10/08/2026
Amazing lineup of events in Cloughjordan during Heritage Week….
Here in Cloughjordan, we have a very exciting lineup of heritage and biodiversity events to look forward to for Heritage Week! Please see the poster for dates and times and the overviews below for further details.
Special thanks goes to Tipperary County Council, Tipperary Heritage Office and the River Basin Management Service for funding these events (and to the Thomas MacDonagh Museum for hosting the vast majority of these events)!
Finally, we are very excited to announce that Cloughjordan Parish Heritage Group will be hosting a “virtual exhibition” of Cloughjordan’s disappearing heritage right here on our Facebook and Instagram pages throughout Heritage Week!
What is a “virtual exhibition”, you might ask? Every day throughout Heritage Week, we will post a photo of a historical object from this locality with a unique or interesting story behind it. With this year’s Heritage Week theme being ‘Heritage at Risk’, we hope this exhibition will serve as a powerful reminder of how remarkable even the most fragile, seemingly unremarkable objects sitting around in houses, sheds and attics can be when examined more closely and preserved for posterity.
We have had some fascinating objects submitted to us so far for this exhibition and it is never too late to submit a photo of any historical objects you have lying around in your house, whether it’s an old farming implement, household objects or even old postcards if you have any interesting information to go with it on the people/places it’s connected to and you’d like it to be included!
*Event Overviews*
'A Weaver's Scéal' Traditional Weaving Demonstrations:
Traditional hand weaving in Ireland—most notably the production of authentic Donegal Tweed and Irish linen damask—faces a critical succession risk. With the average age of master handweavers hovering around 75, the loss of specialized skills such as loom tuning, warping, and finishing threatens this centuries-old heritage. Bréidín Na Bóinne celebrates the timeless craft of hand weaving natural wool on traditional looms in an Irish speaking community and makes an important contribution to the preservation of these at risk traditional crafts.
Join Anna and Simon in the Thomas MacDonagh Museum where as part of local Heritage Week activities they will install a traditional loom, demonstrating and speaking on their craft and invite visitors to interact with and discover the traditional art of craft weaving`.
'The Handweaver's Craft: Tools, Techniques and Traditions' Film and Talk:
Anna Ní Dhonnchú and Simon Ó Cróinín, who will also be leading the traditional weaving demonstrations at the Thomas MacDonagh Museum throughout Heritage Week, will speak about their craft heritage story and will show a short film about their weaving and looms.
Butterfly Walk with Brendan and Rachel:
Roughly 34% of Ireland's resident butterfly species are classified as endangered or critically endangered, with the National Parks and Wildlife Service estimating that nearly a fifth of our native butterfly species facing risk of extinction. Join Rachel Vaughan and Brendan Sheehan in Brownstown, Emill to learn about Ireland's Butterfly Monitoring Scheme and how to identify different butterfly species you might spot around Cloughjordan.
The meeting spot in Brownstown can be found by travelling out the Templemore Road in Cloughjordan and turning right onto the Emill Road at the bend where the fire station is, then following this road for around 2 kilometres. Copying and pasting the following coordinates into Google Maps will give you the precise location: 52°55'07.0"N 8°01'32.9"W. This event is subject to weather conditions and may need to be rescheduled if there is inclement weather.
'Hidden Life of the Ballyfinboy'
This event will be an interactive river sampling exercise led by Rod Gindola, Senior Science Officer with the Herpetological Society of Ireland, and Dr. Jan Robert Barrs, Head of Invasive Species Ecology Laboratory at UCD. Bring wellies! This is being kindly funded by Th River Basin Management Service.
Guided 'Hidden History' Cycle with Caimin O'Brien:
Join Caimin O'Brien, Archaeologist with the National Monuments Service, on a guided heritage cycle around the townlands of Ballymackey, Cullenwaine and Toomevara. There will be several stops along the way, where Caimin will share more about the many layers of hidden history we pass by on a regular basis without noticing.
