Children recreate Ireland’s diverse heritage using LEGO®

An Irish Wolfhound, a model of kinsale and a stanley range are among the winning entries to a competition organised by the Heritage Council, which tasked children with recreating their favourite example of local Irish heritage using LEGO®.

The competition received more than 100 entries from across the country, with entrants turning to all aspects of Ireland’s rich and varied built, natural and cultural heritage for inspiration. The competition was open to children aged between four and twelve years, with two age categories: 4-to-7-years, and 8-to-12-years. Children were asked to build their model, choose their category, write a short description of what their model represents and why it’s important to them, and then take a photo of the model and submit it via the Heritage Council website.

Winners of each of the 4-7-year-old categories will take home prizes of LEGO® set, with a LEGO® creator set going to the winners of the older categories.

The full list of winners are:

Ages 4-to-7 years:

• Built heritage -Ruby O'Sullivan "Skeagh Cairn"
• Cultural heritage- Luke Moloney "Kinsale and the Kinsale Giant"
• Natural heritage- Mila Malleus Comerford "An Irish Wolfhound"

Ages 8-to-12 years:

• Built heritage- Rowan Fallon "Castlelyons Castle"
• Cultural heritage- Callum Wynton "Stanley range"
• Natural heritage- Iona Wynton "A Mountain Goat"

The Winning entries are now on display at a special exhibition at Kilkenny’s Medieval Mile Museum. The Exhibition runs until the end of February.

Commenting, Heritage Council chief executive, Virginia Teehan said: “The Heritage Council was delighted to see this competition attract such a strong calibre of entries from across the country. It received a fantastic response, with entries demonstrating young people’s creativity, ingenuity and wit, while highlighting their own particular areas of interest and curiosity, as they drew on Ireland’s diverse heritage. “This competition shows the creative and accessible ways in which our heritage can be engaged with, as well as how eager young people are to connect with it. It is crucial that children are encouraged and supported in exploring and understanding their shared heritage, which can start on their own front doorstep and in their own locality. “I would like to thank all the children who entered this competition, and I encourage everyone with an interest in heritage to visit the Heritage Council website and Facebook page, to browse the wonderful range of entries received and if they are in Kilkenny to go along to the exhibition.” Visit the Heritage Council website, www.heritagecouncil.ie and the Heritage Council Facebook page for more information.

For further information

Contact Lorcan Scott, The Heritage Council, 085 8724741