Harbour during World War One. The event has been organised by the Whitegate/Aghada Historical Society and all are welcome to attend
Date/Time: Thursday 27th April 2017 at 20:30
Event: The Hales Brothers and the Irish Revolution
Location: The Parish Centre, Clonakilty, Co. Cork
Additional Information: A lecture on the Hales Brothers of Ballinadee will take place in Clonakilty on 27th April in the Clonakilty Parish Centre. The talk, which will be given by Liz Gillis, will tell the story of the Hales brothers from West Cork and the sacrifices they made fighting for independence. Three of the brothers Sean, Robert and Liam were interned in Frongoch Internment Camp, Wales after the Easter Rising. Signed copies of Liz's book on the Hales brothers will be available to purchase on the night. All are welcome to attend.
Date/Time: Saturday 29th April 2017 at 20:00
Event: : Concert in aid of Kilmurry Independence Museum
Location: Éire Óg GAA Hall, Ovens, Co. Cork
Additional Information: In support of the Independence Museum Kilmurry, a wonderful concert featuring Séamus Begley, Jim Murray and Liam Ó Maonlaoí, will take place in the Éire Óg GAA Hall on Saturday 29th April. Tickets for the night are €20 and it promises to be a great night. For more information visit www.kilmurrymuseum.ie.
Date/Time: Saturday 29th April 2017 at 14:00
Event: : Mitchelstown Cultural Tour
Location: Forest Hall, New Square, Mitchelstown, Co. Cork
Additional Information: As part of the Ballyhoura International Walking Festival, a cultural tour of Mitchelstown will take place on Saturday. Register at Forest Hall from 14:00, with the walk commencing at 14:30. The walk, which has a duration of 1 and a half hours, will take in the following:
'Visit New Square Kingston Orphanage and Weaving school, Wm Trevor statue , land war killings, first coop store, presentation convent / church stories& views , Cill na Marbhan, allotments, Ballinwillin House, St Fanahan's College/ Well . Mulberry tree, 3 Estates, Poorhouse, Coop Movement, Swim pool, Library, Baldwin street plaques to Sarsield Casey & Liam Lynch , First Cheese plant, Kingston Hotel, Kingston College Rules ~ Fountain , Croquet & Tennis lawns, Masonic lodge, Oisin Cinema , Mayflower Ballroom, Fitzgerald Brass band house, Courthouse, Bridewell, Sunday school, St. George's church, Skittles Court, 1850's shop front, Forest Hall'. A talk on the heritage of hurling and on genealogy follows.
Date/Time: Saturday 29th April to Monday 1st May 2017
Event: : Ballyhoura International Walking Festival
Location: Ballyhoura and environs, Co. Cork and Co. Limerick
Additional Information: 'Ballyhoura International Walking Festival takes place from Friday 29th April until Monday 1st May. Visitors are expected to descend on Ballyhoura Country over the May Bank Holiday weekend. The festival provides exploration to some of Ballyhoura Country's stunning countryside in the company of guides. The Festival features a programme of walks , from the enthusiastic well-equipped walker who relishes the challenge of the A & B walks on the Saturday and Sunday, to the gentle ramblers who are out to enjoy pleasant guided walks in the company of local experts. Heritage features strongly as part of the weekend and for more information emailreception@ballyhoura.org or visit www.visitballyhoura.com.
Date/Time: Saturday 29th April to Monday 1st May 2017
Event: : Festival Launch of the Old Butter Roads Food Trail
Location: Blarney and environs, Co. Cork
Additional Information: The Old Butter Roads Food Trail has been developed by the producers, eateries and visitor attractions to celebrate the range of foods grown and produced in the Muskerry, Duhallow and Avondhu areas of County Cork. The formal launch in Blarney, at the Church of the Resurrection, will be opened by Michael Creed the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine at 18:00 on Saturday 29th April in Blarney Village. There will also be a short talk on the history of the Butter Road followed by food tasting from the producers and eateries of the Food Trail. An RTÉ film called 'The Butter Road' will also be projected in the Old Blarney Post Office Café and the Cobh Animation Ladies will be around Blarney village in their period costumes from 16:30 to 18:00. There are a number of fringe events taking place over the weekend including a storytelling competition on the topic of Butter Roads on the Sunday, in the Church of the Resurrection (commencing at 16:00). Visit the facebook page for more information or email oldbutterroads@gmail.com.
Date/Time: Monday 1st May 2017 from 14:00 to 18:00
Event: : Nature Treasure Trail and Environmental Presentations
Location: An Cáiteach, Rathbarry, Co. Cork
Additional Information: A wonderful natural heritage/environmental day has been organised by Rathbarry Tidy Towns for Monday May 1st 2017. All welcome.
1.00pm-Happy May Day & welcome to Rathbarrys Green Day 2017 at An Cáiteach
2.15pm- Nature Treasure Trail starting at An Cáiteach & around the River Walk Fun for the children- both young and old.
3.00pm- Talk by Environmental Consultant Donal O'Leary on Composting. We are delighted to have Donal back again this year to answer any questions you may have following on from last year's presentation. Don't miss this opportunity to learn everything you need to know about home composting.
4.00pm- Tea/Coffee
4.30pm- "Rathbarry Sustainability Road Map"-talk by Brian Mc Swiney Have you ever wondered what Sustainability really means? Now is your chance to find out what it's all about and how we can make a difference here in Rathbarry. From what trees & flowers to plant to welcome the butterflies and bees into your garden to what your Carbon Footprint is and much, much more.
6.00pm- Go raibh maith agaibh go léir agus slán abhaile.
Date/Time: Thursday 04th May 2017 at 19:30
Event: : History Ireland Hedge School in Cobh - as part of the Cobh Café Readers' and Writers' Festival
Location: Cobh Library, Cobh, Co. Cork
Additional Information: To mark the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the US navy into Cork there will be a History Ireland Hedge School on Ireland, the United States and the War at Sea, 1917, to be held in Cobh Library, commencing at 19:30 on Thursday May 4th, 2017.
1917 was the pivotal year of the First World War. At its outset German U-boats were inflicting huge damage on Allied shipping, while in the land war the loss of one ally, Russia, was not compensated by the gain of another, the United States. How did the Allies swing the balance in their favour by the year's end, particularly at sea? How central was Ireland (and Cork in particular) in this conflict? To address these and related questions join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, and the panel - John Borgonovo (UCC), Michael Kennedy (RIA's Documents on Irish Foreign Policy), Jennifer Wellington (UCD) and Michael Martin (Titanic Trail). The Event is supported by the Commemorations Unit, Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. History Ireland Hedge Schools are lively, unfettered debates and provide a novel and interesting way to bring historical topics to life.
A note on the Cobh Café Readers' and Writers' Festival:
After a hugely successful 2016 Festival, the annual Cobh Arts Festival Event (Readers and Writers) festival will be back from 1-7 May, 2017 with its unique mix of readings, writer's workshops, discussion, comedy, theatre, cinema and chat in one of Ireland's most historic towns. As one of Ireland's newest cultural festivals, we are committed to bringing cultural and unique innovative events to the town of Cobh. For more information please contact Cobh library: 021 48111 30, email:readersandwritersfestivalcobh@gmail.com
Date/Time: Thursday 4th May 2017 at 20:00
Event: : 'May-day Magic - Fairies, Witches and Dew-Charms'
Location: Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal (Blarney Secondary School, Blarney, Co. Cork
Additional Information: Blarney & District Historical Society presents an illustrated lecture titled: 'May-day Magic - Fairies, Witches and Dew-Charms' Since the date is quite close to May Day (May 1st), the focus of Guest speaker, Dr. Jenny Butler, Lecturer in the Study of Religions at U.C.C., talk will be on the fairies and the traditional celebration of the start of summer. This would bring in some legends of the Sídh (fairies) as well as historical (and continuing) customs. Who were the Sídh? Why do we still believe in and, sometimes, fear them? Dr. Butler also discusses how the earliest May Day celebrations appeared in pre-Christian times. It is also associated with the Gaelic word Bealtaine, The day was a traditional summer holiday in many pre-Christian pagan cultures. While February 1 was the first day of spring, May 1 was the first day of summer. Enquiries to Brian Gabriel 087 2153216.
Date/Time: May 5th to September 17th 2017
Event: : Portraits: Women of Cork and the U.S. Navy 1917-1919 : Organised by Damian Shiels
Location: Sirius Arts Centre, Cobh, Co. Cork
Additional Information: In 1917 thousands of American naval servicemen came to Ireland to participate in the First World War. Their interactions with local women, particularly in Cork where they were based, became a major social issue. Many Irish women ultimately married these American sailors, with Queenstown / Cobh in particular seeing a large number of weddings. Who were these women and what were their stories? New research by Damian Shiels to identify them using U.S. passport applications has revealed something of the past - and the portraits of many. The exhibition at Sirius Arts Centre will consider a number of these images, and the stories of those young women depicted.
Sirius Arts Centre is housed in the former Royal Cork Yacht Club building - a beautiful Italiante building that was designed by Anthony Salvin and built by James Smith Barry of Fota in 1854. The RCYC operated from here for over a century. During the first World War the building was used to host many of these American and British naval servicemen as a place to relax and socialize. Women were not permitted to socialize there nor could they become members of the yacht club until much later.
Damian Shiels is an archaeologist and historian with Rubicon Heritage Services Ltd. Formerly a curator in the National Museum of Ireland, he is a specialist on Irish military archaeology and history, on which he has published and lectured widely both nationally and internationally. His latest book "The Forgotten Irish: Irish Emigrant Experiences in America" was published by The History Press in 2016. This exhibition is kindly supported by the Port of Cork. For more information visitwww.siriusartscentre.ie.
Date/Time: Sunday 14th May 2017 at 13:00
Event: : A Gearagh Walk - with Ted Cook
Location: The Gearagh (meet at carpark on Inchigeela road having taken a left just on the Cork side of Macroom, (N22), signposted Bantry/Glengarriff. Carpark is apporx. 2 miles on the left hand side), Macroom, Co. Cork
Additional Information: Renowned Heritage Specialist Ted Cook will give a talk on the fascinating natural heritage contained within the Gearagh. Everyone is welcome to attend and bring a picnic.
Date/Time: Tuesday 16th May 2017 at 18:30
Event: : Mallow Field Club visit Carrig Park
Location: meet at 18:30 at the Mallow Garda Station, Mallow, Co. Cork
Additional Information: The Mallow Field Club is taking a field trip to visit Carrig Park on Tuesday 16th May. The event will be guided by heritage experts Michael O'Sullivan and Pat McInerney. .
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It is hoped that this update has been of interest and all the very best for now,
Le meas,
Conor
Conor Nelligan
Heritage Officer / 'Ireland 2016' County Coordinator
Heritage Unit, Planning Dept. Floor 3,
County Hall, Carrigrohane Rd. Co. Cork
Phone: 021 4285905
Email: conor.nelligan@corkcoco.ie
Website: http://www.corkcoco.ie/heritage