Packed local schedule of events during Heritage Week
Rebekah O'Reilly browsed through the full schedule of events locally during Heritage Week (August 17-24) and selected some of the following highlights:
WESTMEATH
‘Bee Creative at Athlone Castle’
Athlone Castle is dedicating Saturday August 24 to highlighting the role pollinators play in food production, the dangers they face, and what steps we could take to restore their populations to healthy levels. Join Jesmond Harding, an expert on some of Ireland’s smallest residents, to learn more about the hidden lives of pollinators. Then, drop into the arts and crafts tent to make “stained glass” paper suncatchers to decorate garden spaces. There will also be face-painting and garden games available. Access to this event is included with a regular admission fee to Athlone Castle.
The event will take place in Athlone Castle on Saturday August 24, running from 11am to 4pm. Further information about this event is available through email at info@athlonecastle.ie or by telephone at 090 6442130.
A Call To Keening Poetry Booklet
Athlone Library will have a limited number of a poetry pamphlets available for free on a first-come first-served basis in Athlone Library during Heritage Week. This is a unique opportunity to receive a copy of a limited edition pamphlet of nature poems, all of which will be signed by the author.
In 2023, Westmeath poet Jackie Gorman received an Arts Council of Ireland Agility Award to develop a new sequence of poems about biodiversity loss in Ireland. These poems are both a lament, referencing the Irish keening tradition and they are a call to action. To see what we have lost and what we can save, as poetry allows us to see the world in detail. The poems include Corncrakes, Curlews, Wolves, Natterjack Toads, Golden Eagles and more. The pamphlets will be available in the library during opening hours between August 17 to August 24. Further information is available through email at gormanjackie23@gmail.com or by telephone at 0877605824.
A Journey in Time, Through Print
Athlone library will exhibit the newspaper headlines from local and national newspapers, from 20, 50 and 100 years ago. These headlines will be available for viewing inside the library during normal opening hours, running from August 17 to August 24.Further information about this event is available through email at athlib@westmeathcoco.ie or by telephone at 090 64 42155.
Athlone Town Fossil Walk
Ireland’s Fossil Heritage is hosting a public walk in Athlone town centre on Wednesday August 21 from 11am to 12.30pm, starting at The Castle Inn on Castle Street. The walk will feature some of the best and most spectacular fossils visible in the building stones of the town's walls and footpaths, and aims to highlight the fossil wonders in places that we walk by every day. The tour guide will share the secrets of the fossils, explaining how they formed, where they lived, and even how they died. The walk is on flat ground, and is suitable for all ages, from 7 years +To book your free place contact Jess at jfranklin@ucc.ie
Connaught Street Community
The Connaught Street Community are inviting you to a community discussion on August 21 from 7pm to 9pm in the Shamrock Lodge Hotel about the progress the group has made over the past year, the heritage street front guide being commissioned, and to learn how you can get involved in helping the area. Further information about this event is available through email at lmheavin@googlemail.com or by telephone at 0851972653.
Connections along Athlone Canal - film screenings
Drop in to Golden Island Shopping Centre from August 19 to August 23 from 10am to 6pm and see a series of short film screenings and images showcasing recent heritage projects undertaken by the Athlone Canal Heritage Committee and the Athlone No 1 Gun Battery Heritage Group. There will be an opportunity to meet members of these heritage groups during the week to hear more about the heritage of the canal area. Further information about this event is available through email shayhamiltonathlone@gmail.com.
Display of 17th century Clonmacnoise Chalice
The community is invited to Ballinahown Church on August 17 from 3pm to 3:30pm, to see the display of a 17th century Clonmacnoise Chalice. During the event, the chalice will be on display for public viewing with an overview of the history associated with the chalice. Further information about this event is available through email at coughlanm@hotmail.co.uk or by telephone at 0868137409.
Exploring Athlone Town Wall
Join local Historian Gearoid O'Brien and Heritage Officer Melanie McQuade for a guided walk around the standing remains of Athlone Town Wall. Hear about the history of the town defences, recent conservation works completed on the wall and plans for future conservation. There will be an opportunity to see parts of the Town Wall not usually accessible to the public. Outdoor walking event please dress for the weather and wear comfortable footwear. Further information about this event is available by email at melanie.mcquade@westmeathcoco.ie or by telephone at 087 6074496.
Meet outside Athlone Castle for the walk on August 22, 11am - 12pm
Dún na Sí Heritage Park & Basket Weaving Demonstrations
Dún na Sí Heritage Park are inviting the community to join them for a basket weaving event on August 19 from 11am to 3:30pm. Entry to the park will be free on the day. Take a trip through the ages on the Heritage Park Trail. The Irish Heritage Crafts Co Op will be on site throughout the park doing basket weaving demonstrations. Check out the new Ringfort surround which was planted earlier this year with the support of The Irish Heritage Crafts Co Op, Creative Ireland and local community groups. Further information about this event is available by email at marketing@dunnasi.ie, or by phone on 0830136749.
Hunting in the Vanishing Lake
Dún na Sí in Moate are inviting the community to join them from 2pm to 3pm on August 24 to celebrate Wild Child Day. They ask that visitors bring their bug jars, wildflower guides, or just themselves for a scavenger hunt and walk in Dún na Sí's turlough, a vanishing lake. Explore the plants and animals of this special wetland. Exploration will be led by local Ecologist George Smith. The event is suitable for ages 7+, and wellies are recommended. The event is not suitable for people with mobility difficulties. Booking is required, and can be done on HeritageWeek.ie. Further information is available through email at finance@dunnasi.ie or by telephone at 0906481183.
Moate and Snowcream: A Journey Together
Moate Library are delighted to present this interesting exhibition which recalls the 50-year history of Moate based business Snowcream. Since it first opened in 1958, Snowcream grew to become a huge party in the community and a welcome addition to the town for employment. The exhibition outlines the business history of Snowcream and is dotted with personal memories plus wonderful stories gathered from the staff and farmers. Included in the exhibition is a wide variety of old photographs, which will jog many happy memories for the local people of Moate. The exhibit will run from August 17 to August 24 in Moate Library during normal opening hours. Further information about this event is available by phone on 09064 81888, or by email at moatelib@westmeathcoco.ie
The Field Names and Place Names of Westmeath
Dr Aengus Ó Fionnagáin is inviting the community to join him as he gives an illustrated talk on the field names and placenames collected by the Westmeath Field Names Recording Project.
The talk will focus on names recorded by the project and will discuss a number of placenames, some current, some historical, which have been collected in and around Glasson, Tubberclair, Tang, Drumraney and Mount Temple and Coosan, as part of Westmeath Field Names Recording Project (2018-2024).
The event will take place on August 23, from 7:30pm to 8:30pm in the Glasson Old School House.
Further information about this event is available from Westmeath Field Names Recording Project by email at heritage@westmeathcoco.ie.
SOUTH ROSCOMMON
Monksland's Heritage Night
An evening of music, ceoil, stories and craic is being organised by the Monksland Town Team for Heritage Week on Friday, August 23, in the Athlone Springs Hotel from 7.30-9.30 pm.
A Local Railway History, "Detailing Two Contrasting Railway Stations"
22 August, 8pm - 9:30pm Drum Heritage Centre A Local History event - a talk on Local Railway History by Eamonn Leonard. Further information about this event is available from Drum Heritage Centre by phone on 085 2094555 or by email at drumheritage@gmail.com.
A Virtual Railway Journey
St. John’s Community Centre, Lecarrow are inviting the community to join them for an exciting talk about the global development of railways during the early 1800s and the establishment of the Midland Great Western Railway which came into service in Broadstone Dublin in 1847 and extended as far as Clifden in Co. Galway. Emphasis will be on its service to Roscommon. This event will run on August 23, from 8pm to 9:30pm in St. John’s Community Centre. Further information about this event is available from St. John’s Parish Heritage Group by phone on 0879842047 or by email at stjphg@gmail.com.
Bat Talk in Roscommon Castle
To celebrate National Heritage Week the Tidy Towns Association have organised the annual bat talk which will be given by Ecologist David Fallon in Roscommon Castle on Saturday 24th of August 8.30pm-10pm. David will give a talk on bats and has a bat detector for people to use. Please wear sturdy shoes, suitable clothing and bring a torch for safety. Free parking is available adjacent to the Park and in the town centre which is within walking distance of the Park.
Everyone is welcome, and children must be accompanied by an adult. Further information about this event is available from Roscommon Tidy Towns Association by phone on 086 3726743 or by email at kathleenshanagher1@gmail.com.
The Poets of Ireland to One House - Galey Castle
Dr. Daniel Curley invites the community to join him at Culleen Hall, Culleen, Knockcroghery, as he shares the history of Galey Castle, not far from Knockcroghery village, which was an important part of the O’Kelly lordship. It was reputedly the scene of Ireland’s first fleadh in 1351. The event will run on August 22 from 8pm to 9:30pm at Culleen Hall Culleen, Knockcroghery. Further information about this event is available by phone on 0876331705 or by email at dwyercor@gmail.com.
Woodland Wander at Rinnagan Reserve
Join the Native Woodland Trust on August 18, from 10:30am to 1pm in Lecarrow Native Woodland Trust Reserve for a tour of their Rinnagan woodland nature reserve and tree nursery near Lecarrow in Co. Roscommon. The reserve forms part of a broader conservation effort in the area to help one of Ireland's last remaining primary ancient native woodlands to expand for the first time in generations. There will be more information about native woodlands, how they expand naturally and how local volunteers are giving nature a helping hand. Booking is available on Eventbrite.
Further information about this event is available from Native Woodland Trust by email on 087 1953629 or by email at jeremy.casey@nativewoodlandtrust.ie.