image for illustration: Open Government Licence v3.0
The practice of dry stone wall construction in Ireland has been added to UNESCO’s list of protected cultural heritages around the world.
RTE News writes:
Dry stone walls are an iconic part of many Irish landscapes, some of which date back more than 5,000 years. A dry stone wall is one… built using only stone… At a UNESCO meeting in Asunción, Paraguay, Ireland’s practice of dry stone construction was added to a list of practices that are considered intangible cultural heritage. It is the fifth Irish cultural practice added to the list following hurling, uilleann piping, Irish harping and Irish falconry.
Ken Curran of the Dry Stone Wall Association of Ireland said the UNESCO recognition showed that dry stone wall construction was a ‘valued part’ of Ireland’s cultural heritage…
The practice of constructing dry stone walls dates back to the Neolithic period and is still very active…
… The UNESCO list was established in 2003 in order to safeguard, appreciate and raise awareness of cultural heritage locally, nationally and internationally…
