Click on this link to read about our work as Archaeologists at Rathnadrinna....
http://www.tipperarystar.ie/news/local/loughmore-pupils-join-international-archaeological-dig-1-4030...
Find out more about Rathnadrinna outcomes here...
https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A2KLfSGv5YNe9u0AFwlXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEyYWx1czZnBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMyBH...
Rathnadrinna Dig Visit
June 19th June 2012.
Loughmore NS is located on
the banks of the river Suir, in the picturesque village of Loughmore,
Templemore, Co. Tipperary. It overlooks Loughmore Castle – which dates back to the 15th
or 16th century, and was the seat of the
Purcell family, who were Barons of Loughmoe. The Cormack Brothers tomb is situated on the
Church grounds, directly across from the school. There are ancient church
sites, mass rocks, Fr. Mackey’s Holy
Well, several fairy forts, tales of Jeremiah Grant the highwayman, and
countless local legends, songs and stories which the children accept proudly as
their heritage. The teachers and parishioners of Lougmore engender a strong
respect and love for history in the pupils of Loughmore NS and their appetite
for the subject is notable. The school is largely indebted to Mgr. Maurice
Dooley for the recovery and transmission of much of this history, and he is
particularly au fait with the family trees of most of the parish also, which
the children love to hear about.
As aforementioned Loughmore
is a village steeped in culture and history itself and the History Curriculum
in the school pays homage to this rich local heritage. The pupils are involved
in regular history projects and relish the opportunity to witness historical
projects up close. Most recently the pupils of fifth and sixth class travelled
with their teacher Ms. Dunne (née Goldsboro) to her home village of Ballingarry
to visit the Famine War-house, the site of the 1848 Young Irelander’s
Rebellion. They were surprised to learn that nearby, the Commons was the place
where the Irish tri-colour was first flown in 1848, and were regaled with many
tales and facts by the fascinating Johnny Webster, who is in charge of raising
and lowering this flag at dawn and dusk each day, ever mindful and respectful
of the stringent regulations and rules which govern this patriotic job.
It is with the same
curiosity and enthusiasm that the children set out today for Rathnadrinna,
having studied what is known of the history of Cashel and its Kings. An archaeological research
excavation of Rathnadrinna Fort in Cashel began on Monday 11th June. The
excavation will run for eight weeks, and is funded through a grant from the
Royal Irish Academy. Local archaeologist Richard
O’Brien is the site director in charge
of an international team of archaeologists and volunteers, with participants
coming from USA, Germany, England and through-out the island of Ireland. The excavation will attempt
to discover the history of Rathnadrinna Fort (meaning Fort of the Blackberries, or Fort of the
Contest),
the largest and most-complex fort in Cashel. The fort, located in Lalor’s-Lot
townland off the Cashel-Rosegreen road is believed to be a possible
inauguration site of the Kings of Cashel and Munster. Two geophysical surveys
in 2009 and 2010 funded by the Heritage Council revealed many interesting
features buried beneath the ground,
and this dig
will focus on the excavation of some of these features.
Miss Mary O’ Brien (Deputy
Principal of Loughmore NS) is a sister of the site director and arranged for
the children of Loughmore NS, from 1st class up to sixth class to
attend this dig in order to witness this first hand and to lend a hand also! Ms.
Angela Dunne (Principal), and Ms. Niamh Gleeson (class-teacher) also attended with
their pupils. The children have participated in a logo competition for
Rathnadrinna and came up with some very creative and artistic designs for
consideration by the archaeologists.
We set out on Tuesday 19th
of June from school at 9.30am. A brief stop along the way to Rathnadrinna was
made at the Famine Graveyard outside Rosegreen. We were astounded by the
thousand names engraved on a memorial wall here. The children examined these
names in detail and were deeply saddened to see the amount of young babies and
children that perished here during the famine. In some years noted, every day
six or seven people died in the locality. It was truly sobering to visit this
graveyard and say a prayer for our poor ancestors. One pupil who had remarked
that he was starving for his lunch in the bus on the way reported after this
visit that he didn’t know how lucky he was to have such a nice lunch to look
forward to. This was met with nods of accord from all his peers.
We arrived at Rathnadrinna
at 11am, and were led up to the fort by Richard O’Brien. There we met his
archaeologist wife Joanne and their young son Murt. We also met a number of
volunteer archaeologists from all over the world, who were excited to take part
in this research project. The children were briefed on the history of this site
and its perceived significance to the high kings of Munster many centuries ago.
Being a ‘fairy fort’ the children were interested in whether or not they would
be haunted after visiting it! They were reassured that this was a sacred place
and that it was a good thing to investigate it in order to give a voice to our
lost ancestors. We were allowed to participate in the live digging of certain
parts of the site and then proceeded to clean and catalogue some of the items
found so far, such as ancient pieces of bone, pottery, clay pipes, flint spear
heads, etc. The process is slow and extremely meticulous but it is one the
children participated in with much enthusiasm and reverence. This was the
living classroom at its very best. We are much indebted to the crew at
Rathnadrinna and our teacher Miss O’Brien for enabling us to become involved in
such a rare and interesting historical project. The archaeologists are working
to a very tight deadline this summer and were very generous with their precious
time to facilitate our involvement to such a degree. We will not forget our
visit to the Fort of the Blackberries in a hurry!
