Wicklow Uplands Council is delighted to be able to celebrate the connections between heritage and education during National Heritage Week 15 – 23 August.

Coordinated by The Heritage Council since 2005, National Heritage Week has become Ireland’s largest cultural event. This year’s programme includes the exciting addition of digital and online formats, providing innovative ways to explore Ireland’s diverse heritage with online talks, exhibitions, virtual tours, podcasts, videos and blogs.

Responding to this year’s theme of ‘Heritage and Education: Learning from our Heritage’, Wicklow Uplands Council in partnership with Lacken Community Development, have created a programme that explores some of the rich and diverse heritage found in the locality of the west Wicklow village of Lacken.

Lacken, which sits on the slopes of the Wicklow Mountains along the picturesque Lake Drive, witnessed dramatic changes to its landscape and to the community itself, as the valley was flooded to create the Poulaphouca Reservoir, also known as the Blessington Lakes, in the late 1930’s.

It’s an area steeped in history with Megalithic tombs, bullaun stones, caves and other fine examples of previous inhabitants. Built structures made from the locally-mined Wicklow granite are abundant, with the local church, school, bridges and an historic graveyard standing as strong as the day they were constructed.

These are a few of the heritage features highlighted in the video project developed by Wicklow Uplands Council in partnership with Lacken Community Development Association.

We hope you enjoy the visual tour as much as we enjoyed making it.

The production of the 10 minute long video follows the recently completed and widely celebrated Lacken Heritage Interpretative Panel Project, that was officially unveiled in July this year.

The collaborative project between Wicklow Uplands Council and the Lacken Community Development Association (Lacken Community Centre), identified and researched many fine examples of the built, natural and cultural heritage found in the locality of the lakeside village. These features were then brought vividly to life with a specially commissioned art piece created by renowned artist, Paul Francis, which now stands at the heart of the village for all to enjoy.

Further information on these community projects can be found under the projects tab of our website.

‘A Journey to 1870’s Lacken’ Guided Walk Event

To complement the video project, a guided walk tilted ‘A Journey to 1870’s Lacken’ has also been organised to coincide with Heritage Week.

Led by local guide Alfie Zeller, the free event follows the mountainous route once taken by the communities of Lugnagun and Blackrock to Lacken, home to the nearest church, school and other amenities.

Linking with the recently restored Mass Paths, the walk passes numerous examples of abandoned settlements and historical sites, each with their own tale to tell. Participants will also visit a megalithic tomb constructed during the Neolithic Period around 3,300BC – one of several known megalithic sites in the area, with the passage tombs of Seefin, Seahan and Seafingan located on nearby slopes.

For more details and to register your interest in attending, please click HERE.