Our final lecture in the Winter Lecture Series 2016/17, by Dr. Seamus Ó Murchú, took place on Wednesday 19th April at 8pm in Borris Vocational School and was extremely well attended. Dr. Ó Murchú introduced the archaeology of this landscape and how it was used from the time of the first farmers through to the end of the 19th Century. To listen to Dr. Ó Murchú’s talk click here
This lecture was also a commemoration to Dr. Ó Murchú’s grandfather, Séamus Murphy, a long-serving member of the Society Committee who passed away last September. One of his many historical passions was the life and experience of ordinary people in rural Ireland especially in the 18th and 19th Centuries.
Rising above the Barrow Valley, the Blackstairs Mountains appear at first glance as a wild and natural landscape. Step out onto the slopes however, and you will quickly come upon the evidence for thousands of years of human activity. These mountains have been farmed, settled, worked and worshiped upon since prehistory, shaping the landscape and its environment. The stone and earthen traces of many of these activities still survive today offering us windows through which to view the past.
Blackstairs Land Use from Down Survey
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