1.0 INTRODUCTION Kildare County Council in association - Kildare.ie

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AUDIT OF MUSEUMS AND PUBLIC COLLECTIONS IN COUNTY KILDARE 2006 5.6 LULLYMORE HERITAGE AND DISCOVERY PARK ADDRESS: Lullymore Rathangan Co. Kildare CONTACT: Sean Judge EMAIL: lullymorepark@eircom.net PHONE: 045-870238 SUMMARY OF ORGANIZATION AND COLLECTION: Lullymore Heritage and Discovery Park was established in 1993, as a private limited company and the Park aims to interpret aspects of Ireland’s heritage and folklore and the bog landscape in an interactive way. To this end a number of key features have been developed. These features are as follows: A recreation of four thatched houses each of which accommodates a specific historical theme, which can be muddled at times. These are admirable, while not fully achieving verisimilitude. This is most obvious when the items on display and the graphic displays are not complimentary. Three thatched houses are clustered while one is located at a different part of the park. Regional and Local history is interpreted on graphic display panels. The historical subject matter is limited to pre-Christian history and folklore, early Christian history, nationalism, the Famine and folk life. These aspects of the past are interpreted and supplemented by a number of historical objects or objects which are recreations, some of which are relevant to the themes of the graphic displays. The Park has additional facilities aimed at securing a steady repeat-visit market. The Funky Jungle is an indoor adventure centre aimed at children. An outdoor adventure/play ground area called Fionn McCumhaill’s Adventure Playground. A “fun train” brings visitors around the park. Tea rooms are also available. House 1: This is a recreation of a two-roomed direct entry thatched house. A map of Kildare shows where garrisons, battles, yeomanry houses and rebel occupations, were located. The map also plots the regional flashpoints of the 1798 Rebellion in the country, including: Prosperous, Clane, Naas, Athy, Gibbit Rath, Kildare, Monasterevin, Ovidstown, Timahoe Camp. The house also focuses on the early Christian history of Lullymore. This section of the house includes: • Stained glass window • Bog oak model of the Lullymore monastic settlement • Aerial photograph of the graveyard and former monastic site House 2: • Replica of the Book of Kells • Replica of an Ogham Stone This is a recreation of a three-roomed direct entry thatched house. The house has a dual theme representing the rural way of life while also focusing on the historical background from a regional perspective on the events surrounding the 1798 Rebellion. The Lullymore patriot John Doorley forms another focal point. There are panels on the following historical topics: John Doorley; Ireland in the 1790s; Penal Laws; Grattan’s Parliament; Government Repression; and The United Irishmen, and the Battle of Rathangan. CHARLES DUGGAN ARHITECTURAL HERITAGE ADVISOR 14
AUDIT OF MUSEUMS AND PUBLIC COLLECTIONS IN COUNTY KILDARE 2006 One room of the cottage is dedicated to a restored mid-20 th century Cart. It was built in 1957 by Ned Cox when he was 15. Other artifacts relevant to the thatched house interior include: a kitchen dresser, bureau and settlebed, a butter churn and wrought-iron hearth furniture. House 3 This structure forms a forge. In its single room the centrally placed hearth forge is the focus of the exhibition. It is not operational. Many forgers tools and forged implements form part of this exhibition, including a timber and leather bellows, anvil, hammers and other tools. House 4 A recreation of a three-roomed direct entry mud-walled thatched house, typical of many parts of Kildare until the 20 th century. It is located adjacent to a remembrance garden, the concept of which is to commemorate the Famine with 47 recumbent stone markers representing graves. The house is probably the most successful aspect of the Park, recreating a mud-walled thatched house, though the pitch of the roof structure is slightly off. This house is free of graphic display panels, and the furniture, fittings and the spatial quality of the room are used to recreate the atmosphere of a thatched house. Furniture includes two beds, a dresser, hearth with wrought and cast-iron furniture flanked by snugs. A large themed cultivated garden is based on many aspects of Irish history and mythology. The various sections of this garden are: • The Dolmen Garden • The Ogham Garden • The Bee Garden • The Bird Garden • The Medicine Garden • The Monastic Garden • The Newgrange Garden • The Cranóg Garden • The 1916 Garden CHARLES DUGGAN ARHITECTURAL HERITAGE ADVISOR 15
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1.0 INTRODUCTION Kildare County Council in association - Kildare.ie

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