Wednesday 7th April 2021 @ 7pm

'Mountains, Mysteries and Megaliths' with archaeoastronomer Dr. Frank Prendergast

This talk will focus mainly on the landscape and prehistoric monuments of Achill Island, Co. Mayo. The speaker will endeavour to bring new perspectives to bear on the relationship between people in the prehistoric past and the environment encountered in this special place. The importance of minimising light pollution and preserving the dark sky, especially in the vicinity of the cultural landscape on the slopes of Slievemore will be emphasised.

Frank is chartered surveyor and archaeoastronomer. He is a graduate of DIT (now TU Dublin) and a post-graduate of TCD. His PhD (School of Archaeology UCD, 2011) investigated the alignment and landscape siting of passage tombs in Ireland and Britain. His research spans the Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age, examining the prehistoric landscapes and monuments of those traditions from the perspectives of cultural astronomy and skyscape archaeology. He is a member of the European Society for Cultural Astronomy with links to the Sophia Centre, University of Wales; also a member of the International Society for Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture. Many of his publications are available on ARROW, the digital repository of TU Dublin. He continues to publish and lecture internationally and advises heritage bodies on relevant conservation matters.