Heritage Week in full swing around Mayo

Foraging and song by the River Moy, pond dipping at Bohola Community Park, recording placenames at Tourmakeady and restoring the Pattern to Kilgeever Holy Well in Louisburgh are among the many free events on the agenda in Mayo during National Heritage Week 2024, which began on last Saturday and continues to this Sunday, August 25.
Local heritage groups and organisers, families, communities and individuals in Mayo have responded to this year’s theme of ‘Connections, Routes and Networks’ by organising events showcasing the best of what Mayo’s local heritage has to offer. The geographical spread and incredible variety of events is a real tribute to everyone involved.
Tonight (Tuesday) sees a very special screening at Blacksod’s Solas Visitor Centre of four mini films showcasing the history of the four lighthouses of Erris. This will be followed by a talk by retired lighthouse keeper Gerry Sweeney, who will recall his experience of working on Eagle island lighthouse when Hurricane Charley howled in August 1986. The evening will be rounded off with a seafood supper at the Solas Café.
For those who would rather be out in the great outdoors, Clogher Heritage Centre is hosting a short nature walk on the Clogher Bog this evening (7pm to 9pm). With many of our wildflowers in full bloom, this is the perfect time to enjoy life in this special ecosystem. Walkers will see a wide variety of birdlife and enjoy some late summer fruits while learning about the county’s natural history. Tea and coffee will be served after the walk.
Tomorrow’s highlights include a sure-to-be fascinating talk and exhibition at Louisburgh’s Granuaile Centre by Darragh O’Toole, who will speak about his experience of building a replica of the type of galley used by the Pirate Queen.
Head to Achill on Thursday night for Voices of the Village: Robert Henri’s Dooagh Sitters, which takes place in Gielty’s Bar from 5pm to 7pm. The Museum of Childhood Ireland have completed an oral history relating to the sitters of artist Robert Henri’s portraits painted between 1913 and 1928 in his home at Corrymore House, Dooagh. Most all of the sitters were children from Dooagh who have now passed away and the project set about to interview their relatives and bring this cultural phenomenon to the fore.
On Friday, Belmullet Library will host a reading of the bilingual children’s book ‘An Bhumbóg Mór Bhuí as Strae’ (‘The Great Yellow Bumble Bee Goes Astray’), by authors Katherine Mangan and Margaret Tallott, with illustrations by Jean Beard. This event is suitable for all ages, from young children to grandparents, who will enjoy the story of Bláithín, a newly emerged Great Yellow Bumblebee, as she searches far and wide to find food and raise the next generation. The story has local significance, of course, with Belmullet being the last remaining Irish stronghold of this rare and precious type of bumblebee.
On Saturday, why not visit the National Museum of Ireland – Country Life on Saturday from noon to 4pm, when members of Federation of Irish Beekeepers’ Association will explore the history of beekeeping in Ireland. Enjoy a live demonstration from the museum’s rooftop bee garden and visit ‘The Murmur of Bees’ exhibition, which celebrates the influence of bees on our culture and environment.
Saturday evening brings another natural heritage event, when the Lough Carra Catchment Association host a public bat-monitoring event along the shores of the lough at 8pm, meeting at Moore Hall car park. This exciting event offers a unique opportunity to get involved in citizen science, collecting valuable data on bat populations and their activity patterns along the lakeshore. This event will be expertly led by a National Parks and Wildlife Service ranger and will incorporate innovative but user-friendly bat-monitoring software.
Sunday’s highlights include a celebration of Water Heritage Day in Louisburgh, with a hands-on walk along the Bunowen river, where there’ll be an electrofishing display, a kick sampling demo. This will be followed later by microscope viewings of the samples, and a presentation by a guest speaker from Inishowen Rivers Trust.
This is just a small sample of what is happening around the county during the week. Full details of all the events taking place in Mayo are available on the Heritage Week website www.heritageweek.ie, where events can be searched either by county, date or by topic.