Ireland’s first celebration of indigenous animal breeds will take place at Bunratty Castle & Folk Park on August 18 as part of a wide-ranging programme of National Heritage Week events at the Co. Clare visitor attraction.
Hosted in association with the Irish Native Rare Breed Society (INRBS), the event will include livestock displays of native breeds such as Tamworth pigs and Irish red deer, lectures on rare breed conservation, and tastings of products derived from indigenous breeds.
Specialists in crafts involving wool, leather and beeswax will provide demonstrations and displays of their finished artworks and garments.
The event will feature speakers from the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST), Farming for Nature (FFN) and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), as well as ecologists and people working with the breeds who will provide different perspectives on breed conservation and the associated area of biodiverse land management.
“One of our primary missions is to increase awareness of native Irish breeds and how they have formed part of our social and cultural history in Ireland down through the centuries,” said the farm manager at Bunratty Castle & Folk Park, Niall Moloney.
The rare breeds event is included in a comprehensive programme of National Heritage Week events at Bunratty Castle & Folk Park and Craggaunowen, where people are invited to explore the traditions and practices, knowledge and skills passed down through generations.
At Bunratty, animators will showcase life in times past through storytelling and roleplaying.
There will be woodworking demonstrations by TikTok star Eoin Reardon; willow weaving and stone masonry workshops; talks on Celtic folklore and mythology; a tour of the 19th century Bunratty House; a traditional thatching demonstration and an introduction to the Regency plant collection at the Victorian walled garden.
Craggaunowen will host re-enactors and tradespeople from across Clare who will demonstrate the crafts and traditions of old, including spinning and weaving; blacksmithing; log splitting; bread and butter making; candle making; wool dyeing and bagpipe playing. Stories of mythology and the history of the Ogham stones will also be recounted.
Bunratty Heritage Week highlights include:
August 17, 22, 23, 24: Bunratty’s resident woodworker, Eoin Reardon, will demonstrate how he makes an array of wooden items using old traditional methods as he rescues all sorts of items from a currach to a sugan chair.
August 17, 22, 23, 24: Hear the hammer and anvil at work as Bunratty’s resident blacksmith, James O’Connor, demonstrates his work and delves into the history of iron working in the courtyard of Bunratty Castle.
August 17, 18, 19 and 20: Crochet and cross stitching in the 19th century: Bunratty’s resident artisan, Liv Steudemann, will speak about and demonstrate the history and intricate beauty of crochet and cross-stitching. She will explain how during famine times, low-income households sold their exquisite shawls, blankets, and lacework to wealthy ladies, blending necessity with artistry.
August 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 23, 24 and 25: Willow weaving: Tom Delaney of Ould Crafty will make traditional style baskets and other items from locally sourced willow.
August 22 and 23: Stone carving and masonry master stonemason and conservation worker Dominic Keogh will bring the beauty of carved stone to life by demonstrating how the age-old craft has been passed down through generations, preserving the techniques and traditions that have built some of the country’s most iconic structures.
August 19, 20 and 21: Celtic folklore and mythology: Drawing inspiration from Ireland’s rich oral tradition, Balor O’Brien will speak about his life collecting folklore and bringing Ireland’s storied past to life.
August 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23: Traditional thatching demonstration. Visitors can watch Bunratty’s resident thatcher, Adrian Garvey, at work and hear about the skills and materials required to perform this time-honoured craft.
August 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23: Regency plant collection. The gardening team in the Regency walled garden will discuss the processes and care involved in the planting and maintenance of the heritage and Regency plants currently growing.
Daily: There will be daily tours of Bunratty Castle and the Golden Vale farmhouse at 10:30a.m and 2:30p.m.
The bean an tí will recount what life was like living in an early 20th century home with its large kitchen, grand parlour and well tended garden.
She will demonstrate baking bread on an open fire, butter churning, doing laundry in an old-style tub, ironing, and the singer sewing machine.
Craggaunowen highlights include:
August 24, 10:00a.m and 5:00p.m: Master artisan, Michael Foudy, will showcase the timeless craft of basket weaving and the art of transforming reeds into traditional baskets.
August 17, 18, 19 and 23 at 10:00a.m: Annika Hammar will showcase and discuss the origins and the art of the ancient practice of wool dying.
August 22 and 24: Storyteller Tommy Lanigan will bring visitors on a journey through a rich heritage of folklore and myth.
August 20, 21 and 23, 10:00a.m: Visitors can listen to tales of Ireland that have been preserved in the oral tradition and later transcribed in the manuscripts of early Celtic Christianity.
August 20, 21 and 22, 2:30p.m: Stefan Leszczysnki will bring visitors on a trail exploring the ancient Irish writing tradition of Ogham, an early Iron age alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language and later used in the old Irish language.
August 19, 20 and 21: Discover the ancient art of log splitting, where wood was processed without the use of metal tools. Join Sean Landy at the Crannóg for a hands-on demonstration and experience the first steps of timber processing using traditional beetles and wooden wedges.
August 21 and 23: Craggaunowen’s seanchaí will host a traditional Irish folklore storytelling session.
August 20, 21 and 22 at 4:00pm: Geraldine O’Sullivan will create real Irish butter using the traditional practice of butter churning.
August 17, 18, 19 at 2:30pm and 23 at 10:00a.m:Craggaunowen animators will make bread and oat cakes at the ringfort by grinding oats in the traditional way with a smooth rock and a patient hand before baking bread over an open campfire.
August 17, 21, 22 and 23: Craftworker Arno Kilhoffer will demonstrate the art and skill behind creating frame drums, from selecting materials to assembly. He will also showcase various drumming techniques.
August 20, 21 and 22 at 11:00a.m: Animator Geraldine O’Sullivan will discuss and perform the ancient Irish craft of wool spinning on a traditional spindle.
August 20 and 21: Witness the ancient skill of timber craftwork on the traditional pole lathe.
August 18, 19 and 20: Craggaunowen’s resident blacksmith will demonstrate traditional blacksmithing techniques.
Standard admission rates to Bunratty Castle & Folk Park apply to both the rare breeds event and the Heritage Week events.
They are: adult: €15; child or student:€9 and family of two adults and four children under-18: €34.25.