Clare's eco-warrior:With the setting up of a renewable-energy and eco-centre on his land outside Ennis, Eddie Connors (second right) has become one of Co Clare's newest eco-entrepreneurs.
The farm includes an eco-trail and practical and technical assistance and skills learning, taking participants through the basics of everything from wind energy to vegetable plots. It opens to the public every weekend (€19 per family), combining a mix of old and emerging technologies. You can book courses and find general information at imecofarm.com. The project will feature on RTÉ One’s Higher Ground on Wednesday at 8pm.
Landmark open day
The Irish Landmark Trust is holding an open day tomorrow in several of its properties around the country as part of its contribution to Heritage Week 2010. Between 10am and 4pm visitors will get a chance to step inside places ranging from a lighthouse in west Clare to a restored mews building on Merrion Square in Dublin – or, if that doesn’t take your fancy, a former schoolhouse in Co Sligo. Entry is free. You can see the full range of properties taking part today at irishlandmarktrust.com
Iron Age road.
If you can make it to Corlea Trackway, in Co Longford, before it closes for the season at the end of September, you can see one of the largest Iron Age roads to be discovered in Europe. Built in 148 BC across bogland close to the River Shannon, it was excavated by Prof Barry Raftery of University College Dublin, who died this week. Guided tours and an audiovisual presentation help fill in the story of the 18m-long preserved track, three kilometres from Kenagh village. The centre is open from 10am to 6pm daily. 043-3322442.
Ecoweb
fotalearningzone.ie
The Irish Heritage Trust and Fota House (left), in Co Cork, have just announced the setting up of a website that will host a “multidisciplinary learning project” in an effort to better co-ordinate the visits and follow-up work of students and teachers alike. The project, entitled Fota Learning Zone, is a digital resource with themes ranging from land agitation to heritage in the marketplace.
