National Heritage Week takes place from Saturday, August 17th to Sunday, August 25th. This year, the list of events promises to be bigger than ever, with over 60 events scheduled to take place over nine days.
The majority of events are free and family friendly and seek to strengthen connections with Wicklow’s rich heritage including nature, wildlife, monuments, folklore and history. Among the highlights include the following;
- Wicklow’s Military Road Stories Evening with Fin Dwyer from Irish History Podcasts at Brockagh Centre, Laragh
- Wicklow Barn Owls Poo and Pellets Workshop at Rathdrum Library
- Connecting St. Kevin: Heritage open days at St Kevins Church of Ireland, Hollywood and St. Kevin’s Church in Glendalough Monastery
- Historic Graveyards Workshop in Wicklow Library
- Dublin & Blessington Steam Tram exhibition in Blessington Tourist Office and Wicklow Archives exhibitions at Tinahely and Carnew
- Art and poetry events in Arklow and Greystones
- Heritage Market at Tinahely Village
- Evening Bat Walks at Knocksink Nature Reserve and Donard Village
- Wild Child Nature exploration at Baltyboys and children’s Big Dig archaeology excavation and Lego workshops at Glendalough
- Heritage Hikes to explore Church Mountain and Seefin Tombs
- Medieval pilgrimage walks and talks
- Specialist talks on drystone walls, Invasive Species, Ogham script, local history, genealogy and archives
- Specialist guided walking tours at Delgany, Tinahely, Greystones, Bray, Enniskerry, Roundwood, Kilmacurragh Arboretum, Kilruddery, Knocksink, Castleruddery, Glenmalure , Dunlavin and Glendalough.
- Special open days at Altidore Castle, Kilruddery House, Old Conna Graveyard Bray, Russborough House, Nuns Cross Church, Glenealy Church, Christchurch Bray and at ESB’s Turlough Hill Hydropower station
For the full program of events, please visit https://www.heritageweek.ie/event-listings and filter your search by ‘Bray’ or ‘County Wicklow’. Click on the ‘heart icon’ to create your own events trail.
Co-ordinated nationally by The Heritage Council and locally by the Heritage Office of Wicklow County Council, National Heritage Week has become one of Wicklow’s most successful cultural celebrations. This year’s theme ‘Connections, Routes and Networks’ celebrates how we connect to each other, the links between people and communities. These could be physical routes such as roads, paths, boreens, rivers, pilgrim paths and rail tracks. They may symbolise journeys undertaken to farm and to conquest, to trade and to discover, and to seek out new adventures.
Event organisers interested in ordering branded merchandise (T-Shirts, flags and bunting); can send an email to the Heritage Officer of Wicklow County Council at dburns@wicklowcoco.ie
For further information on Heritage Week and current events, visit www.heritageweek.ie.