Leitrim centre aiming to keep Irish heritage alive with popular stone wall course
Dating from the neolithic period, in Ireland the patchwork of stone walls are still easily recognisable on our landscape and fields, and forge part of our identity as a people.
In December 2024, the craft was added to the prestigious UNESCO list of protected cultural practices.
Ronan Crehan from the Dry Stone Wall Association of Ireland and Office of Public Works will be giving a course this coming weekend at the Organic Centre in Leitrim.
Mr Crehan is passionate about the craft, working in the Office of Public Works as part of their heritage services in the preservation and maintenance of the national monuments of Ireland.
He is also a stone mason, dry stone walls instructor and member of the Dry Stone Wall Association of Ireland and recognises the importance of safeguarding measures to protect our precious past for future generations.
He says, 'Recently, drystone walling was recognised in Ireland as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO.
"This is fantastic, because this means that the craft and the walls can be protected.
"Drystone walling has been making a steady come back over the past 20 or so years.'
Mr Crehan has found that Irish people have been keen to help protect the walls on their land.
'As a course it is very popular, because a lot of people have drystone walls on their land and the courses give them access to the knowledge on how to repair and maintain them.
"Drystone wall's and the craft of drystone walling is a living heritage and UNESCOs recognition of this has promoted and protected that even more,' said Mr Crehan.
The Organic Centre in Leitrim is one of the pioneer centres to acknowledge the importance of stone walls to our culture providing dry stone walling courses for over two decades.
Mr Crehan said The Organic centre is a perfect place to run the course, because the participants can see how a drystone wall works in a garden setting.
"It can support biodiversity by creating shelter for small mammals and also a place for different plants and lichens to grow among the joints in the stone.
"The participants take inspiration from this and can see how something like a drystone wall can work in their own garden,' said Mr Crehan.
Mr Crehan's upcoming weekend course will be held on August 2 and 3, and those interested can book online at theorganiccentre.ie/event/dry-stone-wall-building-masterclass-weekend/573or ring the Organic Centre on 0719854338.
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