Doolin: History and Memories

This book is about growing up in Doolin, County Clare, Ireland in the 1940s. It is based heavily on the author’s memories and recollections, reinforced and supported by historical and archival research. Contained herein are a variety of stories and memories, tales and yarns, all documenting a way of life that is now only found in the folklore and historic records of ‘old Ireland’. The selection of episodes and experiences is eclectic, based on memory and reminiscences, chats with friends and family and all is blended with detailed historical investigation. Our overall aspiration is that this book will help to recreate the spirit and character of a time, a place and a people from long ago. Perhaps some of the memories are presented in ‘soft-focus’, but we make no apology for this sentimentality. The recollections from those times are happy ones, where life was simpler, and much less complicated. This book is intentionally situated in what Seamus Ennis described as ‘the old world’ of Darby Griffy, and is dedicated to our ancestors, who were uncomplicated, yet strong people, in tune with the land, their ancestors, their language and their culture. While the overall focus of the book is on daily life in Doolin in the 1940s, the documentary and archaeological history of the area is also explored, with sections detailing the main historical features of the landscape, the important landmarks, and historical events. Particular attention is paid to the quarries and mines, and the early education of the area, which were important influences on daily life in the period under exploration

Continuity of Settlement in Counties Limerick and Clare: the Role of Ecclesiastical Sites in the Formation of Settlement

There has been a recent surge in research regarding the evolution of Irish settlement. Due to the fact that much of this work focuses on larger towns and cities, the investigation of smaller, less influential settlements has consequently been greatly neglected. One of the themes which has been identified in larger towns in ecclesiastical influence on their development. It can be seen that in the case of large and influential ecclesiastical sites have been the basis for subsequent development. These are two of the very limited number of examples which have been investigated with respect to this pattern, and while evidence suggests that this phenomenon is widespread, few practical studies exist which examine the spatial extent. Another shortfall in current research is the absence of comparative study. Apart from this research by Swan, very little analytical work has been carried out to investigate the similarity and differences between Irish sites. This project hopes to rectify this shortfall by exploring the nature and pattern of early Irish church sites, and the manner by which these early foci have evolved into present day settlements. In Chapter 2 of this study a conceptual framework is presented which directs the work undertaken. This contextualisation of research begins by discussing various approaches which are pertinent to this investigation, thereby providing a foundation for the pattern of early Irish settlement development which follows. Then content then focuses on early church sites, discussing their functions and morphology, thereby leading to the generation of a Spatial Model of Early Christian Sites. This model can be used as an aid to identifying and examining settlements of ecclesiastical origin. Chapter 3 presents a range of sources which are of use in the work. Secondary sources having been dealt with in the conceptual framework, this chapter focuses on primary resources and techniques ranging from maps and archaeology to fieldwork, placename evidence and early primary documentation. Following this the chapter presents methodology which employs these sources to their maximum benefit, and culminates in a discussion of Plan Analysis, which will be used in the case study investigations. In Chapter 4, an examination of case study sites is undertaken, focused on Counties Limerick and Clare. This investigation follows a framework which could be utilised in examining the regional or national patterns of ecclesiastical influence on settlement. The approach attempts to redress the current under-representation of settlements with ecclesiastical origins in recent urban literature and to do this in a regional context. By investigating ecclesiastical settlements in this manner the project addresses issues of scale and comparative investigation, providing a valuable insight into this area of academic investigation. Chapter 5 brings together the material from the case studies and arising from this analysis the Spatial Model from chapter 2 is revisited, resulting in the development of a two pronged tool. The first comprises of a template and checklist which explore ecclesiastical continuity at settlements. The other is a visual representation of settlement continuity at the case study sites which were examined. The Final outcomes of the study show that, a standardised pattern (or set of patterns) of ecclesiastical influence may be observed. While some sites where continuity of settlement has been interrupted display clear evidence of ecclesiastical influence, and others where continuity of settlement has somewhat obscured church fabric, an overall pattern is identifiable, once the correct investigative tools are employed

Multicritical Symmetry Breaking and Naturalness of Slow Nambu-Goldstone Bosons

We investigate spontaneous global symmetry breaking in the absence of Lorentz invariance, and study technical Naturalness of Nambu-Goldstone (NG) modes whose dispersion relation exhibits a hierarchy of multicritical phenomena with Lifshitz scaling and dynamical exponents $z>1$. For example, we find NG modes with a technically natural quadratic dispersion relation which do not break time reversal symmetry and are associated with a single broken symmetry generator, not a pair. The mechanism is protected by an enhanced `polynomial shift' symmetry in the free-field limit.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure; v2: minor typos corrected, references adde

Determining Best Practice Methodologies in the Pedagogy of Tourism Related Fieldwork

This project explores issues around the practice of fieldwork related activity which is undertaken as a teaching and learning methodology in third-level education. The main focus in this project is to glean best practice examples from colleagues who undertake fieldwork in the broad area of Tourism education (encompassing hospitality, leisure and event management), but also related disciplines of Geography and Business/Management. Having initially scoped out the available literature and explored the topic in strategic interviews with colleagues (Irish and international), it appeared that very little work has been undertaken heretofore on the particular angle being investigated – that of planning and managing fieldwork. A reasonably solid body of work exists on the learning outcomes of fieldwork (albeit very descriptive and focused on individual iterations – see Bibliography), but very little material has emerged related to the management of such activity. In order to commence a dialogue on this topic, an online survey was administered, with a range of closed and open-ended questions. In total 152 usable surveys were returned, with 45% of respondents from Ireland, the remainder being from 29 different countries. Overall, the project finds that educators who use fieldwork as a teaching tool are very enthusiastic about the practice and think deeply about the pedagogical value of this activity. However there are many concerns in evidence, ranging from health and safety, financing of trips, to the amount of additional time that is required to plan and manage such trips. This project has merely opened the doors for a discussion, but the enthusiasm of respondents and their desire to engage with any future action suggests that a rich vein of research has just begun

The Importance of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage: reflecting on definitions, motives and data

This discussion paper explores the topic of religious tourism and pilgrimage, examining it from a tourism industry perspective, reflecting on definitions, motivations and scale of the ‘product’ as reported at a global level. Mindful of the fact that international records of religious tourism are scant to say the least, this is an attempt to bring together definitions, classifications and data which come from a variety of sources. The paper draws together understandings from different religious traditions, presenting data and motivations on a variety of pilgrimage types. As the paper demonstrates, this ‘niche’ product is indeed enormous, and if industry projections are correct, is set to become an even more important element of international travel and tourism