An initiative to preserve an early Christian monastic site at the village of Mayo Abbey, Co Mayo, has been started by the University of Galway.
Described as part of the most exciting development in the county since the Ceide Fields, it includes a £40,000 research programme under which a botanist, Dr Janice Fuller, will investigate the Norman and Augustinian sites around Mayo Abbey. The aim is to revive the farming history of the early monastic settlements.
The initiative is part of a project which will culminate in the construction of a £1.8 million heritage centre.