June 2010 Archaeology Open Day and Public Talk

Life in Burren villages before, during and after the Famine An Archaeology Open Day and Public Talk has been announced by a team of Irish and US archaeologists who have started survey work at Lios an Rú, a 19th century deserted village on the hill above Newtown castle, Co. Clare. The Open Day, which will take place from 10am to 5pm on Sunday, 27 June will conclude with a talk on 'Lios An Rú and 19th century deserted villages around Ballyvaughan' at 7.30pm in the Burren College of Art in Newtown. All events are free and open to the public and sponsored by NUI Galway. The archaeologists involved are from NUI Galway and the State Museum of the University of New York State. Their work is part of an exciting new initiative at NUI Galway to investigate the daily lives and work of women, children and men in the Burren before, during and after the Famine. The project will have a number of elements including research, education and community archaeology. The distinguished US Professor, Charles Orser is co-directing the project with NUI Galway archaeologist Maggie Ronayne. He is distinguished Professor Emeritus at Illinois State University, Curator of Historical Archaeology at the New York State Museum and an adjunct professor at NUI Galway. Professor Orser is a historical archaeologist and uses anthropology and archaeology to investigate the lives of men and women ignored by official, written history and their interactions with people of power. For over a decade his field research has focused on the west of Ireland in the 19th century. Commenting on the Open Day, Maggie Ronayne of NUI Galway invited inputs from the public: "We are looking forward to hearing everyone's views. A lot of people have a great knowledge of how communities like these tenant villages in the Burren survived and what they accomplished before, during and after the famine. If your family came from these villages or you have information about their history, if you know of other deserted villages, have any questions or are just interested to know more, we'd love to meet you!" Anyone wishing to become involved in a community archaeology project related to the investigations is invited to come along and meet the archaeologists during the Open Day. -Ends-