27 October, 2022

Heritage Week 2022

For Heritage Week 2022 members of the IAC team organised several in-person events and shared online content regarding some of our recent excavations. We had an overwhelming positive response from the public and fellow archaeologists, and we look forward to contributing to next years events calendar.

At Blessington, site director Muireann Ní Cheallacháin, and her fieldwork crew hosted a public open day on their active excavation on Thursday 18th August, kindly facilitated by Cairn Homes. They welcomed over 300 members of the public to site, despite the damp weather, and gave them an in-depth tour of the early medieval settlement remains being recorded at the site. Young and old were enthralled with the information archaeologists can gather through excavation and specialist analysis. In recent weeks Muireann and site supervisor Andrew Fairbrother have been actively sharing the discoveries at Blessington with local community groups; including the Blessington Historical Society and the University of the Third Age.

In Dublin City Centre IAC shared two of their recent archaeological discoveries which have been preserved in-situ as part of the newly constructed student accommodation and hotel developments.  Paul Duffy and David McIlreavy, site directors, gave well-received talks on the recently identified remains of a medieval gatehouse associated with St Marys Abbey; preserved beneath a glass floor as part of the Staycity Hotel on Little Mary Street. At Aungier Street tours of the preserved Hiberno-Norse House and remains of the medieval St. Peters Church were hugely successful and subsequently won an award for best event in Dublin City. Congratulations to Paul Duffy, Andrew Finney and Joe Moran who presented the tours on the day, and thanks to Scape Dublin and Lidl Ireland for facilitating the event.