Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Celebrating Medieval Ireland in Tulsk
Sat 25th & Sun 26th April 2009
The Cruachan School is an annual event which aims to promote and develop an increased appreciation and awareness of Ireland’s archaeological and cultural heritage environment. The theme for 2009 is
“Celebrating Medieval Ireland in Tulsk”.
Saturday 25th April 2009
Ø Academic Conference. Lectures by top archaeologists, historians, and other academics/notaries, to take place in Cruachan Aí Centre. Already confirmed are Kieran O’Conor of NUI Galway; Gillian Kenny of UCD; Dr. Niall Brady, and Brian Shanahan, of the Discovery Programme; and Denise Murray of UCC.
Saturday 25th April 2009
Ø Academic Conference. Lectures by top archaeologists, historians, and other academics/notaries, to take place in Cruachan Aí Centre. Already confirmed are Kieran O’Conor of NUI Galway; Gillian Kenny of UCD; Dr. Niall Brady, and Brian Shanahan, of the Discovery Programme; and Denise Murray of UCC.
Sunday 26th April 2009
Ø Medieval Fair. Living History day located on green field adjacent to the Cruachan Aí Heritage Centre, in Tulsk Village. To include village market, displays and demonstration including authentic cooking and lifestyle crafts, archery, recreation period costume, falconry, and military re-enactment with authentic weaponry and equipment.
Highlights
· Lectures and conferences (Saturday)
· Medieval Battle recreations (Sunday)
· Living History and Medieval Displays (Sunday)
· Falconry displays (Sunday)
This promises to be a great weekend for all the family!
Contact: Lora O’Brien, Manager
Cruachan Aí Heritage Centre
Tulsk, Co. Roscommon, Ireland.
Tel: 071 9639268
· Lectures and conferences (Saturday)
· Medieval Battle recreations (Sunday)
· Living History and Medieval Displays (Sunday)
· Falconry displays (Sunday)
This promises to be a great weekend for all the family!
Contact: Lora O’Brien, Manager
Cruachan Aí Heritage Centre
Tulsk, Co. Roscommon, Ireland.
Tel: 071 9639268
International Tel: 00353 71 9639268
Email: cruachanai@gmail.com
Web: http://www.cruachanai.com/
Online Diary: http://www.cruachanai.blogspot.com/
Email: cruachanai@gmail.com
Web: http://www.cruachanai.com/
Online Diary: http://www.cruachanai.blogspot.com/
Monday, January 5, 2009
Educational Programmes 2009
Cruachan Ai Heritage Centre provides a wide range of educational programmes designed to meet the needs of all, from those starting out to mature students.Our Education Packs for schools, covering 1st Class to 6th yr students, comprise a number of modules, both in general and in depth, allowing students to research their own local and national history from the Mesolithic to the Late Medieval Period.
This includes materials and information as well as guided tours of the centre’s interactive exhibition, audio visual display and the mounds and earthworks which comprise this fascinating and important historical site. All of our material is aligned with the strand units of the national curriculum, and designed to enable the necessary skills and concepts development, for maximum ease and convenience of teachers.
We also provide classroom visits with various artefacts, slide shows, costumes and storytelling for younger classes.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Xmas Party 2008
Pictured at the Staff Xmas Party!
Party Night in Hannon's Hotel, Roscommon, with Mike Denver.
L-R: Pauline Cogan, Admin. Mike Denver, Super Star. Lora O'Brien, Manager. Mary McGann, Hygiene Services. Bernadette D'Alton, Information Officer.
Arts Evening - featuring Cathy Carman & Kieran Furey
Cruachan Aí Centre, Tulsk, Co Roscommon
presents the first in a monthly series of Arts Evenings
From 5pm to 8pm, on Thurs 18th December 2008
Wine Reception, Art Exhibition, with Poetry Reading (at 7pm) in the Coffee House @ Cruachan Aí
Featuring
Exhibition Opening: Works from The Nine Icons of Oweynagat, by Cathy Carman
Literary Reading: Excerpts from The History House, by Kieran Furey
The Nine Icons of Oweynagat, by Cathy Carman
Oweynagat is a modified limestone cave said to be an entrance to the Otherworld, with associations to fertility and rebirth. The work in this exhibition is based on photographs I took in the Cave of the Cats, Uaimh na gCait. The nine icons gather up the cave’s mystical and psychic energy, while the photographs examine the same space from an empirical point of view.
Cathy Carman is an artist and sculptor who is widely acclaimed for figurative work in wood, stone and bronze; while more recent projects using digital imaging, natural materials, found objects, and sound. She is currently developing artwork as a response to the rural landscape and our emotional connection to it. This combines digital print and mixed media, in a form that embraces both sculpture and print. A member of the Arts Council’s Aosdana, and represented by Hillsborough Fine Art Gallery in Dublin; she continues to exhibit regularly both nationally, and internationally.
The History House, by Kieran Furey
A collection of poems centered on Strokestown House and the Irish Famine, but drawing also on life in modern Ireland; as well as on the poet's experiences of Africa, India and Latin America.
Kieran Furey was born in county Roscommon, and has been writing poetry, with a little prose, for three decades. Having spent his life between rural Ireland, provincial Irish towns, Dublin, and abroad - in Latin America, Africa, India, Greece, the UK and the United States - he now lives in Longford, with his wife and son. Kieran’s first book, Nobody's Neighbours, was published by Veritas in Dublin in 1979. He went on to self-publish twenty books or booklets of poetry, short stories, travel experiences and humour, and his work has featured in Irish and international media. Prizes include the overall Poem of Europe Award in the 2006 Feile Filiochta, and the Francis Ledwidge Poetry Award (Traditional Category).
~~~
All featured works are available to buy at the Cruachan Aí Centre, Tulsk, Co. Roscommon.
http://www.cruachanai.blogspot.com/ Tel: 071 9639268 Email: cruachanai@gmail.com
presents the first in a monthly series of Arts Evenings
From 5pm to 8pm, on Thurs 18th December 2008
Wine Reception, Art Exhibition, with Poetry Reading (at 7pm) in the Coffee House @ Cruachan Aí
Featuring
Exhibition Opening: Works from The Nine Icons of Oweynagat, by Cathy Carman
Literary Reading: Excerpts from The History House, by Kieran Furey
The Nine Icons of Oweynagat, by Cathy Carman
Oweynagat is a modified limestone cave said to be an entrance to the Otherworld, with associations to fertility and rebirth. The work in this exhibition is based on photographs I took in the Cave of the Cats, Uaimh na gCait. The nine icons gather up the cave’s mystical and psychic energy, while the photographs examine the same space from an empirical point of view.
Cathy Carman is an artist and sculptor who is widely acclaimed for figurative work in wood, stone and bronze; while more recent projects using digital imaging, natural materials, found objects, and sound. She is currently developing artwork as a response to the rural landscape and our emotional connection to it. This combines digital print and mixed media, in a form that embraces both sculpture and print. A member of the Arts Council’s Aosdana, and represented by Hillsborough Fine Art Gallery in Dublin; she continues to exhibit regularly both nationally, and internationally.
The History House, by Kieran Furey
A collection of poems centered on Strokestown House and the Irish Famine, but drawing also on life in modern Ireland; as well as on the poet's experiences of Africa, India and Latin America.
Kieran Furey was born in county Roscommon, and has been writing poetry, with a little prose, for three decades. Having spent his life between rural Ireland, provincial Irish towns, Dublin, and abroad - in Latin America, Africa, India, Greece, the UK and the United States - he now lives in Longford, with his wife and son. Kieran’s first book, Nobody's Neighbours, was published by Veritas in Dublin in 1979. He went on to self-publish twenty books or booklets of poetry, short stories, travel experiences and humour, and his work has featured in Irish and international media. Prizes include the overall Poem of Europe Award in the 2006 Feile Filiochta, and the Francis Ledwidge Poetry Award (Traditional Category).
~~~
All featured works are available to buy at the Cruachan Aí Centre, Tulsk, Co. Roscommon.
http://www.cruachanai.blogspot.com/ Tel: 071 9639268 Email: cruachanai@gmail.com
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Coffee Morning in Aid of Self Help Africa
In conjunction with the re-launch of the
Coffee House @ Cruachan Aí
in Tulsk, Co Roscommon
We are pleased to announce a Coffee Morning, in aid of SELF HELP AFRICA.
On Friday morning, 21st November, from 10am til 2pm, all coffee proceeds will go to the Self Help Africa fund raising campaign (www.selfhelpafrica.com) to contribute towards the county target of €35,000.
There will be reading from selected works of local writers and poets at 12 noon.
Coffee House @ Cruachan Aí
in Tulsk, Co Roscommon
We are pleased to announce a Coffee Morning, in aid of SELF HELP AFRICA.
On Friday morning, 21st November, from 10am til 2pm, all coffee proceeds will go to the Self Help Africa fund raising campaign (www.selfhelpafrica.com) to contribute towards the county target of €35,000.
There will be reading from selected works of local writers and poets at 12 noon.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Irish Times article
This is a good article from last year, sourced from a Medieval resource blog...
Layers of history at medieval site.
31 August 2007
Irish Times
Excavations at the remains of a medieval castle in Tulsk, Co Roscommon, have unearthed the castle latrine and a pair of dice made out of antler or bone about 500 years ago, writes Marese McDonagh.
Archaeologists have uncovered layers of history at the site, including part of a tower house castle and a 16th century military structure linked to the notorious Sir Richard Bingham, who was governor of Connacht during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I at the end of the 1500s. According to Dr Niall Brady, who led the Discovery Programme project, the finds will provide valuable insight into the lives of Gaelic chieftains and their households during the late medieval period, a facet of Irish history which he feels has been largely ignored.
Excavation at the ring fort in Tulsk began in 2004 and a series of summer digs have taken place since then, with this year's yielding a number of significant finds, including two ring pins, possibly used as clasps for cloaks, dating back to the 10th and 11th centuries. Tulsk was the base of the O'Conor Roe chieftains and the discovery of part of a medieval castle is regarded as a milestone in the search for more information about rural areas which were controlled by chieftains and not by the British crown from the 12th to the 16th centuries. The finds connected with Bingham, who was known as "the flail of Connacht", were a "bonus", as they had not been expected at this site, according to Dr Brady. "We found musket shot, English coins, iron arrowheads, evidence of the presence of soldiers which had nothing to do with domesticity," he pointed out.
The archaeologists believe that the tower house castle was in ruins by the time of Bingham's reign as governor of Connacht as several stones from the tower were reused in the 16th century buildings. Situated on top of an earthen mound or ring fort, the tower of the castle, with its commanding views over the northern approaches to Tulsk, would have represented a clear statement of the power and status of the local Gaelic lord. The excavation suggests that the tower was rebuilt a number of times right up to the late 16th century, when Tulsk was garrisoned.
Despite the persistent rain, which made the summer dig more difficult, the team managed to excavate into the ditch surrounding the castle, where they uncovered the medieval garderobe, or latrine, of the castle. Appropriately, the excavation was based beside the Cruachan Aí Heritage Centre in Tulsk, the focal point of one of the most important Celtic royal sites in Europe, with a reputed 60 national monuments within a four-mile radius. It was the seat of the kings of Connacht and is also believed to have been home to the warrior queen, Maeve, who launched the famous cattle raid of Cooley (Táin Bó Cúalinge) from this area. The Washington Post recently described the site as "a Machu Picchu not of stone but of thatch-covered wooden palaces when Helen of Troy was just a kid".
Dr Brady said he hoped that as the excavations ended for another year these most recent finds would reinforce the importance of Tulsk as a key heritage attraction. The ring fort site his team is exploring stands beside a site known as Castleland, where it is believed another castle was built for the O'Conors in the early 1400s.
http://medievalnews.blogspot.com/2007/09/excavations-at-medieval-castle-in-tulsk.html
Enjoy!
Layers of history at medieval site.
31 August 2007
Irish Times
Excavations at the remains of a medieval castle in Tulsk, Co Roscommon, have unearthed the castle latrine and a pair of dice made out of antler or bone about 500 years ago, writes Marese McDonagh.
Archaeologists have uncovered layers of history at the site, including part of a tower house castle and a 16th century military structure linked to the notorious Sir Richard Bingham, who was governor of Connacht during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I at the end of the 1500s. According to Dr Niall Brady, who led the Discovery Programme project, the finds will provide valuable insight into the lives of Gaelic chieftains and their households during the late medieval period, a facet of Irish history which he feels has been largely ignored.
Excavation at the ring fort in Tulsk began in 2004 and a series of summer digs have taken place since then, with this year's yielding a number of significant finds, including two ring pins, possibly used as clasps for cloaks, dating back to the 10th and 11th centuries. Tulsk was the base of the O'Conor Roe chieftains and the discovery of part of a medieval castle is regarded as a milestone in the search for more information about rural areas which were controlled by chieftains and not by the British crown from the 12th to the 16th centuries. The finds connected with Bingham, who was known as "the flail of Connacht", were a "bonus", as they had not been expected at this site, according to Dr Brady. "We found musket shot, English coins, iron arrowheads, evidence of the presence of soldiers which had nothing to do with domesticity," he pointed out.
The archaeologists believe that the tower house castle was in ruins by the time of Bingham's reign as governor of Connacht as several stones from the tower were reused in the 16th century buildings. Situated on top of an earthen mound or ring fort, the tower of the castle, with its commanding views over the northern approaches to Tulsk, would have represented a clear statement of the power and status of the local Gaelic lord. The excavation suggests that the tower was rebuilt a number of times right up to the late 16th century, when Tulsk was garrisoned.
Despite the persistent rain, which made the summer dig more difficult, the team managed to excavate into the ditch surrounding the castle, where they uncovered the medieval garderobe, or latrine, of the castle. Appropriately, the excavation was based beside the Cruachan Aí Heritage Centre in Tulsk, the focal point of one of the most important Celtic royal sites in Europe, with a reputed 60 national monuments within a four-mile radius. It was the seat of the kings of Connacht and is also believed to have been home to the warrior queen, Maeve, who launched the famous cattle raid of Cooley (Táin Bó Cúalinge) from this area. The Washington Post recently described the site as "a Machu Picchu not of stone but of thatch-covered wooden palaces when Helen of Troy was just a kid".
Dr Brady said he hoped that as the excavations ended for another year these most recent finds would reinforce the importance of Tulsk as a key heritage attraction. The ring fort site his team is exploring stands beside a site known as Castleland, where it is believed another castle was built for the O'Conors in the early 1400s.
http://medievalnews.blogspot.com/2007/09/excavations-at-medieval-castle-in-tulsk.html
Enjoy!
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