ECHOES Ireland Twinning & Cultural Activity (TCA) - digital report

2 days ago

4 min read

Twinning and Cultural Activity

September 6 – 13^,2026

Ireland

Organisers:

The Dry Stone Wall Association of Ireland

Co-organisers:

4 Grada Dragodid,

Boulouki Itinerant Workshop on Traditional Crafts

The Ireland Twinning and Cultural Activity took place in 2026 between September 6 and September 13.

A week long series of activities was created within the framework of the ECHOES – Enhancing Cultural Heritage Skills Across Europe project, organized by the Dry Stone Wall Association of Ireland (DSWAI), in collaboration with 4 Grada Dragodid (Croatia) and Boulouki Itinerant Workshop on Traditional Crafts (Greece).

The Activity took place in County Galway at two separate locations and was aimed at creating connections, sharing skills and experiencing the traditional craft of dry stone walling in Ireland.

During the week the groups completed the creation of a mini dry stone walling activity for children, visited architectural and archaeological sites in the Burren, attended the 2026 Féile na gCloch festival of dry stone walling and delivered a mini wall activity to the children of Inis Oirr.

During the festival participants participated in dry stone walling, stone carving and delivered a series of talks aimed at showcasing the work of the ECHOES project.

Spread throughout the dry stone walling and stone carving workshops members of each of the ECHOES partner teams participated in the festival from Friday to Sunday.

On Saturday, September 12 the DSWAI team delivered a mini dry stone walling activity to the children of Inis Oirr and visitors to the island. Families and young people discovered the art, craft and science of dry stone construction techniques. It was very well attended and lots of children (big & small) took part. Much building took place and lots of fun was had.

On completion of the workshop a complete mini dry stone construction kit (including instructions) was presented to the Siobhan staff member of the Comhar Comhan Teo Inis Oirr, which was to be passed on to the Inis Oirr primary school for use in the classroom.

Adding the childrens' activity to the festival was a key objective for the DSWAI ECHOES Ireland twinning and cultural activity. Seeing so many children join us in the workshop tent was a delight.

Below is a photo diary of the TCA, from September 6th to 13th

Members of the Boulouki, Dragodid & DSWAI partner teams at Killmacduagh, Co. Galway, September 8th

Parknabinna wedge tomb, one of the dry stone sites visited during the tour of the Burren with ECHOES partners September 8th 2026

ECHOES partner team members enjoy lunch and some refreshments before embarking on the trip to Inis Oirr

Many of the ECHOES partners teams Inis Oirr September 9th. The day consisted of island tours, sketching workshops and a visit to the lighthouse

Inis Oirr field systems from the top of the lighthouse

Touring the island on the Wanderly Wagon

Sketching workshop with James Moore & Jessica Peel-Yates

Visiting the last thatched vernacular building on the island

One industrious young dry stone builder having fun with the DSWAI mini walls kits

DSWAI member Ken Chambers exploring the possibilities

DSWAI team member Sunny Wieler overseas the industrious participants

Also on the Saturday afternoon presentations were given by the three ECHOES partner organisations about the activities of their respective organisations.