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August 16, 2010

Heritage Week in County Kildare

Heritage week 2010 Over fifty events have been planned throughout the county to celebrate Heritage Week 2010 in County Kildare which starts on Sat 21st August to Sunday 29th . These events include a range of talks, field trips and exhibitions aimed at encouraging people to take an interest in their local heritage. The County Kildare Heritage Week will be launched by Cllr. Brendan Weld, the Mayor of County Kildare at 8pm at Ballynafagh Lake, Prosperous on Monday 23rd August.

Heritage week is part of a European Wide initiative with the express aims of fostering awareness of Ireland’s built, natural and cultural heritage, thereby encouraging its conservation and preservation and increasing interest in our shared heritage.

“There is a great enthusiasm among local groups for heritage week this year, which reflects a growing interest in local history. Many local history groups have organised talks about aspects of their local heritage ” said Bridget Loughlin, County Kildare Heritage Officer.  There is a wide variety of events this year and people are urged to come along and take part.

These events include “Who do you think you are?”  a series information talks by a librarian/genealogist on researching your family history. For the more active, IPCC are looking for volunteers to assist in the blocking of drains at Lullymore West Cutaway bog as part of its conservation management. Many history groups are organising a heritage walk of local towns including Celbridge, Naas, Kilcullen and Maynooth. 

There are a number of events in Castletown including “Wildlife/Nature Trail of Castletown Parklands with Castletown Gardeners”, evening tours of the beautiful interior rooms of Castletown House with your guide dressed in period costume and Aspects of Castletown an evening of short lectures from local history enthusiasts and authors on different aspects of the Castletown House/Estate history.

A number of child friendly events are being held through out the county including A Fighting and Feasting Frenzy! A fantastic children's themed tour of medieval life in Maynooth Castle, children’s' tours and workshops in Castletown House, children's, Killadoon house in Celbridge will host a children’s workshop on creating your own piece of wallpaper art  and the Steam Museum & Lodge Park Walled Garden are hosting  “Grandparents Weekend”, where grandparents get in free. Many local history groups will be hosting events such as a tour of St Mary’s church, a tour of Kilcullen historical sites, hosted by Kilcullen Heritage group. The Landmark Trust will host a self-guided tour of Castletown Roundhouse and Gate House.

Heritage sites within the county, such as the Athy and Kildare Heritage Centre, The National Stud and Maynooth Castle have free admission or special concessions during the week. Kildare County Council has compiled a listing of these and the many other events happening around the County.

Download the Programme here (PDF, 2.5mb)