Laois County Council

Tag: Catherine Casey

  • Swifts fly high in Mountmellick

    Swifts fly high in Mountmellick

    Launch of mural in Mountmellick celebrating Swifts for Laois Culture Night

    For Culture Night Laois on Friday, September 23rd, Creative Ireland Laois, Laois County Council Heritage Office and BirdWatch Ireland launch a street mural by artist, James Kirwan to celebrate Ireland’s threatened Swift (Apus apus). The mural is located at the gable end of the Gearoid Horan’s building on Patrick Street, Mountmellick and is adjacent to Mountmellick Community School.

    The Swift is a small migratory bird which arrives in Ireland to breed from Africa in May and departs by August each year. Although similar in appearance to Swallows and Martins, the Swift’s nearest relatives are thought to be the Hummingbirds, native to North and South America.

    Catherine Casey Heritage Office for Laois County Council said:

    “We are delighted to be launching this wonderful mural as part of Culture Night as it represents the coming together of the biodiversity of Laois through the Swift and the creative artistic side of the county through the medium of street art. As Swifts are such an urban bird, living in our towns and villages, I can’t think of a better subject for a large scale street mural. This project will rise awareness of the importance of Mountmellick for swifts and also the other work being done to survey and conserve swifts across Laois, with the support of the Heritage Council and the Local Biodiversity Action Fund.”The Swift’s scientific name Apus apus means ‘without feet’ which refers to the Swift’s short legs rather than to any lack of feet. Swift’s legs and feet are adapted to cling to vertical surfaces rather than perching on wires and walking on the ground. If they find themselves on the ground, it can be difficult for them to take off again.

    BirdWatch Ireland’s Ricky Whelan with street artist, James Kirwan at Coffee Notions, Mountmellick, September 2022

    Swifts are more common in urban areas, building small, cupped nests in small crevices in buildings, as well as in the eaves of houses. Swifts pair for life and return to the same nest site for many years. They spend most of their life in flight, drinking, feeding, mating and evening sleeping in the air.

    Mountmellick native Ricky Whelan of BirdWatch Ireland said:

    “Mountmellick has a wonderful cultural heritage and I am so proud to see its rich natural heritage enshrined by the Swift mural. Mountmellick is a stronghold within county Laois for these charismatic and threatened birds which is something we should all celebrate and be vigilant to protect into the future.”

    Swifts are among the fastest of birds with Ireland’s Swift able to reach speeds of over 110km per hour. The average Swift weights about 40 grams – the same weight as a Cadbury’s Crème Egg! They feed on airborne invertebrates (spiders, flies and small insects) captured in flights. The Swift’s call is a loud, piercing scream and Swifts will often form ‘screaming parties’ on summer evenings, when ten to twenty Swifts will gather in a group flight above their nesting area, calling out to each other excitedly.

    Street Artist, James Kirwan said

    “From the moment Creative Ireland Laois reached out to me about this mural project, I was very interested and excited, especially because I am a huge fan of Swifts. I had also recently listened to Ricky Whelan’s and Niall Hatch’s ‘In Your Nature’ podcast on Swifts, so it is an added bonus to work closely with Ricky and learn even more about these fascinating birds. To be an artist who gets to paint a mural about the conservation of swifts is an honour and it goes without saying that I am wholeheartedly looking forward to being in Mountmellick and creating this mural that highlights the uniqueness of this bird”.

     

    Wexford-born James Kirwan is an experienced artist based in Dublin. His work has been showcased in solo and group exhibitions, and his mural work has been seen as far away as Canada. James has worked extensively in Ireland too, with recent work appearing in Gorey, Waterford, Thurles and Dublin. James’ work is often made with bold colours, with a mix of playful abstract forms and references to the natural world and landscapes.

     

    James has a keen interest in the importance of the protection of birds and their habitats in Ireland. He brings this, in his distinctive style, in the stunning piece for Mountmellick’s Swift mural. In October, James is scheduled to return to Mountmellick to facilitate a creative workshop with art students in Mountmellick Community College which will explore his street artworks and techniques, and reflect his interest in nature, and his use of abstract shapes.

    The mural launch takes place on Fri Sept 23rd at 5.30pm at Mountmellick Community School. The Swift episode reissue is available at BirdWatch Ireland’s ‘In Your Nature’ podcast on Buzzsprout or any good podcast provider. ‘In Your Nature’ is produced in partnership with the Heritage Offices of Laois and Offaly County Councils, supported by the Heritage Council and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and is edited by Ann-Marie Kelly.

     

    Laois County Council and BirdWatch Ireland are very grateful to Gearoid Horan for giving permission for the use of his building for the mural, and also sincere gratitude for the support of Principal Larry Curtin and Deputy Principal Frances Kerry – La Rosa of Mountmellick Community School.

     

    The Mountmellick Swift Project mural is supported by Creative Ireland Laois as part of the Creative Ireland Programme – in partnership with Laois County Council Heritage Office and BirdWatch Ireland.

  • Conservation Plan for Fort Protector Launched

    Conservation Plan for Fort Protector Launched

    A major new plan to guide the conservation and presentation of the 16th Century Fort Protector at the heart of Portlaoise has been launched. The plan, which was created in a partnership between Laois Heritage Society and Laois County Council, with the support of the Heritage Council, builds upon several years of research, consultation and community engagement by a team led by Conservation Architect Richard McLoughlin in association with archaeologist Eoin Sullivan and Historian Diarmuid Wheeler.

    Angela McEvoy, Director of Services Laois County Council; Richard McLoughlin, Lotts Architecture; Cllr Conor Bergin Cathaoirleach of Laois County Council and Teddy Fennelly, president Laois Heritage Society at the launch of the Portlaoise Fort Protector Conservation Plan.
    Photo: Alf Harvey.

    Speaking at the launch, Cllr Conor Bergin, Cathaoirleach with Laois County Council said “This is just one example among many, of a project where the initial support of the Heritage Council facilitated Laois County Council to get a project started and leverage much greater exchequer funds, and I would like to express again our sincere gratitude to the Heritage Council for this.

    “A project like this does not come together without a huge amount of work and I’d like to pay a special tribute to the Working Group of Laois Heritage Society who have been working for many years now on the conservation of the Fort Protector.

    “Teddy Fennelly and Michael Parsons were the instigators of this plan, and they have put many hours of hard work and creativity on all the many parts necessary to get the plan to this stage – fundraising, research, practical conservation, conversations with property owners, development of policies, more fundraising and organizing awareness activities and events

    “Their commitment, creativity, attention to detail and meticulous historical research have created a very special publication, and a very active and successful conservation project and they deserve our most sincere thanks and congratulations.”

    Launching the Portlaoise Fort Protector Conservation Plan. From left: Catherine Casey, Laois Heritage officer; Bernie Foran, Laois County Librarian; Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley; John Mulholland, chief executive Laois County Council; Richard McLoughlin, Lotts Architecture; Cllr Conor Bergin, Cathaoirleach of Laois County Council; Michael Parsons, Laois Heritage; Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald; Teddy Fennelly, Laois Heritage president; Angela McEvoy, Director of Services Laois County Council and Sean Murray, chairman Laois Heritage.
    Photo: Alf Harvey.

    The meeting was also addressed by Teddy Fennelly President of Laois Heritage Society, Michael Parsons, former Chair of the National Heritage Council and John Mulholland Chief Executive of Laois County Council. Richard McLoughlin Conservation Architect with Lotts Architecture presented a fascinating history of the development of the Fort and the town of Portlaoise, through an examination of maps dating back to the 1550s.

     

    Cllr Thomasina Connell with Richard McLoughlin, Lotts Architecture at the launch of the Portlaoise Fort Protector Conservation Plan.
    Photo: Alf Harvey.

    Cathaoirleach Conor Bergin paid tribute to the Project Team, Archaeologist Eoin Sullivan, Historian Diarmuid Wheeler and most especially Conservation Architect Richard McLoughlin, who gave so generously of their time, expertise and energy over the past seven years in bringing the plan to this stage with so much community engagement and involvement.

    He continued “As we are here at the start of the Old Fort Festival, which brings with it a great economic and cultural boost for the town of Portlaoise, I think it’s important to acknowledge that the impetus for the development of the festival came from the Main Street traders after they were approached by Richard and the project team to discuss the importance of the Fort. It’s a great example of how collaboration with the community builds pride in heritage and allows the development of grass roots events that celebrate that heritage and the identity of the place. I’m delighted to see the range of family heritage events going on throughout the weekend for the Old Fort Festival and I’m particularly pleased to see that Old St Peter’s Graveyard will be open to the public each afternoon throughout the weekend. ”

    The huge public interest in the Fort and the history of Portlaoise was evidenced by the large group in attendance and the wide range of questions posed after Richard McLoughin’s talk. Several speakers noted that the policies proposed in the plan have already started to be put into action, and it will certainly not be a plan that remains on the shelf, but is instead a living document. Information on projects undertaken to date is available here.

    Ronan Farrell and John Dunne at the launch of the Portlaoise Fort Protector Conservation Plan.
    Photo: Alf Harvey.
    The launch of the Portlaoise Fort Protector Conservation Plan.
    Photo: Alf Harvey.

     

    The Fort Protector Conservation Plan can be downloaded below, and hard copies are available for purchase from Laois  Heritage Society, Copies of the plan will be in the Portlaoise Branch Library.

    The Fort Protector Conservation Plan is a Partnership Project of Laois Heritage Society and Laois County Council, supported by the Heritage Council.

  • Abbeyleix Climate Action Walk launched

    Abbeyleix Climate Action Walk launched

    A ground-breaking new Climate Action Walk for Abbeyleix has been launched by Abbeyleix Tidy Towns, working in partnership with Laois County Council, Creative Ireland Laois and Midlands Science. The walk is an end of residency project by science communicator in residence for the Abbeyleix Climate Action Project, Dr Niamh Shaw.

     

    The walk is an interactive walking tour through the town of Abbeyleix to engage the general public about climate change, focusing on the cyclical nature of our planet, how climate change has impacted our lives, how it affects us emotionally and what we can do on a local level to positively contribute to this global issue.

    Robbie Quinn, chairman of Abbeyleix Tidy Towns and Cathaoirleach of Laois County Council Catherine Fitzgerald MCC with one of the tiles at the launch of the Abbeyleix Climate Action Walk.
    Picture: Alf Harvey.

    Speaking at the launch, Cathaoirleach of Laois County Council Catherine Fitzgerald said “Successful climate action will require deep changes in our society, and this cannot happen without citizen engagement at the heart of public policy change. I’d like to congratulate the members of Abbeyleix Tidy Towns for their enthusiastic participation in this ground breaking project to engage the people of the town with the breadth of change needed to address climate action and biodiversity loss.

     

    “I’d like to thank Creative Ireland and the Laois County Council Culture and Creativity Team for giving this project the space to develop over the past year, and allowing the team to react in such an agile way to the new challenges of the Covid restrictions on public gatherings. The online elements of this project and in particular the Abbeyleix Almanac online programme really demonstrated how much engagement can be created when a creative approach is taken to communicating these topics”.

     

    The Abbeyleix Climate Action Walk is designed for the public to discover ceramic tiles dotted along Main Street Abbeyleix, and guide them along a walk which starts at Heritage House and ends at Abbeyleix Bog. A unique QR code is printed on each ceramic tile, which will trigger a mobile device to open an animation or video hosted on youtube. An online Story Map has also been published so anyone in the world can “virtually” follow the path of the walk. The Storymap is on the Climate Action section of the Laois County Council website at www.laois.ie/climate.

     

    Dr Shaw said “It was an absolute pleasure to work with the Abbeyleix Tidy Towns and local community for the past six months on raising awareness about the topic of climate change. This end of residency walking project was a most enjoyable part of that shared experience and would not have been possible without the people on the ground who worked with me in creating the walk. From the local businesses and council buildings who allowed us to install the tiles, to the Abbeyleix Tidy Towns committee who have helped with the installation, I have had terrific support throughout.

     

    “I have to thank local graphic designer Paulina Nickstrom for making my words come to life in her gorgeous animations. Thanks also to Sally Weintrobe who permitted us to incorporate the talk she gave back in March as one of the audio pieces along the walk. But most importantly I want to acknowledge the guidance and support throughout my residency from Laois Heritage Officer Catherine Casey, Ann Lawlor from Creative Laois, Jackie Gorman from Midlands Science and the amazing Abbeyleix Tidy Towns committee. We can do some good things on our own, but together we can make the impossible possible”

     

    The new Abbeyleix Climate Action Walk is a project under the Healthy Ireland Keep Well Campaign, aimed at showing people of all ages how we can mind our own physical and mental health and wellbeing by adding healthy and helpful habits to our daily and weekly routines.

     

    Julie Scully, Healthy Ireland Co-ordinator for Laois County Council said we are delighted to collaborate with Abbeyleix Tidy Towns, The Heritage Office and Creative Ireland on this initiative that brings together so many elements of the Keep Well Campaign. This project links the past to the future with the use of the most up to date technology. The links between personal wellness and environmental wellness are well documented and this project, with the beautiful and informative videos by Dr. Niamh Shaw, encourages people to enjoy a leisurely walk in Abbeyleix Heritage Town while also engaging with climate action.”

    Cathaoirleach of Laois County Council Catherine Fitzgerald MCC performing the launch with members of Abbeyleix Tidy Towns, Dr Fiona MacGowan, Jackie Walsh, Cllr John Joe Fennelly, Mary White, Mark Clancy and Robbie Quinn, chairman along with Laois Heritage Officer Catherine Casey, Suzanne Dempsey, LCC-Community and Julie Scully, LCC Healthy Ireland co-ordinator at the launch of the Abbeyleix Climate Action Walk.
    Picture: Alf Harvey.

    Abbeyleix Tidy Towns have been partners in the Abbeyleix Climate Action Projects since last year. Chair of the Tidy Towns group Robbie Quinn said “The current committee is charged with creating a community that continues to be an attractive place to live, to work and to visit.  In doing this our focus is now on placemaking and on reimagining our beautiful heritage town as a smart and sustainable community that is fit for the 21st Century. We have an inclusive ethos and work very hard to engage the wider community in our work. It is through a positive working relationship with a range of public bodies and agencies, not least Laois County Council, that we are beginning to deliver a number of significant flagship biodiversity and climate actions projects that will move us forward on our journey to become a truly sustainable community. We hope our community and visitors engage and enjoy this experience “

     

    An important aspect of the Climate Action Project in Abbeyleix was the attention given to the importance of having good scientific data to back up policy, and in creating public engagement with science. Jackie Gorman, CEO of Midlands Science said “we were delighted to be part of this innovative and exciting project with Laois County Council. It was a great example of engaging a community with science and evidence and using these experiences to drive changes locally. Climate change and climate action are defining issues of our time and are informed by science and how we engage with science. Our support for various elements of the project such as the sensors, the Fast Facts series and other outreach elements allowed us to explore how science can localised and brought into a community in a real way. We learnt a lot from working with the team involved and the community of Abbeyleix.”

     

    Abbeyleix used the momentum generated by the Climate Action project to engage with UCD on the international We Count project. This citizen science project involved placing traffic sensors in locations around the town to enhance local understanding of traffic and travel patterns and related impacts on air quality, climate action and quality of life. This in turn led to a complementary project, supported by Midlands Science, whereby the community received training in how to build and install air quality sensors –using cost effective Internet of Things technologies and a citizen science approach.

     

    “This exciting project ties in well with our vision to become a smart, sustainable community”, said Mark Clancy of Abbeyleix Tidy Towns “It is a very cost-effective way of generating scientifically valid data which we intend to use to better understand local traffic and air quality patterns and also to make compelling arguments to implement measures to promote active travel.  We are grateful to Midland Science for providing us with the training and assistance to develop these IoT  based applications. This STEM based learning alone has been fantastic and we can already see numerous spin off projects in making.”

     

    The Abbeyleix Climate Action Project is supported by Creative Ireland Laois as part of the Creative Ireland Programme (2017-2022) in partnership with Laois County Council Heritage Office, Abbeyleix Tidy Towns and Midlands Science.

     

    The Abbeyleix Climate Action Walk Project was created in 2021 with thanks to Healthy Ireland, an initiative of the Government of Ireland with funding from the Healthy Ireland Fund and the Sláintecare Fund delivered by Pobal, administrated by Laois County Council.