7 Heritage

Last week I spent a good part of each day attending lectures, exhibitions, walking tours, and open houses that were part of a special event in the Republic of Ireland, National Heritage Week. From August 23-31, the entire country celebrated its heritage by inviting the public inside buildings and institutions—some of which are not normally open to the public—to learn more about history, culture, and tradition broadly defined. That complex relationship with the past seems to have inspired a keen desire for learning more about heritage. I am constantly impressed not only with the high level of education in Ireland, but also with the hunger for knowledge and culture and the enthusiastic pursuit across all walks of life of what in the US we call “lifelong learning.” Many of the events I attended last week were booked to capacity, and those with no booking required were also packed. Attendees included lots of retired people, of course, but also a surprising number of younger people and children; at the lunchtime lectures there were plenty of attendees clearly on their lunch breaks. Anything to do with the history of Ireland’s struggle for independence was especially likely to be mobbed, as one organizer told me when she had to turn down my booking request for a walking tour related to the 1916 Easter Rising. In 2013 Heritage Week attracted 400,000 visitors, and more were expected this year. In a country of four and half million, that’s pretty amazing. A 300-page booklet and numerous flyers and poster announced the schedule of events. This brief sample only begins to suggest the range of offerings. Kildare and The Great War 1914-1918 (Maynooth Community Library) Guided Bat Walk (NPWS Coole Park) The Mannion Clan of County Galway: Warriors, Chieftains, and Kings (Skehana and District Heritage Group) Birdbox and Owl Basket Building Workshop (Friends of Merlin Woods) Tour of Grangegorman Military Cemetery (Office of Public Works) How Bull Island Was Formed 200 Years Ago (Dublin City Council) The Rise and Demise of the Dublin Cattle Market (Dublin City Public Libraries) The Village Creamery Exhibition (Barrowvale Local History Group) ‘Our School’, A History of St. Paul’s School by Our Students (Mountmellick Historical Society) Medieval Brewing Demonstration (Office of Public Works) At the Dublin events on my calendar, I met many local people who were taking the time “to learn something” or to connect the history they learned in...
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