Celebrating the Heritage of Lough Erne

10th December 2019

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Links to the Lough Dec2019

Aughakillymaude Community Centre, Derrylin, was the venue for an event to showcase and celebrate the rich history surrounding Lough Erne on Thursday 5th December 2019.

 Hosted by Lough Erne Heritage, the event was part of the “Links to the Lough” programme, one of 16 projects identified in the Fermanagh and Omagh PEACE IV Local Action Plan to benefit from a total funding package of £2.8m to deliver projects across three key strands: Shared Spaces and Services, Children and Young People and Building Positive Relations at a Local Level.

 “Links to the Loughs” is supported by the European Union’s PEACE IV Programme and managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). Match-funding for this project was provided by the Executive Office in Northern Ireland and the Department for Rural and Community Development in Ireland.

Speaking about the event the Chair of Fermanagh and Omagh Peace IV Partnership, Councillor Adam Gannon, said

“The Fermanagh and Omagh district has a rich and varied heritage and it is important that it is preserved for future generations to understand the history, culture and heritage of the areas in which they live. I would like to thank the members of Lough Erne Heritage for hosting this wonderful event and for giving us an insight into the past.”

 The event provided an opportunity to reflect on the range of work undertaken over the past year and included presentations by a number of speakers on traditional farming and rural practices.

 The night included video footage captured from a recent project which focused on the famous 6th Century saint, St. Ninnidh. On 18th and 19th May, local people recreated the journey of St. Ninnidh from Knockninny Hill to his monastic settlement on Lower Lough Erne’s Inishmacsaint as part of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council’s ‘Links Across the Lough’ programme. As part of the same programme a number of events have been supported throughout 2019. These included community regattas and visits to Titanic Maritime Exhibition and Greencastle Maritime Heritage Museum.

Community Regattas involving local rowers were held at various venues including Knockninny, Crom, Belturbet and Belleek. Young people were also given the opportunity to take to the water at Crom on Cots and develop their rowing skills. In addition, four people were supported to undertake a specialised VHF Radio Course and a new Educational Resource for young people has been developed, highlighting key sites of interest around the Lough and some important historical facts.

 Lough Erne Heritage member Gabriel Fitzpatrick explained, “We are very appreciative of the opportunities provided to us through ‘Links Across the Lough’ Programme and were delighted to work alongside Insight Solutions in delivering the programme. It has contributed to Lough Erne Heritage being able to engage more people in programmes and activities and experience the rich history of this important natural asset. We also want to thank everyone who participated to date.”

Insight Solutions were appointed to manage this project on behalf of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, in partnership with Lough Erne Heritage. The project was supported by the European Union’s Peace IV Programme and managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).

If you would like to find out more information about the programme, please contact Wendy Salt at Insight Solutions by email: wendy@insight-solutions.org.