Ireland is rich in ancient settlements and ritual monuments. Some are constructed of earth or stone and many appear as banks of earth or humps and hollows on the ground surface, while others are buried.

A quick look at the National Monuments List on the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional and Gaeltacht affairs website shows the many monuments and their locations in every community in Ireland. These monuments are often the only access we have to understanding the past and one of our only connections to the first farmers who worked the land in Ireland. That is why protection of these monuments is so important.

A total of 2,863 farmers have undertaken the maintenance of 4,456 monuments action under GLAS I and II. This number will be higher when GLAS III farmers are taken into account.

The action aims to enhance and maintain archaeological monuments visible in both tillage and grassland landscapes. On a farm walk organised by Teagasc on Christy Dowd’s farm in Rathcroghan, Co Roscommon, farmers were shown an example of what work needs to be carried out on a typical monument in GLAS.

In Rathcroghan, there are 240 archaeological sites in a six kilometre radius and the area is claimed to be the oldest and largest unexcavated royal complex in Europe.

Large ringfort

According to Daniel Curley from the Rathcroghan visitor centre, the large ringfort where the Teagasc demonstration was taking place is known as Rath na dTarbh (Fort of the Bulls). Legend has it that this was the location of the bull fight between a great white horned bull named Finnbennach from Connacht and Ulster’s great brown bull.

The bull fight was orchestrated by Queen Meave, who stole Ulster’s great bull after several battles, despite the bull having the protection of the great warrior Cúchulainn. This was known as the tale of an Táin Bó Cuailnge or the Cattle Raid of Cooley.

The tale goes that she wanted the bull to prove to her husband that she had more riches and better possessions than he had. Maeve’s bull is said to have killed her husband’s bull in this fort in Rathcroghan, to the delight of the queen. Stories such as this are of course based on myth and legend but the fact the stories were passed down from generation to generation helps to reinstate the importance of monuments such as the ringforts in Rathcroghan for our heritage.

What’s required?

In the GLAS specifications, there are two options available to farmers who choose this action depending on the parcel. They include:

1. Establish and maintain a 10m-wide grass buffer margin around a visible archaeological monument in a tillage parcel.

2. Managing vegetation around a visible archaeological monument in an eligible grassland parcel.

Details of the specifications are available on the Department of Agriculture’s website. At the farm walk, there was some confusion as to what was required in the scheme in terms of vegetation removal. The spec says to remove all encroaching vegetation (excluding established healthy trees) on/near the monument. It says roots of plants cannot be removed. Tractors or diggers cannot be used to remove vegetation and all works should be done with hand tools if possible or chainsaws and strimmers.

Hugh Carey from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht says farmers taking on the action should avoid fencing off the monument.

“Animals grazing lightly usually keep the monument in check once they do not cause any damage to it. We advise against fencing off a monument because we have seen in the past with similar schemes it can become overgrown otherwise,” Hugh explained.

However, animals are not permitted inside the interior of masonry monuments and in this situation farmers must ensure vegetation does not take hold inside the building.

“In the case of established vegetation in stone walls, we would be advising not to remove it because the root structure removal will disturb the stone work. However, small roots can be removed”, he said.

The Rath na dTarbh ringfort where the demonstration was taking place had a number of whitethorn trees growing on the perimeter banks. According to the specifications, these should be cut at the base and the stump should be treated with an appropriate herbicide to prevent regrowth.

Some farmers argued from interpretation of the GLAS spec that many of these whitethorns on the ring fort could be deemed to be mature trees and would not need to be cut. Others were not too keen on cutting because they felt removing a whitethorn on a ringfort could be an unwise move.

“What about the fairies?” one farmer asked in a serious tone. He felt carrying out the requirements of the scheme could bring his family bad luck but another farmer interjected, rubbishing his claims, arguing that he cut whitethorns on ringforts and nothing happened to him.

Other farmers felt the money available to carry out the work was far too low to cover the cost and time involved in some sites. Some monuments have serious amounts of vegetation growth and they would require a lot of clearing. With an annual payment of €120/monument, the incentive to do a lot of work clearing vegetation is low. Kieran Kenny from Teagasc says if you are planning to do some clearance, make sure to take photos before, during and after so proof is available if an inspection is carried out. Table 1 shows the deadlines for completing works to comply with the scheme.

  • Correct stocking levels should be maintained as overgrazing or poaching can damage ancient monuments. Under-grazing can be harmful too.
  • Site troughs, ring feeders and fences away from the monument.
  • Historic buildings should not be used for sheltering livestock.
  • Plan farm roadways away from or around monuments rather than across them.
  • Control the growth of gorse (furze or whins), scrub and woody plants on the monument. These should be cut at base and the stumps treated to prevent regrowth. The window when this work is allowed is from 1 September to 28 February.
  • Prune or pollard larger trees as this reduces shade and wind throw.
  • Never uproot trees on a monument as this may cause further damage to archaeological layers. Keep tractors and diggers away from monuments.
  • The killing or removal of well-established ivy or trees, whose root systems have invaded the fabric of masonry structure, is not permitted.
  • Any fallen masonry discovered during work should be left untouched.
  • Cleared stones or farm waste should not be dumped on an ancient monument.
  • Recommendations

    According to the GLAS spec, in order to prevent damage to the site or monument through ground disturbance and to avoid causing a sudden loss of habitat, it is best to make a number of small interventions over a number of years rather than to do the work in one single episode. They say, for example, berry-bearing trees are an important food source in the winter months for birds. Gorse, briars and high grasses may shelter ground-nesting birds, while bracken can be home to other rare plant species, invertebrates and small mammals.

    In the case of bracken, the ideal method is the manual cutting and crushing of growing fronds which causes the gradual starvation of the rhizome system. Cutting or thrashing is best done around the middle of June and again six weeks later for at least three successive years.

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