| Title | Author | Pages | Abs | |
| Rainfall-triggered slope failures in eastern Ireland | Mary Bourke and Martin Thorp | 1-22 |  |
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| The Porchfield of Trim- A medieval 'open-field' | Dermot Kelly | 23-43 | |
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| Experiences and perceptions of rural women in the Republic of Ireland: studies in the Border Region | Catherine McNerney and Desmond Gillmor | 44-56 | |
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| Unsaturated zone travel time to groundwater on a vulnerable site | Karl Richards, Catherine E. Coxon and Michael Ryan | 57-71 | |
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| Representing multiple Irish heritage(s): a case study of the Ulster-American Folk Park | Catherine Kelly and Caitríona Ní Laoire | 72-83 | |
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| The reclamation of the Shannon Estuary inter-tidal flats: A case study of the Clare Slobland Reclamation Company | Kieran Hickey and Michael Healy | 84-95 | |
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| Hiding the evidence: the State and spatial inequalities in health in Ireland | Frank Houghton | 96-106 | |
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| Reviews | 107-110 |
Rainfall-triggered slope failures in eastern Ireland
Mary Bourke
Department of Geography, National University of Ireland, Dublin (UCD) and currently at the Planetary Science Institute, Arizona, USA
Martin Thorp
Department of Geography, National University of Ireland, Dublin (UCD)
A rain storm (>1-in-200 yr) following high antecedent rainfall in August 1986 triggered four debris slide-flows on the slopes of the Cloghoge Valley in eastern Ireland. Failures occurred at the bedrock interface underlying shallow (~1 m) soils on slopes between 19° and 35°. Resistance to shear of the soil ranges from 26 to 32 kN/m2 and liquid limits range between 34 percent and 58 percent and these thresholds were exceeded. The debris slides were rapidly transformed into high velocity debris flows that felled trees, stripped bark and incised gullies. The average velocities were estimated to be between 3 and 7 m/s. Factors influencing failure location include local slope morphology, soil depth, preferential groundwater seepage, and natural and anthropogenic surface runoff routing. Conclusions are drawn as to the general mechanisms of small-scale slope failures resulting from saturating rainfall on upland glaciated slopes.
The Porchfield of Trim- A medieval 'open-field'
Dermot Kelly
The Porchfield of Trim lies between the new Anglo-Norman town of Trim founded c.1180 and the rural-borough of Newtown-Trim founded c.1220 in County Meath. The two towns were connected through the ‘open-field’ Porchfield by a medieval road ‘sunken-way’. The Porchfield probably included ‘three acres in the fields outside the town’ for a number of the new burgesses of Trim, as documented in the Borough Charters for Kells and Drogheda. Ridge-and-furrow was the cultivation method used in ‘open-field’ agriculture of the time. The characteristics of ridge-and-furrow are described and a case is made for the presence of apparent blocks of ridge-and-furrow in the Porchfield of Trim with reference to medieval land measurement units, in particular the perch as the predominant measured width of ‘the long narrow strips’ still existing in the Porchfield of Trim.
Experiences and perceptions of rural women in the Republic of Ireland: studies in the Border Region
Catherine McNerney and Desmond Gillmor
Department of Geography, Trinity College Dublin
There has been surprisingly little study of Irish rural women and much of the limited research has focused on farm women. This paper reports on investigations of the experiences and perceptions of rural women in general in two study areas in counties Louth and Leitrim, in the Border Region of the Republic of Ireland. The aspects dealt with are transport, employment, education and training, childcare and elderly care, health, social contacts and information, migration, and rural living. Access to services and opportunities presented difficulties but many accepted this as an inevitable part of rural living, which generally was favoured. There were variations, however, between the study areas and to a greater extent between different women depending on their circumstances.
Unsaturated zone travel time to groundwater on a vulnerable site
Karl Richards, Teagasc, Johnstown Castle, Wexford
Catherine E. Coxon, Department of Geology, Trinity College Dublin
Michael Ryan, Teagasc, Johnstown Castle, Wexford
A bromide (Br) tracing experiment was conducted to ascertain unsaturated zone travel time to groundwater on a site with a karstified limestone aquifer overlain by a thin free-draining overburden. Br tracer was applied to areas surrounding two boreholes; soil solution and groundwater Br concentrations were monitored. Bromide was first detected after 8 and 34 days in the soil solution and groundwater. The quick break-through of the applied Br in the soil solution and groundwater indicates the presence of preferential flow in the soil at this site. The time to maximum groundwater Br concentration supports a dominant matrix flow path through the overburden and then preferential flow through the unsaturated limestone bedrock. The results indicated that the transport of conservative contaminants, such as nitrate, can be expected to occur in a single recharge season. The occurrence of preferential flow raises concerns over rapid transport of non-conservative contaminants such as faecal coliforms and this merits further investigation.
Representing multiple Irish heritage(s): a case study of the Ulster-American Folk Park An important element of cultural identity is its [re]presentation in the public realm. Museums and heritage centres are concerned with presenting elements of national/regional/local cultures to their audiences and, therefore, make value judgements concerning the interpretation and representation of the past. This in itself is a complex process, which becomes even more difficult in spaces of contested heritage and multiple possible representations. This research addresses the above issues and utilises a unique case study within Northern Ireland to examine issues of heritage and representation. A critical analysis of the Ulster American Folk Park (UAFP) was undertaken by bringing together a heterogeneous group of visitors at the site (in this instance final year students from universities north and south of the border). This paper outlines the ways in which this mixed visitor group reacted to the UAFP’s representation of migration histories and the ways in which they dealt with the issues of nationality, cultural identity, and authenticity that were raised. The approach was both useful and innovative, facilitating an open discourse on often difficult, politically and geographically sensitive issues. Linking theoretically complex themes concerning cultural identities with pedagogic good practice, informed curatorship and applied policy formulation would be enormously beneficial to cultural sector research.
.The reclamation of the Shannon Estuary inter-tidal flats: A case study of the Clare Slobland Reclamation Company Extensive reclamation of the sloblands in the Shannon estuary have been undertaken over hundreds of years but particularly in the mid to late 1800s. There is extensive documentary evidence of the various reclamation schemes that were undertaken. The Clare Slobland Reclamation Company attempted to reclaim a very large section of the Fergus sub-estuary of the Shannon but ultimately failed, despite enormous expenditure. A smaller less ambitious reclamation in the same area was completed afterwards by the Fergus Reclamation Company. The financing, legislation, scale and chronology of the Clare Slobland Reclamation Scheme is outlined along with the difficulties it faced and the eventual causes of its failure are examined. In addition the entitlements of the company and their associated responsibilities are outlined and these show the extent of the powers they had to change and alter the landscape.
Hiding the evidence: the State and spatial inequalities in health in Ireland The Irish State has consistently reduced its production of publicly accessible disease / mortality maps over the last fifty years. State health statistics, and the small number of disease / mortality maps that have been produced in official publications, show a declining level of detail and are routinely out of date. Following a review of the production of disease / mortality maps in Ireland by the State and allied health agencies, two reasons are suggested for this decline. The first explanation relates to spatial inequalities in healthcare provision and to the absence of a health funding formulae in Ireland. The second explanation focuses on the potential politicisation of spatial inequalities in health status. Researchers in these fields are urged to disseminate information widely on spatial inequalities in healthcare provision, healthcare access and health status, both within and outside of the academic literature. Researchers in these fields are also urged to adopt an advocacy role on these issues, or to develop strategic alliances with such advocates.
Catherine Kelly, Heritage, Arts & Tourism, University of Greenwich
Caitríona Ní Laoire,Department of Geography, University College Cork
Kieran Hickey, Department of Geography, NUI Galway
Michael Healy
Environmental Research Centre, Department of Geography, Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick
Frank Houghton
National Institute of Regional and Spatial Analysis, Maynooth
