Donegal County Museum is hosting a talk on the story behind the survey and subsequent book, Archaeological Survey of County Donegal, next Saturday at 2pm.
The pioneering survey, and book by Dr Brian Lacy, took place over 40 years ago. Donegal was the first county in Ireland to have a full survey of its archaeological sites undertaken and published in book form. It was an extraordinary achievement as it was conducted before the availability of modern survey and IT equipment.
“About 35 persons, mainly young archaeology graduates, were employed at one time or another on the project,” Dr Lacy said.
“The fieldwork took place over 50 weeks between the summers of 1980 and 1981, followed by the preparation of the survey archive and published book. About 4,000 sites were inspected of which 2,500 were included in the final survey.”
A spokesperson for the County Museum in Letterkenny said they would particularly like to invite anyone who was involved in the survey to join them at the talk.
Dr Brian Lacy is a historian and archaeologist. He lectured at Magee College, Derry 1974-86 and later set up Derry’s Heritage and Museum Service. He led the pioneering archaeological survey of Co Donegal from 1980-3. He is also the author of many research papers and books, including St Columba: His Life and Legacy, Manus O Donnell: Life of Colum Cille. His latest book is Adomnán, Adhamhnán, Eunan: the life and afterlife of a Donegal saint.
Admission is free but pre booking is required. Contact Donegal County Museum, High Road, Letterkenny, Co Donegal. T: (074) 91 24613 E-mail: museum@donegalcoco.ie
The cover of the famous Archaeological Survey of County Donegal.