History
Rathcroghan is an area of rich agricultural pasture at the very heart of County Roscommon, Ireland. Historical research in the area can be dated back to 6000BC and to many mythological tales such as ‘An Táin’ which tell us the story of Queen Medb and Cú Chulainn. Rathcroghan today is still a well-preserved archaeological landscape and is on the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht’s tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage Status in recognition of its national and international significance. The local farmers and landowners currently manage the monuments and it is said that the presence of farm animals such as cattle and sheep have preserved these monuments by managing overgrowth. |
However, the area is currently experiencing socio-economic decline, with the farmers struggling to earn a living whilst also needing to preserve the valuable landscape. The Farming Rathcroghan EIP Project was developed in 2018 with the Rathcroghan Resource Community, to apply for European Innovation Partnership Pilot funding which was granted to them in 2019 for a length of five years. The objectives of the EIP Plan are to:
Manage the landscape in order to sustain a viable and vibrant livelihood for its farming community; promote, preserve, and conserve the archaeological, cultural and ecological heritage of the area; improve water quality and biodiversity; promote best practice in relation to carbon sequestration initiatives; devise a system of dynamic pedestrian route-ways to provide public access to the landscape; increase awareness and recognition amongst the general public of the significance of Rathcroghan as a farmed archaeological landscape and of the central role of its farming community in its care and conservation (Fitzgerald & Maher, 2018).
Manage the landscape in order to sustain a viable and vibrant livelihood for its farming community; promote, preserve, and conserve the archaeological, cultural and ecological heritage of the area; improve water quality and biodiversity; promote best practice in relation to carbon sequestration initiatives; devise a system of dynamic pedestrian route-ways to provide public access to the landscape; increase awareness and recognition amongst the general public of the significance of Rathcroghan as a farmed archaeological landscape and of the central role of its farming community in its care and conservation (Fitzgerald & Maher, 2018).