Heritage Week

This is Heritage Week in Ireland and events are being  held up and down the country to encourage people to have a better appreciation of our heritage.

It's easy to take our heritage for granted when, it seems, that every parish has a  national monument of some sort, from neolithic graves to fine Georgian houses.

I can, within a twenty minute drive, find dolmen and passage graves, medieval churches, old abbeys and castles, sweat houses and mass rocks. 

It was  only when I began posting images of these on the photo sharing website Pbase.com that the comments of users from America and Australia made me think: 'Hey, it  really IS cool to drive past a 13th century tower on my way to work every day.'

Our  heritage is a huge asset and one which attracts many visitors to Ireland - no one is going to come here for the weather.  Unfortunately, some of it has been lost by farmers clearing fields  and developers anxious to make a quick buck.

We also need better signs and information for many of our national monuments so that locals and visitors alike can enjoy them.

King John's Castle Carlingford

Cuchulainn's Mount, Dundalk

Celtic Cross, Dromiskin

Old Graveyard, Faughart