Ballyglass Lighthouse Keepers Cottage

Date: Sunday 08 October

Time: 15:00

Location: Ballyglass Lighthouse, Ballyglass  

Accessibility: There is level access on the exterior but not to the interiors; the ground is also rough with some cobbles

Please wear closed-toe shoes. Tour duration - 60 minutes.

Prebooking is advised as spaces are limited [Book HERE]

Summary

Architect - guided tour with Mark Stephens MRIAI, Architect Accredited in Conservation at Ballyglass Lighthouse Keeper's Cottage, Ballyglass, County Mayo. Adjacent to Ballyglass Lighthouse at Gubbacashel Point, the tour will focus on the history of the Lighthouse Keeper's Cottage, and the approach and methodologies employed to realise the restoration of the structure.

About

The Built Heritage Investment Scheme and Mayo County Council’s Architectural Conservation Office supports works to promote the repair and re-use of historic structures.

Mark Stephens, MRIAI Architect, Accredited in Conservation at Grade 3 will discuss his approach to the conservation repair and restoration of the Lighthouse Keeper’s cottage.

The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 sets out a roadmap for Ireland’s transition to a climate resilient, biodiversity rich and climate neutral economy. This shift to a climate neutral future means that the conservation and repurposing of existing historic building stock has become increasingly more important. Increased maintenance and repair will be key to building resilience in our historic buildings to enable them to withstand the effects of a changing environment.

Ripple Paradise Garden Tour

Date  Sunday 08 October

Time 2 - 3pm

Location Ripple Paradise Garden – Greenhills Estate, Ballina Co. Mayo

Not fully accessible – some uneven paths and grass to cross to get to the garden

Link to location / View on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/Dov2A7nCm7DX6Xyv8

Summary

Visit Greenhills’ Paradise Garden – a climate friendly intergenerational amenity space that was co-designed and built during the Ripple project funded by Creative Ireland.

This event is FREE and open to the public. There is no booking required, but places are limited and will operate on a first come first serve basis. 

Event Organiser: UCD Centre for Irish Towns (https://www.ucd.ie/cfit/)

About

Public green spaces, common in housing estates throughout Ireland, represent a significant untapped resource for climate action, through their potential transformation as water resilient, productive and socially cohesive public spaces.

Ripple was one of fifteen projects supported by the first Creative Ireland Climate Action Call. UCD Centre for Irish Towns was the lead applicant in collaboration with Ballina Green Towns, artist Ríonach Ní Néill, and a local community in Greenhills Estate, Ballina. 

In this session we invite you to visit Greenhills' Paradise Garden - the climate friendly intergenerational amenity space that was co-designed and built during the Ripple project. It is a haven for wildlife, provides nature based play, and crucially slows rainwater through a series of rills, wells and natural attenuation features on its way to the river.

Blacksod Architecture Tour

Date: Saturday 07 October

Time: 12 noon

Location: Blacksod Lighthouse

Restricted Accessibility – Stepped access to historic Lighthouse

Event

Designed and constructed by the biggest names in 18th Century engineering, Blacksod Lighthouse, Keepers’ Dwellings, Coastguard Station, Boathouse and Pier are remarkable components of our maritime architectural heritage.

Event Organiser: CFID Eachléim, Blacksod Lighthouse Tours

About

We don’t shout about this enough, but Blacksod is pretty special in the world of architecture and engineering. With world famous engineers designing and overseeing the construction of our pier and lighthouse, we were at the cutting edge of innovation in the late 1800s. With plans afoot to connect London to the USA and the Caribbean via Blacksod Pier, our little village was at the centre of the world back then.

To bring these facts to light, we delved into the history books to examine the past of Blacksod Lighthouse from an architectural angle. Join us on a fascinating architecture-based tour. Learn the rich history of this protected building, the connections between the lighthouse and its landscape, and the many world-renown characters involved in its construction. Hear tales of huge projects undertaken by Nimmo, Bald & Co. and learn about the proposed ‘All Red Route’ land connection linking Blacksod to London. See the state-of-the-art Fresnel Lens up close, installed in June 1866 and still in operation today!

Supported by CFID Eachléim

Tuatha of Terryland Forest Park

‘Bringing the Jungle back into our Urban Lives’

Date:  Saturday 07 October

Time: 9.30am, Duration approx. 2.5 hours

Meeting Point Woodquay Pitch

This event is FREE and open to the public. Pre-booking is advised as places are limited.

About

Enjoy a guided walk through a landscape of woods, meadows and wetlands in the heart of Galway city and find out why we need to integrate nature into our urban infrastructure. 

In an increasingly urbanised planet, humanity’s growing disconnect with the natural world has led to the climate and biodiversity catastrophe that threaten its very existence. Hence there is an urgent need now to redesign our cities in order to integrate nature into urban infrastructure. Brendan Smith will provide an informative walk along the banks of the River Corrib and into the Terryland Forest Park to show how this can be achieved. He will enlighten participants on the origins of Ireland’s largest community-local government urban woodland, on how since its inception in 2000 it has served as a 'carbon sink’, a wildlife sanctuary, an ecological corridor, an Outdoor Classroom and an outdoor passive recreational facility. Brendan will also talk about its built heritage, on how it can serve as a template for other cities but also about the threats that it faces and what needs to be done to enhance its future.

Founder of the Galway National Park City initiative, Brendan Smith has been a community and environmental activist for over four decades, involved in programmes to protect and enhance biodiversity in urban Galway. He spearheaded the campaign in 1995 that lead to the opening in 2000 of the council-owned Terryland Forest Park, an area of over 120 acres comprising wood, wetlands, waterways and pasture. Brendan is a member of the EcoEd4All team, which includes renowned environmentalist Duncan Stewart, that has developed the first Sustainability educational modular programme for Transition Year students in Ireland.

Tuatha of Terryland Forest Park, Galway National Park City

Ahascragh Distillery

Date: Friday 06 October   

Time: Tours at 10:30am and 3pm

Location: Ahascragh Distillers Ltd. | Chapel Street, Ahascragh, Co. Galway

FREE but prebook is essential

Summary

Guided tour led by Liam Loughrey BE C Eng, Project Manager Construction.

About

Experience whiskey history in the making at Ahascragh Distillery, Ireland’s first zero-emissions whiskey and gin distillery.

Built within a restored nineteenth century mill in the village of Ahascragh, Co. Galway, tours of the state-of-the-art distillery include a journey through the history of the old mill and an exploration of whiskey and gin production from grain to glass. Located in the heart of the countryside village and steeped in history, the mill complex has been given a new lease of life. The eco-distillery is powered by renewable energy – wind, solar and coming soon, hydro, using heat pump technology and an energy efficient storage system. This is a first for the industry.

Now open for tours, Ahascragh Distillery is an authentic destination for whiskey and gin enthusiasts and anyone interested in history, tradition and craftsmanship.

Supported by;

ahascraghdistillery.com

Archaeological Investigation in Medieval Claregalway

Open Day Hosted by Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd

Date: Friday 6 October

Tours will be offered in four time-slots: 9.30 am, 11.00 am, 1.30 pm and 3.00 pm. (Thus, two morning and two afternoon, each of max. 90 mins duration.)

Location Meet Claregalway Castle

FREE but prebook is essential
*Registration online is required for this event (morning and afternoon tours).

About

The Norman invasion of Connacht in the 1230s was led by Richard de Burgo (afterwards Clanricarde). The Norman barons and knights who supported de Burgo were rewarded with grants of land. The conquered territory was soon consolidated by castles and fortified manor villages. Many of the military monuments of this period of conquest and consolidation survive, in the form of motte mounds, moated earthwork enclosures and masonry castles. But what was the character of daily life for the incomers? And how did things change for the native Irish?  An ongoing archaeological excavation in Claregalway, on an island in the River Clare that was fortified and settled by John de Cogan, is offering some answers.

Open Day Hosted by Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd

The elements of the Open Day will be a) a slideshow and b) finds show and c) excavation visit.

Special Thanks to Mr Eamon O’Donoghue for use of meeting room at Claregalway Castle.

The excavation was commissioned by Galway County Council and is funded by Transport Infrastructure Ireland. 

Note; There will be no parking at the excavation site by IAC Ltd personnel or visitors on the day.

Restoration Tour of Westport House

Date: Wednesday 04 October

Time: 2pm tour – Duration 45 mins

Location: Westport House

Accessibility: Level access. Fully accessible throughout the ground floor. etc. – we have 18 steps to the entrance of the House

Summary

A tour describing the architecture of Westport House - the current restoration and plans for the House and the Estate.

Event Organiser: Kathryn Connolly

About

Westport House was built for John Browne, first Earl of Altamont, to a design (1731) by Richard Castle on the site of the earlier O’Malley tower house in the picturesque landscape of Clew Bay.

Other distinguished architects involved in the later improvement of the house included Thomas Ivory, who significantly extended the house as a quadrangle around an open courtyard. 

In the 1780s, James Wyatt redesigned the interior of the house, and the north and south wings were added by his son Benjamin Dean Wyatt in 1819. Subsequently, the open courtyard was reconfigured to include an impressive staircase hall to a design (1857-9) by George Wilkinson, featuring an elegant Imperial staircase of fine Sicilian marble and cast ironwork supplied by Francis Skidmore of Coventry.

Fragments of Change at Enniscoe House

Date : Tuesday 03 October

Time: 11.30 am

Location Enniscoe House, Castlehill, Ballina, Co Mayo. F26 EA34

Link to location / View on Google Maps https://goo.gl/maps/aN96nb2phrGNtq1i6

Accessibility: Tour will take in parts of the house not usually accessible to the public. Some steep stairs and awkward turns.

Event Organiser: Susan Kellett

Summary

Material Mapping of Architectural Features; A guided tour and talk about the architecture of Enniscoe House and the changes that have taken place over the years.

About

Enniscoe House appears to be a classic Irish Georgian country house of the middle size. An older house, described as a fortified house (c.1740-1750) is perfectly preserved within the later house, completed in 1798. Retaining significant interior features it represents an important component of the domestic built heritage of north County Mayo confirmed by such attributes as the Classical-style chimneypieces; silk wallpaper of Adamesque design; and delicate plasterwork enrichments. The tour will provide access to interior fragments of change and architectural features.

Mapping the Corrib Soundscape

Date /Time

Sunday 01 October, 11:00 hrs

Saturday 07 October 15:00 hrs

Meet, Depart from The Mick Lally Theatre

This event is FREE and open to the public. There is no booking required, but places are limited and will operate on a first come first serve basis. You can register you interest via booking links below.

The event is out of doors and requires suitable clothing and footwear. The route is wheelchair accessible but requires crossing the road at Wolf Tone Bridge, O’Brien’s Bridge and the Salmon Weir Bridge. Duration approximately one hour.

Summary:

Galway’s waterways form a unique soundscape in a busy city centre. This event explores the sounds and provides a guided walk. 

Event Organiser Galway Sound Lab

About:

The soundscape, i.e. all the sounds we hear around us, is an increasingly important part of our environment. Natural sounds are increasingly important in peoples connection with nature. Galway is blessed with a fast flowing river and waterway network that generates a wide variety of natural sounds which, for a substantial part of the city centre, dominate the soundscape. This event maps and highlights some of these sounds and guides the participants on a stroll to experience them.

In addition to a guided walk, a topophilic map of key locations along the route has been developed. Locations are also marked on Google Maps (search Riverside Soundwalk). A QR code will link to a self-guided walk along the Corrib. Each persons experience will be different, every time they do the walk, as the sounds change during the day and throughout the year.

Guides:

Eugene McKeown who has been working on acoustics for over forty years has a specific interest in Galway’s soundscape. He will give a talk on the soundscape and describes some of the sounds both past and present that are part of Galway’s acoustic heritage.

Laoise Tarrant is currently working on a topophilic map of the Corrib as it flows through Galway which will be the first map of its kind.  

Alternatively people can take part in a self-guided walk at any time during the week by listening to a podcasts which can be found using a QR code.

The research conducted in this presentation was funded by the Irish Research Council under grant number GOIPG/2023/4631

Architect led tour of Blackrock Cottage. A view of a pre-development video model, a walk through and short talk about the development.

Architects Seán Dockry & Associates

Sean Duane, Duane Construction

This event is FREE and open to the public. Pre-booking is advised, as places are limited and will operate on a first come first serve basis. 

With thanks to Blackrock Cottage, the latest venture of Executive Head Chef Martin O’Donnell, who you may know from his instrumental role at The Twelve Hotel in Barna.

Housed inside the beautifully restored and renovated 1830s cottage, you’ll find them located alongside Salthill’s iconic Blackrock Diving Tower. The ideal spot for sea-swimmers, prom walkers and locals to sit, chat and enjoy delicious food.