There's no need to go abroad in search of culture and tradition when there is so much of interest around the country, writes Michael Kelly
WE CAN all be guilty at times of travelling the globe in search of interesting things to look at while, at the same time, neglecting the heritage on our doorstep. Heritage Week, which starts this Sunday, August 24th, aims to reconnect us with our local heritage and offers a staggering array of (mostly free) events nationwide to suit all interests and age groups.
European Heritage Days take place across Europe each September to encourage conservation of the continent's heritage.
In Ireland the event is run in late August - a savvy choice which makes it much more accessible to school children - and is marked by a full week of festivities in celebration of who we are and where we've come from.
Because most of the events are organised by local community groups, albeit coordinated at national level, Heritage Week has a breadth of activities (over 1,000 individual events) and geographical reach that few other festivals can match.
To help you make sense of it all, there is a well-organised search facility on the Heritage Week website, www.heritageweek.ie, where you can search for events by date, county or type.
The organisers have taken a broad definition of what constitutes heritage, which is a thoroughly sensible idea. As you would expect, you can tour items of historical interest in your area or hear talks at the local library, but there are also events which highlight the fact that heritage is equally about landscapes and the natural world.
In Waterford, for example, locals will be getting up close to the city's unique herd of Bilberry Goats, which are a protected species and cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
Waterford people remain largely unaware that the mountains around the city have hosted the herd for hundreds of years, according to Martin Doyle of the Bilberry Goat Heritage Trust.
In Avoca, Co Wicklow, you can learn about the extraordinary men and women who worked the area's copper mines (Sunday, August 24th), while in Fota House in Cork food historian Regina Sexton will show children how to cook 19th-century dishes (Saturday, August 30th).
Heritage doesn't always mean looking to the past either. In Tramore on Tuesday, August 26th, Back to the Future 2030 is an event run by the Transition Town Initiative which invites locals to tour the town with "time-travel glasses" and see what Tramore may be like in a post-oil age.
The Carlow volcano
Kilcarry Bridge, Co Carlow. Saturday 30th, 2.30pm
Free admission
Contact: 087 226 2519
When you think of volcanoes and earthquakes, Carlow is probably not the first place that comes to mind, but the Slaney Valley was once a seismic hotspot with serious earthquakes and a (long-since extinct) volcano which spewed extensive lava on to the ancient seafloor.
A guided tour of the area with Peadar McArdle, director of the Geological Survey of Ireland, should be a fascinating afternoon.
"Volcanoes are not so unusual in Irish geological history," he says, "and we are talking about half a billion years ago. There is still some small amount of measurable seismic activity in the area, but it was these ancient events which shaped the area's landscape." There is parking at Clonegal Church and a free bus transfer to Kilcarry Bridge which is the starting point for the tour.
Whale watching nationwide
Sunday the 24th, 2pm to 5pm Free Admission
Contact: 023 38761
On Sunday (24th) there are 15 land-based whale watching events taking place around Ireland. Ireland is one of the best locations in Europe for whale and dolphin watching according to Padraig Whooley, Sightings Co-ordinator with the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group.
"It's unpredictable by its nature and we have no crystal ball but every year these events register fantastic sightings and if you get lucky, the rewards are unbelievable." Interestingly at last year's event, the "most sightings" were not on the west or southwest coasts, but at Howth in Dublin. "There were plenty of Harbour Porpoises seen and a suspected Minke Whale which was just amazing." Whooley advises attendees to bring binoculars and dress appropriately.
The Howth event is led by Brian Blanville and the meeting place is Balscadden car park. Details of other locations at www.iwdg.ie
Cannon demonstration
Battle of the Boyne Visitor Centre, Oldbridge, Co Meath Sunday 24th 2.00pm-2.15pm and 4.30pm-4.45pm
Free Admission Contact: 041 9809950
Over 60,000 troops took part in the Battle of the Boyne which was fought between King William III and King James II in 1690. Heavy artillery was a major component of the battle, with both armies deploying mortars and cannons - the largest of which were capable of firing iron cannonballs up to 4,000m.
Heritage comes alive on Sunday afternoon at the Battle of the Boyne Visitor Centre when full-size replica cannons will be fired by crews of uniformed soldiers. "It took a crew of six men to fire these cannons," says Aisling McMahon of the Battle of the Boyne Visitor Centre.
"People will get to see the entire firing process from start to finish. They can experience how it would have felt, sounded and smelled to be in the thick of the action."