Kilcullen Diary: Big interest in Dún Ailinne Open Day

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Sunday, July 09, 2023

Big interest in Dún Ailinne Open Day

There was a very good turnout this afternoon to the Open Day on Dún Ailinne, where talks on the archaeological work to date were given by Dr Susan Johnston and her students, writes Brian Byrne.

All ten students this year are from George Washington University where Dr Johnston is a Professorial Lecturer in Anthropology. The annual Field School at Dún Ailinne is facilitated by the Black Friary Archaeological School in Co Meath.

Dr Johnston’s interest is in pre-history Ireland and she has been undertaking investigations on Dún Ailinne since 2002. Prior to that, as a graduate student with the late Professor Bernard Wailes, she worked in the late 1980s with material from Dún Ailinne gathered by him in his own excavations on the site between 1968-1975, and she is the co-author with him of the final report on his investigations. Her work on the Kilcullen site through the past 21 years, undertaken with associates Professor Pam Crabtree and Dr Suzanne Garrett, has revealed the existence of a substantially more complex set of structure remains than had previously been known.

Dún Ailinne, which is on private land owned by the Thompson family, has been put on the Tentative List for UNESCO World Heritage classification, as part of the Royal Sites of Ireland application which includes Hill of Uisneach, County Westmeath; Rock of Cashel, County Tipperary; Rathcroghan, County Roscommon; and Tara, County Meath.

Expressing her appreciation to the Thompson family for facilitating the research down the years, Dr Johnston also thanked the local families who have hosted her students each summer. “Every year I’m amazed at how people step up for this — without them we simply wouldn’t be able to do this work.”

The current excavations finish next Friday.

NOTE: As Dún Ailinne is on a private working farm, it is not open to the public at any other time apart from the annual Open Day. Donations from those who attended today are to be given to the Friends of St Brigid's Hospice, The Curragh.