There will be a Communications Course on January 30-31st in the Burren Outdoor Education Centre in Clare. Saturday will consist of looking at the different communication systems used by ICRO, their practical applications and correct radio terminology. Sunday will involve a practical, which will most likely take place in one of the ’problem’ caves in the area.
Please contact the ICRO Training Officer to secure a place.
Fine below a Press Release for the Irish Cave Archaeology Project.
Over 700 caves are dotted across the limestone regions of Ireland and may hold archaeological secrets dating back as far as 10,000 years. An exciting new project run by leading cave archaeologist, Dr Marion Dowd of IT Sligo, is set to explore and document the facts and folklores of Irish caves.
The ‘Irish Cave Archaeology Project’ is prompted by finds already made, including human bones ranging from small body parts to full skeletons of men, women and children; jewellery made from shell, amber and bone; the remains of sacrificed newborn calves, lambs and piglets. Folklore traditions reveal that caves were seen as places of ghosts and ghouls, gateways to the Otherworld or a home for a supernatural woman that preyed on mortal men. With uses varying from burial chambers to places to live, caves in Ireland have a diverse history and usage. For a cave archaeologist, this rich heritage represents a feast of untapped artefacts waiting to be discovered.
Wanted: Cave Spiders!
Manchester Museum’s Department of Zoology are looking for someone willing to look in two Irish caves for samples of a cave spider. The caves are Doolin Cave System (the upstream end at St Catherines 1, Smithy Sink inlet junction with Main Stream) and Mitchelstown Cave. The spider is the cave-restricted Porhomma rosenhaueri. The department are studying Welsh examples of the spider and are interested in obtaining some Irish samples for comparison.
If you can help with this request, please contact Graham Proudlove, the British Cave Research Association Biological Recorder at g.proudlove(at)manchester.ac.uk.