Heritage Interpretative Panel Unveiled in Lacken

Heritage Interpretative Panel Unveiled in Lacken

On Thursday July the 30th, in the village of Lacken close to the shoreline of the Blessington Lakes, invited guest and members of the local community gathered for the official unveiling of a new Heritage Interpretative Panel depicting the rich heritage found throughout the area.

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 Poulaphoucha Reservoir, also known as the Blessington Lakes, in the late 1930’s.

The damming of the valley and the loss of 5,500 acres, was due to an ambitious joint project by the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) and Dublin City Council to generate electricity and fresh water to Dublin’s growing population.

The landscape is covered in examples of early settlements. with Megalithic tombs, bullaun stones and caves. Churches and bridges made from the Wicklow granite that the area is renowned for along with the now submerged, St Boden’s Holy Well, are all highlighted within the colourful artwork.

Its installation next to the old shop, follows months of research to identify the key natural and built heritage features before being brought vividly to life with a specially commissioned art piece created by renowned designer Paul Francis.

The morning event began across the road, on the grounds of the former schoolhouse, which now serves the local community as a bustling community centre. Under sunshine, the attendees were treated to tea, coffee and home baked goods before a few presentations were given to provide an overview and context of the project that’s been collaboratively developed with the Lacken Community Development Association (LCDA).

Brian Dunne Coordinator of Wicklow Uplands Council began by introducing the countywide Heritage Interpretative Project that commenced in 2008 and detailed the positive impact it has had to the participating towns and villages. Brian thanked all of the stakeholders and congratulated the community group for their ongoing efforts to discover and promote their heritage for the benefit of the community and the growing number of visitors attracted to the Lacken area.

Local Councillor Gerry O’Neill welcomed its arrival and spoke of the recent development of the mass path and the future greenway, and how they were already experiencing greater numbers of recreational users to the hills and roads before adding his voice of congratulations to all involved.

Alfie Zeller of the Lacken Community Development Association gave a fascinating whirlwind account of the heritage features profiled on the panel and added more detail and personal accounts of how the community and landscape had evolved over the last century.

With the excitement building, the group crossed the road to share in the moment as children representing the next generation, revealed the panel to the applause of the assembled crowd.

To view the artwork and to read more on the points of interest featured in the project, please click HERE

 

Wicklow Uplands Council would like to wholeheartedly thank and congratulate the Lacken Community Development Association and the local contributors for the enthusiastic development of the project. The Council would like to draw particular attention to Diana Gallagher and Alfie Zeller of the LCDA, who both generously devoted considerable time to research and develop the intrinsic and informative details featured on the panel.

The community group are in the midst of planning an extensive redevelopment of the community centre and have just completed the reinstatement of the historic Mass Paths that begin very close to the Heritage Interpretative Panel. These two key projects are sure to welcome more visitors and create a wonderful hub of activity for the kind-hearted community and the Council wish them the very best with their implementation.

We would also like to thank the local community, members of Wicklow Uplands Council, members of Wicklow County Council, Evelyn Murray of County Wicklow Partnership, Cathaoirleach of Baltinglass Municipal District, Patsy Glennon, Councillors Avrio Cronin and Gerry O’Neill for joining us to celebrate the occasion of its unveiling.

The Lacken panel is the second of three to be unveiled in County Wicklow this summer, following a similar event in Shillelagh the week previously. Ashford Tidy Towns Committee are busy organising the final touches to their planned event with details to be announced soon.

Since 2008, Wicklow Uplands Council has worked with a number of local communities to develop the network of interpretative panels which promote and raise awareness of the natural and built heritage found in the towns and villages throughout County Wicklow.

The ongoing project relies on strong community participation with each group researching and discovering the key heritage features found in their locality. The addition of the three panels to the villages of Shillelagh, Lacken and Ashford in 2020, will bring the growing network to sixteen.

This project is a partnership between village communities, Wicklow County Council and Wicklow Uplands Council . The funding for these three units was made possible with the kind assistance from County Wicklow Partnership (LEADER). Previous panels received funding allocations from The Heritage Council and the Department for Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Local communities also contribute to the cost of the panel.

Community groups interested in participating in the project should contact the Wicklow Uplands Counci office.