The County Donegal Heritage Office will be launching the County Donegal ‘Heritage Week’ Event Guide in the County Museum, High Road, Letterkenny on Thursday, August 8 at 12 noon.
The event guide will be launched by Dinny McGinley, Minister of State, Department of Arts, Heritage & the Gaeltacht in the presence of Cllr. Ian McGarvey, Mayor of County Donegal.
The free, pocket-size, event guide is compiled by the County Donegal Heritage Office and outlines over 90 ‘Heritage Week’ events taking place in County Donegal for National Heritage Week from Saturday, August 17 to Sunday, August 25, 2013.
‘Heritage Week’ event organisers can collect their copies of the event guide at the launch.
“Heritage Week is a great opportunity to raise awareness of, and engender pride in, the heritage of County Donegal,” said Joseph Gallagher, County Donegal Heritage Officer.
“There will be over 90 ‘Heritage Week’ events taking place in County Donegal including family open days, guided walks, built heritage open houses, heritage site visits, fieldtrips, exhibitions, illustrated presentations, photographic competitions, children’s activities, genealogical research, storytelling sessions, traditional music, craft fairs and traditional skills demonstrations.
“Credit must go to the many people, heritage groups, museums, heritage centres and community organisations that have organised events this year to focus attention on the local heritage that helps to define County Donegal’s sense of place. The tremendous efforts of these enthusiastic and committed people (often on a voluntary basis) reinforce the reputation of ‘Heritage Week’ as a truly countywide and national event in the annual calendar.”
Michael Starrett, CEO of The Heritage Council highlighted the contribution that heritage makes at the national level.
“In recent years, we have seen a significant increase in the understanding and awareness among the general public of the importance and impact heritage can have, both economically and socially,” he said.
“Heritage is not about nostalgia, or some misplaced aim to live in the past, but an opportunity to engage with our own story and in particular the natural and cultural heritage of where we live. The theme of Heritage Week 2013, ‘Discover the Past. Build the Future’ reflects this thinking. With limited support, communities and organisations across Ireland have come together to animate the heritage resources on our doorsteps, often unnoticed and underappreciated.
The value of the week is the sheer number of stakeholders from state agencies, local authorities, community groups and volunteers, that come together to host a public education programme that is open and accessible to all ages.”
Copies of the County Donegal ‘Heritage Week’ Event Guide will be available free-of-charge from libraries, public service centres, museums, heritage centres and tourist offices and on-line at the County Donegal Heritage Office website at: www.donegalcoco.ie/heritage. Updates are available on the National Heritage Week website at: www.heritageweek.ie