Herita ge Out lo ok ISSN - 1393 - 9777 SUMME R/ AUTUMN 2009 THE MAGAZINE OF THE HERITAGE COUNCIL CELEBRATING BIODIVERSITY WEEK 2009 Orchids, Waders and Wild Goats CLIMATE CHANGE New research anticipates the impact on heritage and tourism IRISH ART Adding to our collection of treasures REUSING ABBEYLEIX MARKET HOUSE • LOOKING AFTER LANDSCAPES • HERITAGE EVENTS The Heritage Council works to protect and enhance the richness, quality and diversity of our national heritage for everyone. www.heritagecouncil.ie CONTENTS Herita ge Out lo ok FEATURES COMMENT Climate Change, Heritage & Tourism – Beatrice Kelly 4 Over the last ten years or so stewardship of natural and cultural heritage has Adding to Ireland’s Collection of Treasures – been pitted against economic prowess, as though representing contradictory Dr Hugh Maguire 9 aspirations. The unchecked attacks on the Irish landscape by the Celtic Tiger Looking after our Landscapes – Michael Starrett 20 were fuelled in part by the belief that heritage is, by its very nature, an imped - iment to progress, to wealth, and to the modernisation of Ireland. This is a fal - Conserving the Old Irish Goat – Raymond Werner 22 lacy. Genuine, confident modernity is founded upon wisdom that runs much 10 years of the Heritage Officer Programme 26 deeper; wisdom that is as comfortable looking to the past as it is gazing into the future. Genuine modernity embraces and values the mosaic of peoples and Waders of the Shannon Callows – Kathryn Finney 28 places, and recognises how vital and yet how delicate a blending it is. Genuine Reusing Abbeyleix Market House 32 modernity is based on generational experience, investment in knowledge, and the courage and confidence to act on what we know to be right and not simply REGULARS what is politically expedient or will turn a quick buck. It acknowledges that our Heritage News 3, 35-41 surroundings are a reflection of ourselves and a measure of how we are pulling together as a society. We know better than to destroy our surroundings, pol - Gallery – Orchids of Ireland 14 lute our waters, landfill our natural habitats, swamp our villages and seaside Notice Board 42 resorts with carelessly designed housing estates, and wipe out the relics of our Books 45 history. Turning a quick buck at the expense of our environment is a form of cultural bankruptcy because it flies in the face of our common sense and Poetry – with Pete Devlin 49 destroys the very things that sustain us. Crossword 50 A tremendous amount of academic thinking has been devoted to investi - Heritage Council Staff and Heritage Officers 51 gating senses of place; the ways in which people associate themselves with places and are in turn associated with those places. Cultural geographers, psy - Produced by Isabell Smyth – The Heritage Council chologists, anthropologists and so on, all agree on the unique importance to Edited by Juanita Browne, Designed by Ian Barry our species of place. Places are where identities are forged, proclaimed and sustained. Our lives are woven through places, turning them into rich tapes - tries of social and historical remembrance. They are our reference point. Asking the question ‘where were you when John F. Kennedy was assassinated or when Elvis Presley died?’ is not just using a place to trigger memories, but is also affirming harmonic cultural and historical responses – what we are real - ly saying is this event means the same thing to both of us, and therefore we are as one. Some places echo with the resonances of our reflections on the mys - Established under the Heritage Act of 1995 teries of human existence and our place in the cosmos. These ancient monu - Heritage Council, ments and landscapes represent the earliest chapters of human thought and Áras na hOidhreachta, Church Lane, understanding. We sever ourselves from them at our peril for to do so is to cast Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny ourselves adrift from the historical and intellectual continuum, from our her - Tel: 056-7770777 Fax: 056-7770788 itage, from value systems that have passed the test of time. Email: [email protected] www.heritagecouncil.ie This sentiment is captured succinctly in the title of an award-winning book by Keith Basso, Wisdom Sits in Places . While Basso’s book is about toponymic For further contact details see page 51. wisdom in Apache New Mexico, we have our own word for it, Senchas . Senchas HERITAGE COUNCIL MEMBERS: refers to the patina of age and history that attaches to places and gives them Conor Newman (Chairman), Ms Betty Coffey, historical meaning. The keys to unlock the wisdom that sits in places, however, Dr. Billy Colfer, Prof. Gabriel Cooney, Ted Creedon, are not always ready to hand. Through its grants scheme the Heritage Council Dr. Brendan Dunford, Dr. Caro-lynne Ferris, funds research which helps us all understand our cultural and natural heritage Rhonwen Hayes, Kealin Ireland, Mary Keenan, so that we can better manage it and draw Noel Keyes, Brian Lucas, Ian Lumley, wisdom from it in a responsible and sus - Dr. Henry J. Lyons, Martina Maloney, Finola Reid, tainable way. As the economic Tower of Gráinne Shaffrey. Babel collapses around us it is more critical than ever that we retain our compass. A All rights reserved. The views, opinions and policies expressed in Heritage good place to start is to remind ourselves Outlook may reflect those of the contributors but do not necessarily reflect of George Santayana’s paradigm: ‘those the views of the Heritage Council, Heritage staff or the magazine’s editorial who cannot remember the past are con - staff. While all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the contents of this publication, no responsibility can be accepted by the demned to repeat it’. We have to imagine a Heritage Council for problems arising as a result of the magazine’s content. new and sustainable future and this is a journey that starts by reminding ourselves Printed on paper comprising of fibres sourced from well managed sustainable forests and bleached without the use of chlorine. of what is really valuable. Front Cover photo: Bee orchid, Ophrys apifera , Thompson's Quarry, Conor Newman Chairman County Armagh. Taken from the book The Orchids Of Ireland By Tom Curtis and Robert Thompson. See page 14. 2 Heritage News Launch of New Heritage Council Website The heritage landscape has altered significantly since the Heritage Council was established 14 years ago. Our newly designed website is a reflection of this changing landscape. It is designed to provide the wider public and people across the education, planning and policy spectrum with easily accessible information on all areas of the heritage sector. The website has extensive information on all facets of our national heritage, including Archaeology, Architecture, Education, Museums and Archives, Inland Waterways, Marine, Recreation, Wildlife, Landscape, Irish Walled Towns, County Heritage Services and Planning. A number of new features have also been added to the website, including the ability to search for information by county and interest. To receive reg - ular updates on upcoming events, new publications, and jobs and tenders within the heritage sector, please sign up to our www.heritagecouncil.ie monthly online newsletter. www.heritagecouncil.ie Working With Biodiversity – The Law And You This new publication deals with biodiversity and the law and This poster provides a list of the main laws protecting bio - should be invaluable to anyone working in areas where they diversity in Ireland with a summary of the areas relevant to are concerned by laws covering biodiversity, for example, Heritage Council grant recipients. These include the Wildlife building works; works in or near protected areas (NHA, SAC or Act 1976, Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000; the EU Habitats SPAs); graveyard restoration projects; work in rivers, streams Directive 1992; the EU Birds Directive (79/409/EEC) and the or lakes; projects to make paths or trails; the creation of Flora (Protection) Order 1999. wildlife corridors or woodland planting; coastal works and Heritage Council Grant-Aided Projects - The core aim of dune management. Heritage Council grant-aid is to maintain and enhance cultur - al and natural heritage and our understanding of it. If a proj - ect is in breach of laws protecting biodiversity, then it is most likely causing damage to nature, rather than having any bene - fit. What may seem like a good idea at a human level may not be good for nature. This publication is designed to guide you in the main aspects of the laws and to help you contact the right people if you need advice about a project that involves working with biodiversity. It is up to the individual to ensure that their actions comply with all relevant laws. Contact details are also provided for the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Regional Fisheries Boards, Local Biodiversity Officers and Heritage Officers, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Invasive Species Ireland and the National Biodiversity Data Centre. For further information, please contact the Heritage Council Wildlife Officer, Cliona O’Brien. This document is also available as a PDF on www.heritagecouncil.ie 3 Climate Change, Heritage & Tourism Implications for Ireland’s Coast and Inland Waterways Over the next 100 years the changes to Ireland’s A change in the weather climate will put the heritage of Ireland’s coast Rising sea levels, increased storm strength and frequency are and inland waterways at risk, impacting seriously serious and imminent threats. Sea levels are likely to rise by on related tourism activities. This is according to approximately 18 to 59cm by the 2080s, and possibly by as recent research commissioned by the Heritage much as 1 metre according to recent research. This will be Council and Fáilte Ireland, which aims to inform exacerbated by more storm events, storm surges and future policy, research, and grant support.