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e fairy and the spirits of the dead would walk the earth many of these beings were benevolent and the spirits of dead ancestors so families laid out extra food and set aside a table space for their ghostly visitors this metaphorised into the custom of today s children dressing up as demons and witches calling to the neighbours houses to receive presents but there were spirits that came on the night of samhain that were malevolent candles were placed in skulls at the entrance to dwellings as light was feared by these dark foreboding creatures this protection against evil became transformed in modern times into the positioning of hollowed out turnips and later pumpkins with carved out faces and internal candles at windows and doorways centuries old party games of trying to eat an apple lying in a basin of water bobbing or dangling on a string tied to a ceiling snapping are still popular festive past times with irish children the apple is probably the most common edible fruit in ireland it was also strongly associated with the spirit world and the fairies sidhe in the arthurian legends the mystical island of avalon is where arthur of the celtic britons obtains his magical sword excalibur and where he is taken at the end of his life by the lady of the lake and her female fairy companions banshee avalon comes from the welsh word afal or irish aball fortune telling at halloween central to the irish halloween is the eating of a fruit bread known as barmbrack from the gaelic term báirín breac speckled or spotted top it is still a popular festive food today various symbolic pieces were placed in the dough before it was baked such as a ring a pea and a stick when an item was found in the slice when it was being eaten it told of the future that awaited the recipient for instance the ring signified marriage within a year a stick represented a bad or violent marriage the coin wealth and a pea a long wait before marriage irish export halloween to north america the irish emigrants of the nineteenth century introduced halloween and its rituals to america within a few decades the festival was transformed into the fun and games event of today significant irish contributions to world culture no 7642 dracula considering our national passion of asking the dead to resurrect themselves drop into the house for a late night meal party it should come as no surprise that the world s most well known vampire count dracula was the creation of an irishman the novelist bram stoker in 1887 his inspiration though was carmilla a book about a lesbian vampire created naturally enough by another well known irish writer sheridan le fanu photos from macnas halloween youth parade in ballinfoile galway city no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest labels celtic celts halloween ireland just retired from the university i was not expecting to be introduced so soon to my replacement what a shock thanks to the brilliant operations team director edward curry at rinn ai university of galway formerly insight research ireland centre for data analytics for organising what was for me a wonderfully emotional farewell gathering of friends colleagues past present it took place at the campus sult bar which i opened as su president in 1980 it meant a lovely sign off to my career as a member of university staff i returned back to work in irish education during 2001 helping in the introduction of science into the irish primary school curriculum via the fionn school science project under the auspices of bernard kirk galway education centre minister noel treacy from 2004 until this summer i ve been an education public engagement manager at deri insight research centre for data analytics in the university of galway to be honest i never ever had a bad day at work i consider myself extremely privileged to have been in a high profile research institute that allowed me to bring computing technology into classrooms across west of ireland beyond to upskill our youth in coding other sciences to host coderdojo to educate parents teachers kids in how to tackle cyberbullying the web s dark side to add a digital element to local heritage provide computers often upcycled other tech resources to disadvantaged communities to help establish ireland s computer communications museum to help push the boundaries of education through virtual reality other web tools to support researchers introducing their ground breaking research to new audiences through talks q a citizen science initiatives to work with others across campus beyond through stem partnership programmes particularly the galway science and technology festival finally to be given the time out since 2015 to get involved in the awesome sap africa code week across africa and refugee code week throughout the middle east coordinated by sap camden education all these great things were only made possible thanks to the generousity in time ideas of the people i worked alongside not just in the universities those organisations mentioned above but also galway atlantaquaria galway county council heritage office galway city council ccmi galway city partnership youthwork ireland hse sfi ballybane resource centre active retired groups working together we ve made a positive contribution to society there are so many people that i have worked with to thank in this short post but i will be individually contacting each one to express my eternal gratitude colleagues collaborators teachers but what i did not expect that evening in the sult bar was to be introduced to my replacement in photo with dr lorraine tansey they tell me that this guy never stops smiling will stay forever young however i found him a bit flat two dimensional no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest are we facing an ireland without farming in a time when the population of the irish state and the world is at its highest ever it would be expected that food production in ireland would never be more important economically or more attractive as a profession but the truth is that farming is in a deep crisis due to a national and global economic system that could lead to its disappearance in a country where it has shaped society and all aspects of life for nearly 6000 years at present 80 of ireland s food consumed is imported only 4 of ireland s working population are farmers compared to approximately 25 when we joined what is now the eu in 1973 only 4 5 of farmers are under 35 years of age two thirds of animal feed is imported and c98 of tillage farming in ireland relies on some form of chemical pesticide by definition pesticides the word comes from the latin ancient roman pestis plague and caedere kill are substances used to kill plant or animal life that are considered to be pests as soils are living entities comprising multiple organisms as well as weathered rock and mineral particles water air and decayed organic matter the use of pesticides can degrade soil health dramatically reduce biodiversity and leave toxic residues this soil degradation combined with the fact that today only 5 of agricultural land in ireland is farmed organically means that the long term viability of farming as a career and as a key part of the national economy is at its lowest ever in our country s history the facts are that the irish population primarily get their food from growers based outside ireland these foreign based producers provide food that is cheap and therefore attractive to irish consumers but we have got to remember that anything that is cheap comes at a great cost to both the majority of farmers in these countries as well as to the planet but at this month s ploughing championships i saw the greenshoots for an industry and a way of life that gives hope for a future based on economic sustainability agroecology and food sovereignty which in many ways represents positive aspects of an ireland that i grew up in for instance the promotion of silviculture tree farming to benefit biodiversity and act as a source of building materials in order to provide a high economic return for farmers shows that both can be obtainable this was demonstrated at the teagasc forestry stand and discussed by sarah keating rds agriculture rural affairs programme manager and michael o neill winner of the 2026 rds silvicultural excellence award on the panel i was part of namely land use sustainability forestry that took place in the irish farmers journal tent i myself talked about the importance of bringing nature and farming back into our cities by developing neighbourhood organic food gardens and in creating habitats for wildlife such as meadows wetlands and woodlands there were stands at the ploughing championships on organic dairy farming organic beef farming agroecology talamh beo living ground high quality organic foodstuffs such as glenisk yogurts and flavahans porridge as well as displays of a healthy range of small scale local producers soil worx natural fertilisers seedsavers who are renowned for protecting and selling ancient varieties of food plants and the irish government s own we re talking climate action tent i was also very impressed to see hemp growers at the event hemp from time immemorial was used to make the sails and rigging for wind powered ships and today has multiple uses such as in the provision of sustainable textiles eco friendly building materials nutritious foods and biodegradable bioplastics likewise i was glad to see sheep farmers as active participants of course sheep grazing has to be controlled fenced off in order to protect to protect woodlands etc a much maligned sector of farming it has to be remembered a sheep annually gives the wool which was the mainstay of irish clothing until recent times sheep can do so again helping to provide a necessary viable long term alternative to the environmental destructive micro plastic fast fashion clothing wool also has other beneficial uses such as for bedding home insulation ropes used in shellfish farming mulch for gardening and eco friendly materials a small first but critical step would be to establish commercial facilities for scouring sheep s wool what was missing at the ploughing championships though was any demonstration or reference to paludiculture namely the practice of growing crops and trees on wet or re wetted peatlands to produce usable biomass food crops or other agro products while keeping the soil waterlogged to lock in carbon this is a type of farming that my good friend niall o brolchain and team at rinn ai university of galway are involved in as researchers whilst working also with farmers to restore peatlands with the planting of sphagnum moss on a strategic level the irish government and the eu need to step up to the plate and create a true circular economy in ireland across europe by incentivizing organic farming and placing barriers on cheap agricultural and plastic products that are bringing ruination to the planet this includes tackling the environmental damage of nitrates especially to our rivers which are becoming dead zones no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest labels agriculture biodiversity community gardens ecology farming forestry irish agriculture organic food ploughing championships silviculture mayor helen ogbu and councillors invited to terryland forest park for a fact finding mission this saturday text of letter below sent by the tuatha volunteers of terryland forest park earlier this month to city councillors the purpose of this visit is to give councilors a guided walk through the park to outline the wonderful range of current and future green developments being planned for ireland s original community based urban native woodland by both volunteers and city council working together but also to bring to your attention a number of serious problems that need to be tackled as a matter of urgency including probably through the introduction of new bye laws if this wonderful green resource for galway city is to fulfill its full potential in providing a safe nature park for the city s population fo all ages as well as a critical urban sanctuary for ireland s native biodiversity over the last few years the terryland forest park has won local national and international awards and accolades due to an active visionary and respectful collaboration between city council and our volunteers which has helped gain for galway city a reputation for protecting its biodiversity and natural environment this recognition includes all island of ireland pride of place award cities creative place category in 2022 an taisce community green flag in 2024 and 2025 galway city mayor s award 2025 environmental sustainability category rds forest woodland award 2026 community woodland category as president of ireland michael d higgins praised the park many times including during a visit last year see photo to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its foundation for its pioneering success in bringing nature back into an urban environment and for acting as a template for other irish cities to emulate terryland forest park is proudly promoted by its supporters as an outdoor classroom an outdoor lab an outdoor gym an outdoor arts space and a biodiversity sanctuary in the heart of a busy city it also regularly hosts events for the general public for instance on june 21st last the tuatha organised a highly successful sunday family picnic day that attracted over 360 participants and was part of galway city council s climate action week 2026 programme the tuatha members willingly freely and unselfishly have given their time ideas and energies every week over many years to keep the park clean provide guided tours for visiting groups and undertake an array of important conservation projects in partnership with galway city council including annual community tree flower planting days furthermore we will over the next few weeks be bringing a new people centric dimension to the park by launching an exciting 2026 2027 programme of events and activities for schools communities workplaces and the general public that includes educational and heritage trail walks sunday picnics family days community plantings tree sapling harvesting invasive species removal farming field trips guided walks art workshops slow food days and citizen science initiatives we are also having fruitful discussions with city council personnel about dedicating specific suitable meadows within the park for kite flying tai chi exercises old style wooden gaming for children nature painting exhibitions as well as in the possibility of introducing boules all year round our weekly volunteering days provide wonderful opportunities for university students companies and tourists to engage in worthwhile conservation activities in a park which is thanks to the combined efforts of volunteers and council staff now home to thousands of flora fauna fungi and microorganisms over its 26 years i...
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