Foilseacháin & Tuairiscí

The objective of the audit was to ascertain the following:
• The location of maritime and inland waterways collections in Ireland
• An overview of what is contained in each collection
• An indication, where practical, of the condition of each collection
• An indication, where practical, of the conditions in which each collection is stored
• Whether the collections also contain paper records (archives, plans, charts and maps, photographs and drawings)
• Ownership of each collection

The objective of the industrial heritage component of the study is to identify and assess the distinctive aspects of the industrial heritage and to provide an inventory of the extant sites within the Waterway Corridor.

The specific impacts examined were:

• Ecological impact - terrestrial and aquatic flora and fauna, and terrestrial and aquatic habitats;
• Cultural heritage impact - underwater archaeology, and upstanding archaeological structures such as crannógs, landing places, harbours, piers and bridges from medieval times to the mid-20th century;
• Hydro-morphological impact - river and canal channels, river and canal banks, different soil types to assess their susceptibility to erosion, sediment mobilisation and depositional patterns, navigational and engineering structures.

This review provides an overview of the findings, methodologies and mitigation strategies used elsewhere. It will inform a second stage of research involving field study at a later stage.

Completed landscape character review forms for each county in Ireland undertaken as part of the Landscape Character Assessment Baseline Audit.

Summary of feedback:

• 18 Walled Towns/Cities organised events on Irish Walled Towns’ Day 2006. Events included family fun-days, concerts, guided walks, etc.;
• Heritage Officers, Heritage Groups, local communities and businesses, Government Ministers, Local Authority Councillors and Officers
were all involved in the organisation and launching of the all-island events;
• The Network’s events were given excellent media coverage from national and local press, local radio, etc; (see Appendix E);
• The Heritage Council distributed over 300 Council T-shirts and baseball hats throughout Ireland on Irish Walled Towns’ Day;
• Two Walled Towns Conferences were organised in Kilmallock and Dublin;
• Photographic competitions were launched in 10 Walled Towns (north and south);
• The event has grown significantly since the first ever all-island event of 2005;
• Approximately 4,000 people took part in the IWTN’s celebratory Irish Walled Towns’ Day in 2006;
• Irish Walled Towns’ Day is particularly important to historic walled towns located outside the Greater Dublin Area (GDA);
• The local photographic competition period for entries will close on the 29thSeptember 2006 and the national winners will be announced at the inaugural Irish Walled Towns Network Gala Dinner on the 9thNovember 2006 in the D Hotel, Drogheda

Further to its Audit of Maritime Collections and in support of its Museums Standards Programme for Ireland, the Heritage Council hosted a one-day seminar on the Future of Maritime and Inland
Waterways Collections in Ireland.

A selection of conservators, collectors, museum curators, and practitioners discussed the following themes:
• Maritime and Inland Waterway Collections are an intrinsic part of the Ireland’s heritage
• How can such collections be safeguarded in all their variety and number?
• How can decisions be made on what to retain?
• How can we move ahead to ensure a range of collections reflecting this important aspect of
our heritage?

Sharks and rays have been swimming the world’s oceans for over four hundred million years. That’s one hundred million years before the first dinosaurs appeared
on land!

A wide variety of sharks and rays inhabit Irish waters, including 39 species of sharks and 28 species of skates and rays. Members of this diverse group can be found in all our seas, ranging from shallow estuaries down to depths of 2000m or more in the Atlantic.

The VDS was produced through an extensive community consultation programme combined with desk-based study. This included an introductory meeting with community members, distribution of a key issues leaflet and questionnaires, and a series of workshops involving a wide cross section of the community including adults, children, and young people. Over 60 questionnaires were completed and over 75 people attended the main workshop.

Historic graveyards are very different in their character from modern cemeteries that are often described as ‘Lawn Cemeteries’. The latter are usually laid out in neat rectangular burial plots that are accessed by a network of pathways. In these modern cemeteries the surface of the ground is level and has the appearance of a lawn because the cemetery has not been used as a burial place over many centuries. The opposite is true for historic graveyards some of which have been used as burial grounds for over a millennium.

In terms of its constituent sectors, archaeology could now be regarded predominantly as a business domain which operates in a competitive economic climate and focuses on generating information. This situation is radically different from the previous dominance of employment in the
State and education sectors with the clear focus on research which characterised earlier decades.

In response to these markedly changed circumstances and the consequential impact of new problems and challenges, a Foresight Study, leading to the production of this report, was initiated in 2004 by the UCD School of Archaeology, University College Dublin.