Cultural landmarks re-opened after blaze
Two Bronze Age crannogs, burned down two years ago, were today re-opened to the public after being completely rebuilt.
A blaze destroyed the two thatched lake-island homes in Co Clare in July, 2004, causing €30,000 worth of damage.
But today Shannon Development officially opened the Craggaunowen visitor attraction near Quin, which attracts up to 40,000 visitors a year.
The crannogs, which depict chieftains’ homes, were reconstructed using only material that would have been available in the Bronze Age.
“A team of workers used wood from coppice woodland, a method which has been recorded as being used in the Mesolithic times,” a Shannon Development spokesperson said.
“The people in this period would have used materials available to them in the local area to build their Crannog which would have been trees such as alder, ash, oak and hazel.”
The main contractors for the reconstruction work were the Brickenden Brothers, Co Clare-based restoration contractors from nearby Cratloe.
The Craggaunowen visitor centre tells the story of the arrival of the Celts in Ireland and the many changes they wrought upon daily life.
It is dedicated to recapturing Ireland’s prehistoric and early Christian eras. Exhibits include Bronze Age homesteads to Celtic chieftains’ residences.
With animators dressed in Celtic costume, the visitor attraction shows how our early Irish ancestors lived, fought, foraged and survived.
John Ruddle, Chief Operations Officer of Shannon Heritage explained: “The Craggaunowen is a wonderful way for the visitor to experience living history as it has been designed as a living, working museum.
“The site has rapidly expanded since it was first opened in 1975 when the late John Hunt presented the castle and grounds as a gift to the Irish people.”
The visitor attraction, which employs 25 people, attracts more than 40,000 visitors a year.
