IRISH NATIONAL HERITAGE PARK

You didn’t think Hook Lighthouse was the only thing we did that day, did you?!  Oh no, dear. Oh no.  It just deserved its own story. No rookies here. We carried on to the Irish National Heritage Park. 
​
On over 40 acres of land, the park reconstructs the history of Ireland from prehistoric to Anglo-Norman conquest, engaging the participant with story boards, activities and tour guides. We did a self-guided tour and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The information below comes from the storyboards and sites about the village.

The first people of Ireland date back to about 9,000 years ago in the Mesolithic age. These were hunter-gatherer people who fished, hunted birds and animals, and picked berries, nuts, fruit and seeds. Their tools were stone tools – blades, arrows and harpoons made from shards of stone. Their homes might have been basket-shaped or teepee-shaped, using reeds, thatch and earth. Excavation of discovered sites shows that they buried their dead close to their huts, marking them with a post. For 3000 years, they thrived in a nomadic lifestyle, following rivers and coastlines.  With the arrival of the first farmers (Neolithic), many first people began to settle down and farm as well.

Most of the wild animals now in Ireland were brought here (other than wild pigs). There was a significant bear and wolf population as well, but they have been hunted to extinction, the last wolf being killed 250 years ago. Even the native red deer was extinct. Elk were reintroduced to Ireland in later centuries.

The village continues to a reconstructed Neolithic site. This “new stone age”, dates back to 6,000 years in Ireland, where stone tools were still used, but people had learned to farm rather than relying on hunting/gathering for subsistence. They brought cattle, sheep, pigs and goats, and planted crops. As the animals and crops found in Neolithic sites were not native to Ireland, they would have brought them when they arrived. Staying in one place meant they also learned to make pottery and build more permanent residences. They built more permanent residences with wood, wattle, and thatch, and established communities. The stone cairns and megalithic tombs containing the remains of families and carved stones are attributed to the Neolithic folks. As mentioned in previous blogs, we don’t know what happened to the Neolithic people. They just disappeared.

Next came the Bronze Age, along with a new influx of people from elsewhere in eastern Europe (I’m not sure where, but perhaps the Basque region of Spain). This time period was the last influx of DNA to Ireland and represents the ancestry of the Irish people. By the time the Bronze Age rolled around, things must have been going pretty well, because art, status and ceremony became a thing. La Tene art emerged - the designs we call Celtic art – ornate, metal swords, shields, huge cauldrons, pottery, and clothing ornaments. Hoards of these items have been excavated from bogs. Burial styles changed as well. Rather than family tombs, people were buried in boxes with personal items. They began to build big hill forts, perhaps to define territory, which may have been the beginning of kingdoms in Ireland.  The Bronze Age is when the stone circle business began as well. Excavations of the many stone circle sites around Ireland lead us to believe they may have been used for worship and/or local ceremonies.
 
Ring forts emerged somewhere in there, representing the most important family in the community. A ring fort would have a home structure, a firepit, animal pens, tools and sometimes a dug-in food storage area. They were made of timber or stone, depending on how long ago they were created. Farmland and grazing land would surround them.

Following the Bronze Age came the Early Christian period, where monks arrived as missionaries and created monasteries. Their stone structures are incredibly constructed. I know these are replicas, but the Hook Lighthouse showed us just how much they knew about making wood structures. That’s not all they were good at. Bread and beer began as well. The earliest breweries were thatched kilns where the grain was spread on screens or layers of screens to dry. The grain then separated from the chaffe. Coolio!

Guess what’s next?!  Vikings. These really weren’t very nice guys, but they ushered in the age of invasion.  Vikings were a structured society and traded all over between bases in Europe. Evidence of their forts, usually behind timber palisades, and tools have been found and excavated to re-create their lifestyle.

Last, but most impactful on the Irish people, of course, were the Anglo-Normans, invading in the 12th century and forever changing the landscape of Irish life, language, and culture. I probably don’t need to say more about that.

Other cool things:

• A 4,000 year old perfectly preserved Scotch Pine found in a bog.
• The Gods of Wet Places. Bogs, rivers and lakes were sacred places. Hoards of metalwork and art have been found as offerings to appease the gods or convince them of the status of the owner. Human sacrifice has also been found in bogs.
• Ogham stones: the first language tool in Ireland, dating back 1700 years and heralds the Celts. This ancient form of Irish was read top to bottom as a combination of lines and notches along the edge of the stone, marking places of the dead, or incantations.
• Sounding Seams:  long metal chimes that can be played by striking them with a stick. They have different tones and make different sounds along the length of the chime as well. Tracey would have loved those. 
• Falconry - a number of owls, falcons and hawks, trained for different purposes. We missed a presentation, but the birds were lovely to see.

​
So concludes our sweep of Irish history. I have barely scratched the surface of this amazing display - you really should visit yourself!