National Heritage Week, an initiative of the Heritage Council, takes place from August 14th to August 22nd to celebrate all things heritage.
With the aim of building awareness about the value of heritage, Heritage Week brings communities, families, organisations and cultural institutions together.
Waterford City and County Council has compiled an interesting and varied programme of free online events that will showcase our heritage and the value of supporting its conservation.
Learn about the significance of Creadan Head, as it shapes a new understanding of early human settlement in the south east of Ireland through an on-line webinar on Thursday, August 19th at 7pm. This event introduces the Creadan – Waterford Estuary landscape and the Creadan – Waterford Estuary Steering Group, established through the work of the late Noel McDonagh and led by researchers from WIT Humanities.
Register at https://bit.ly/3i6CtN8
What’s in a name? Discover the history of your local town land name to get a new insight in the fascinating history of place names in Waterford through the launch of a new website by the Waterford Place names Committee.
As we continue through the Decade of Centenaries the history of the War of Independence in Waterford is excellently documented in a new GIS Story Map. Read about the events that took place across the City and County and the tragic casualties that resulted from the struggle. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/556fd694946a48c389313b5a63b23273
Waterford’s Wildlife is celebrated through a video on Nature in our Nature Parks presented by well known wildlife photographer Paddy Dwan. You can also learn about the Waterford Swift Survey being carried out by Birdwatch Ireland this summer.
Greetings from Waterford is an exhibition of an extensive collection of over 130 historical postcards dating from the beginning of the 20thcentury. Waterford Libraries is currently in the process of digitising the collection in order to preserve them and make them available to a wider audience online.
Getting enthusiastic about History and Heritage takes place online on Tuesday, August 17th. Author and researcher Cian Manning will present an online talk on how enthusiasm for interests such as sport or cartoons has inspired people to explore their interests from a history and heritage perspective.
On August 18th, Archivist Joanne Rothwell will deliver an online workshop on Researching your Family History. For those who are interested in discovering their roots, this workshop is a great opportunity to learn about the resources that are available to chart the family tree.
Running Effective Heritage Projects is an online workshop presented by Willie Whelan of Deise Design and will offer insights into running your very own heritage project on August 21st.
Bernadette Guest, Heritage Officer, Waterford City and County Council is looking forward to the week’s programme of events. “While heritage is something that should be valued, cherished and supported all year round, National Heritage Week gives those who may not have had the opportunity, resources, or time to discover their heritage, a wonderful synopsis of the importance of our heritage.”
“The programme of virtual events devised by Waterford City and County Council is quite eclectic, simply because heritage is eclectic. From postcards from the past, the significance of place names or the majesty of our wildlife, we are surrounded by heritage and National Heritage Week is a wonderful platform to celebrate it and support its conservation.”
For a full programme of online events taking place throughout National Heritage Week visit www.heritageweek.ie
