On Saturday 30 October, Sanctuary in Nature & Heritage took a group of Syrian and Albanian asylum seekers and refugees, led by our volunteers, to visit the spectacular prehistoric passage tombs at Newgrange and Knowth, which are considered among the most important Neolithic sites in the world. 

This trip was the first of four funded by the Communities Integration Fund established by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. We are very grateful for this funding, and for the support of our partners in the grant application, Sonairte National Ecology Centre and Meath Partnership.

We first went to the Newgrange Visitors’ Centre, run by the Office of Public Works, where we were welcomed warmly by the Manager, Clare Tuffy, who led us to the very informative and very entertaining audio-visual exhibition on the archaeology and history of these sites. While the adults absorbed stories of how the tombs may have been built and their possible significance, the younger children particularly enjoyed the experience of a virtual forest with running wolves, deer and wild boars, and the chance to explore a reproduction of a passage grave.

We then enjoyed lunch at the centre’s Brambles Café and relaxed in groups of families and friends. Throughout the day, delicious home-cooked snacks were also kindly distributed by our Syrian guests.

We then split into two groups to explore the local landscape, and afterwards visit the tombs themselves. Our guide on the restoration of the vegetation around the centre was OPW Grounds Keeper Jasper Madan-Mayers. He explained how they were attempting as far as possible to replicate the kind of riparian (riverside) woodlands that would have existed at the time the tombs were built, 5000 years ago, with impressive stands of willow, alder and hawthorn. He also showed us how the willows were being used to create living fencing.

Andrew Lynch of Birdwatch Ireland’s Birds Connect project came with us as a volunteer, and kindly distributed the projects laminated colour guide to 50 Irish birds to all our guests.

We then visited Knowth passage grave, and the children loved exploring its satellite mounds, and exploring a souterrain (underground passage) carefully and informatively supervised by the very helpful OPW guides. The views of the surrounding countryside were breath-taking – we were blessed with a sunny day with clear skies and excellent visibility. 

We were also lucky to have among our volunteers Frank Prendergast, Professor of Archaeology Emeritus at DIT, who has researched extensively on solar alignment and the passage grave tradition, to explain aspects of the monuments to our guests, as we went on to Newgrange itself, to admire the impressive restoration of the monument, and its megalithic artworks. While we were not able to enter the passage grave due to Covid restrictions, lighting permitted us to see all the way to the centre. 

The views were again wonderful over the Boyne, and Clare Tuffy, who had rejoined us, pointed out the ceremonial ponds related to the tomb, in the floodplain beside the river.

We then returned to the visitors’ centre, where the children had ice cream, some of us revisited the exhibition, and more Syrian snacks were share amongst us, before a happy bus journey back to Mosney Direct Provision Centre, and to Swords, where some of our other guests now have their homes.

The trip was led by Muhammad Achour and Paddy Woodworth, with invaluable help from volunteers Kate Kavanagh and Andrew Leonard. Our guests, who either live in, or have passed through, Mosney Direct Provision Centre, included 22 adults and 12 children.

We would also like to thank our driver, Brian, from Kierans Bus Hire, for getting us to our destinations safely and on time, and for his unfailing friendliness and good humour.

Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth

Brú na Bóinne – Newgrange and Knowth

Sonairte

OPW – Office of Public Works

Meath Partnership

Paddy Woodworth Muhammad Achour Kate Kavanagh Andrew Leonard Andrew Lynch BirdWatch Ireland Frank Prendergast Tarek Shrayyef Najwa Achour

Photos by Kate Kavanagh