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We are delighted to have two events for Heritage Week 2025.

 

Event 1:

Guided Historical Walk of Clonakilty Town

When: 20 August, 7pm - 8:15pm

Where: Michael Collins Statue, Emmet Square, Clonakilty

 

Trace the footsteps of Clonakilty's famous characters: Michael Collins, Tadhg an Asna (1798 Leader), Mary Jane Irwin (poet, campaigner and wife of Fenian Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa) and much more. Founded by Richard Boyle, Earl of Cork, who received a charter for the town from James I in 1613, you will hear stories of the commercial life of Clonakilty’s Linen Hall and Deasy's Brewery and of its rebellions, famines, smuggling and shipwrecks.

 

Event 2:

Uncovering Clonakilty’s Past: Excavation of a Bronze Age Ring-Ditch

When: 21 August, 8:30pm - 10pm

Where: Clonakilty GAA Club, Ahamilla, Clonakilty, P85 WN84

 

 

The excavation of a ring-ditch in Clonakilty by Mizen Archaeology revealed evidence of several phases of activity, spanning from the late Neolithic to the Post-Medieval period. The main discovery included a Bronze Age ring-ditch containing depositions of pottery. Artefacts such as two saddle querns and a substantial Bronze Age pottery assemblage provide important insights into prehistoric life in West Cork. This talk will explore these findings and their significance within the wider archaeological landscape of the region.

 

This talk is by Caitlyn Haskins, Senior Archaeologist & Excavation Director, Mizen Archaeology, who is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin (BA in History & Archaeology) and University of Portsmouth (MA underwater Archaeology). Over the course of her career, Caitlyn has worked on a wide range of projects across the country both underwater and land-based. She has been responsible for the discovery and investigation of numerous prehistoric sites across Ireland. In 2021 Caitlyn led a team of archaeologists that fully excavated a ring-ditch in Clonakilty and subsequently carried out post-excavation analysis of the site.