merrion street

Mr. Jimmy Deenihan, TD, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, will this evening Monday, 8^th July, launch a series of free lectures organised by his Department’s National Monuments Service as part of the Gathering celebrations. The objective of the lectures is to highlight the influences of cultural and historical developments in each of the regions on the lecture circuit.

The first lecture will be delivered in Kerry’s County Museum in Tralee by locally-based archaeologist, Laur Dunne, and Fionnbarr Moore, Senior Archaeologist in the National Monuments Service. The lecture looks at the archaeology of the region from Smerwick to Kerry Head; examining the evidence of everyday life, conflict, trade and immigration from the earliest settlers who landed in Ferriter’s Cove nearly 8000 years ago to the great changes and influences that have occurred up to the medieval and early modern periods.

Between August and November, the lecture series will go on to visit Galway City (The Tribes of Galway), Youghal (An Introduction to Heraldry), Dun Laoghaire (The loss of the RMS Leinster) and Dundalk (The Archaeology of Louth’s Past Generations).

Speaking ahead of the launch Minister Deenihan said that "the Gathering has served to highlight the important role that archaeology and built heritage can play in Ireland’s economic recovery – our culture and heritage offers an unrivalled experience to overseas visitors and now more than ever we must work to introduce them to Ireland’s unrivalled historical appeal".

Minister Deenihan is certain that this free lecture series will attract a diverse audience and that anyone with a general interest in Ireland’s past would have something to gain from them. "Hopefully, for those of us who call this country home, the knowledge we gain from the lectures will stand us in good stead in welcoming our visitors and showing them why we are so proud of what we are and where we have come from."

For more details on the lecture series check