2019 National Heritage Week logo
Register your ‘Heritage Week’ Events
National Heritage Week takes place from Saturday, August 17 to Sunday, August 25 this year. The Heritage Council is encouraging people, organisations, businesses and community groups to get involved in National Heritage Week by organising an event in their town, village or community. This year’s theme is ‘Pastimes / Past Times’ and people are encouraged to explore the unique ways in which we choose to spend our free time and how this has evolved through the years. On-line registration is now open and all events must be registered by Friday, May 31 in order to be included in the free National Heritage Week Event Guide produced by The Heritage Council. You can register your event by submitting the details on-line at www.heritageweek.ie The County Donegal Heritage Office, Donegal County Council will also be producing its free, pocket-size County Donegal ‘Heritage Week’ Event Guide that has proved so popular in recent years based on the information submitted to The Heritage Council.
“National Heritage Week is Ireland’s most popular cultural event and, in 2019, half a million people are expected to participate in over 2,200 heritage events countrywide,” said Joseph Gallagher, County Donegal Heritage Officer. “Last year, there were over 120 events registered for Heritage Week in County Donegal and most of them were free. County Donegal is one of the places to be for Heritage Week as it is consistently the county with the most Heritage Week events per head of population in the country. The tremendous success of Heritage Week lies with the many people, heritage organisations, museums, heritage centres and community groups that organise events – often on a voluntary basis – to focus attention on their local heritage.”
The Heritage Week events programme in 2019 will include built heritage open houses, guided walks, heritage site visits, fieldtrips, exhibitions, conferences, illustrated talks, historical re-enactments, birds of prey displays, whale watching, garden tours, traditional skills demonstrations, craft fairs, skills training, launch events, film screenings, storytelling, traditional music and children’s activities. Two days during Heritage Week have a particular theme: Wednesday, August 21 is ‘Wild Child Day’ and celebrates young people’s exploration of, and interaction with, nature while Sunday, August 25 is ‘Water Heritage Day’ in recognition of our most precious natural resource – water – in all its forms.
National Heritage Week is coordinated by The Heritage Council and Local Authority Heritage Officers with support from the Department of Culture, Heritage & the Gaeltacht and Fáilte Ireland. The aim of National Heritage Week is to build heritage awareness and appreciation while shining a light on the great work that is carried out in all communities in Ireland to preserve, conserve and promote our natural, built and cultural heritage. National Heritage Week is part of European Heritage Days, a joint initiative of the Council of Europe and the European Union in which over forty countries participate each year. The Heritage Council will promote Heritage Week nationally and provide organisers with materials including posters and a programme of events to promote their activities. For further information, log on to www.heritageweek.ie, e-mail [email protected] or telephone 1850 200 878
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