In the very first episode of Amplify Archaeology Podcast we join Professor Graeme Warren, Conor McDermott and the team from UCD School of Archaeology and local volunteers who are carrying out exciting excavations at Glendalough.

Glendalough is one of the most iconic places in Ireland. Saint Kevin is believed to have founded a monastery in this stunningly beautiful valley in County Wicklow some time in the later sixth century. The monastery went on to become a famed centre of learning, and it had a long and illustrious history. Today, thanks to its glorious setting, this site has become one of the most visited heritage sites in Ireland. Kevin and his monastery has been subject to much scholarly discussion, histories, hagiographies, folklore and legend over the years. However, there had been little modern archaeological study carried out until Professor Graeme Warren and Conor McDermott of the UCD School of Archaeology began to carry out a series of investigations, surveys and excavations over the last number of years.

Combining their expertise, with the local community and a variety of land owners and stakeholders, they formed the Glendalough Heritage Forum to help promote the cultural heritage of Glendalough and to increase collaboration between different groups, not least the local community. The Glendalough Heritage Forum community excavations are funded by Wicklow County Council, the Heritage Council and UCD School of Archaeology, with substantial support in kind from National Parks and Wildlife Services and Office of Public Works.

We had the opportunity to join the archaeologists on site, where we had a chat with Graeme, Conor and the team who generously took the time to give us some wonderful insights into the project and the challenges and joys of archaeology.

 Episode 1: Excavations at Glendalough

• You can find out more about the Glendalough Research Project here.
• You can discover the many fascinating features of Glendalough in our Tuatha article here.
• You can find more information on the Glendalough Heritage Forum on their website.
• For information on Wicklow’s heritage please visit here.
• The National Museum of Ireland have a new exhibition on Glendalough, informed by the excavation discoveries. You can hear Matt Seaver and Maeve Sikora of the National Museum discussing the exhibition and curation in Episode 14 of Amplify Archaeology Podcast.
• Glendalough is one of Ireland’s most spectacular historic landscapes. You can find out more in Christiaan Corlett’s publication.
• For visitor information please visit the OPW website.

Amplify Archaeology Podcast

The podcast is an Abarta Heritage production.  It was recorded on site by Neil Jackman (the interviewer), with the assistance of Dr Conor Ryan.  We are very grateful to Professor Graeme Warren, Conor McDermott, and all the team at Glendalough for their hospitality and for taking part in this pilot podcast.