The Friends of Merlin Woods Heritage Week begins on Saturday and runs until Sunday, August 25.
An historical exhibition of the ancient Merlin Park Woods will be launched on the opening day, August 17, at 3pm at the Ballybane Library, while those interested in learning more about the Merlin Park Graves Clean-Up can do so on August 18 at 2pm. Merlin Park Graves, which date from 1650, will undergo a clean-up on the lead-up to Heritage Week and people will be able to see the results of the work on this date and take part in a short talk that will be given on the history of the graves. There will also be lunchtime walks (duration 45 minutes ) in Merlin Park Woods, in association with Merlin Park University Hospital - meet up point will be the Adminstration Building.
On Monday, August 19 at 1pm, a history walk and talk with Norbert Sheerin will take place, exploring the history of the Merlin Park Woods, while at 9pm there will be the History of Bats: Talk and Walk, led by Kate McAney from the Vincent Wildlife Trust.
The following day, August 20, at 1pm the Butterfly Walk with Friends of Merlin Woods takes place, and on Wednesday at 1pm, the Woodland Walk will be hosted by Sean Purtell. Norbert Sheeran which will focus on the history of the castle, the graves and the past life of the woods at 7.30pm.
On Friday, August 23, the Woodland Walk with Sean Purtil, organised by the Galway Civic Trust in association with Friends of Merlin Woods, will take place at 7pm, while Margaret Flaherty will lead the Woodland Habitat Study on Saturday from 11am and 1pm.
The week wraps up on Sunday at 11am with a Creating a Mandala and People’s Picnic event where creative artist Sharon Lynch will lead the creation of the mandala using the resources available from the woods. People are invited to bring food and drinks for the day and join in.
