Newcastle village held two very successful events during Heritage Week. The first, held in the Holy Spirit Oratory, comprised of an excellent slide presentation of old photographs taken in the area over the last century.The slide was presented by Brian Harris and ably backed up by Bob Jennings. Over sixty attendees were treated to a fascinating insight into the village and surrounding area in bygone days.
The second event, a Heritage Walk from the Community Centre, went across a number of fields to Church Lane. This was followed by a brief visit to the arboreal wonders of Ballyvolan Wood. From there, the participants walked to the Castle field where Emmet O’Byrne gave a fascinating presentation covering the events that had taken place there over previous centuries to over eighty participants. The group then proceeded to the village where the Lord Mayor, Pat Carey, unveiled a recently erected Dovecote presented by Bob Jennings to the village.
Dovecotes were traditionally created by the wealthy to house nesting pigeons. This supplied families and patrons with the meat of young pigeons. This wonderful piece of work was made recently by a prisoner at Wheatfield Prison.
The walk concluded with refreshments in the Castle Inn where Dominic Byrne gave an account of interesting events that took place in the village over the last two centuries. A great afternoon graced with wonderful weather and enthusiasm. Grateful acknowledgement was extended to all the landowners concerned.
