LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Wonder what Mariah Carey thinks of the reports that Nicki Minaj will be joining her on the "American Idol" judges' panel next season? Look no further than her twitter account.
As headlines suggested that Minaj's "Idol" recruitment was a done deal, Carey - who signed on as a judge for the singing competition in July - offered her own candidate for the spot: Lenny Kravitz.
Carey took to Twitter Monday to post a picture of herself and "Let Love Rule" singer Kravitz with the plea, "@AmericanIdol What's going on? need the info!! What about this combo? : ) if we could ever get him to do it!"
Carey joined the series following the departure of judges Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler. As TheWrap reported previously, Carey will rake in $17 million to judge the show - the same amount that Lopez was seeking before parting ways with the show. The $17 million payday will make Carey the highest-paid judge on a singing competition, an insider told TheWrap.
So far, Fox, which airs "Idol," has remained mum on the reports of Minaj joining "Idol," and it remains to be seen if Lenny Kravitz is gonna go Carey's way - a spokeswoman for Kravitz has not yet responded to TheWrap's request for comment.
Earlier this month, Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers confirmed reports that he's in the running for a spot on the "Idol" judging panel.
"The rumors are true," Jonas said via Twitter. "I am being considered to be a judge on 'American Idol,' and it would be a dream come true if it happens."
Posted: 4:55 pm Mon, August 20, 2012 By Drew?Kerr Tags: Katie Walker, Martin Olav Sabo Pedestrian Bridge, Metropolitan Council, Southwest Corridor, Southwest LRT
Repair work began Monday on the Martin Olav Sabo Pedestrian Bridge in Minneapolis. The Metropolitan Council decided to seek new bids for a Southwest Light Rail Transit line engineering contract after URS Corp., the firm slated to get the contract, faced questions about its work on the Sabo Pedestrian Bbridge. (Staff photo: Bill Klotz)
Engineering proposals due by Oct. 2
After halting a previous bid process, the Metropolitan Council has released a pair of new requests for proposals?(RFPs) to begin engineering work on the Southwest Light Rail Transit line.
The RFPs were made public on Friday and bids are due by Oct. 2, according to the Met Council, which is leading planning efforts for the proposed 15-mile transit line between downtown Minneapolis and Eden Prairie.
Firms are expected to be chosen by the Met Council in December or January and the engineering work is scheduled to be finished by the second quarter of 2014.
Met Council leaders had hoped to have the engineering done by the end of 2013 to keep on schedule for the line to go into service by 2018.
Plans were thrown off course when a pair of suspension cables on the Martin Olav Sabo Pedestrian Bridge broke in February. The Sabo bridge was designed by San Francisco-based URS Corp., which was slated to receive a $94 million contract to do all of the engineering needed to ready the Southwest LRT for construction.
The $5 million Sabo Bridge, which crosses Hiawatha Avenue in Minneapolis, was closed again this week for additional repairs. Questions about liability remain unanswered, but there was enough uncertainty to start the process over from scratch, Met Council officials said.
To help alleviate safety concerns, the regional planning agency is also planning to hire a consultant to oversee and review engineering work. A request for proposals for that work is expected to go out this fall, with an award in spring 2013.
URS spokesman Ron Lowe declined on Monday to say whether the firm would respond to the Met Council?s new RFPs. The only other company to bid during the last round was Los Angeles-based AECOM. Officials at AECOM, which designed the Hiawatha LRT line, have said they remain interested in the project, but a spokesman could not immediately provide an update.
Although the engineering timeline on the Southwest LRT has been pushed back, later work can be sped up so that costs won?t necessarily increase, according to the Met Council. Every year of delay typically adds around $40 million to project costs and makes it more difficult to obtain federal funding, officials have claimed.
Project backers expect the federal government to pay for up to half the $1.2 billion project.
Unlike the previous RFP, the engineering bids being sought now are split into two parts and cover just 30 percent of the work needed to prepare the line for construction.
One of the contracts covers a seven-station, 6.5-mile stretch between Mitchell Road, in Eden Prairie, and 11th Avenue in Hopkins. The other contract covers a 10-station, 8.5-mile area between Hopkins and the Interchange, a new transit hub being built north of Target Field.
The work was split into two parts so that smaller firms could bid and because of the different issues that exist on either end of the line. Engineers will have to design a number of bridges on the east end of the line while the west end is more complicated because of existing freight operations.
Work to be completed during preliminary engineering includes study of roadway crossings, road and trail connections, park-and-ride facilities, utility needs and environmental issues. Station locations and the site of an operation and maintenance facility that could hold 35 light rail vehicles are also expected to be solidified.
The route also includes 11 bridges. A separate RFP for inspection work on three bridges on the route ? the Minnehaha Creek Bridge, the Louisiana Overpass Bridge and the Lake of the Isles Bridge ? also went out on Friday.
Bids for that work, which also includes routine inspections of bridges on the Central Corridor and Hiawatha LRT routes, are due by Sept. 12.
The Met Council has $47 million from the Counties Transit Improvement Board and the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority to begin engineering work on the Southwest LRT.
Met Council spokeswoman Meredith Salsbery said Monday that the budget for the two new RFPs would not be disclosed while the bid process remained opened. The previous RFP was worth $94 million.
More money will almost certainly be needed to finish the engineering, however. The Met Council is seeking a share of a $47.5 million state bonding fund created in the last legislative session to pay for additional engineering.
After the project is 30 percent engineered, the Met Council can ask the Federal Transit Administration for money needed to finish the final design.
The engineering work is just a part of the planning for the Southwest LRT line.
Work on a Transitional Station Area Action Plan is due to begin in mid-September and to finish within a year. The $624,000 study will look at what kind of infrastructure is needed to support residential and commercials development near the station areas, said Katie Walker, Hennepin County?s Southwest LRT Community Works project director.
Bids for a $25,000 housing inventory that will explore demographics along the proposed route are also being reviewed now, Walker said. A consultant is supposed to be chosen later this month or in early September, and work finished by the end of the year.
This entry was posted on Monday, August 20th, 2012 at 4:55 pm and is filed under Construction & Development. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
The vent system in your home is vital to the operation of your Monroeville?HVAC system. Without successful ventilation, your home won?t have the necessary clean air to keep you and your family healthy. So, what does proper ventilation require and how can you ensure your home has it? Here are some quick tips.
Install the Right Parts from the Start
Proper ventilation should result in even air pressure in your home to avoid problems with gas pilot lights. It should also be as energy efficient as possible and provide clean air through proper filtration and cleaning of the air that comes in.
Energy Loss
Another major ventilation issue to keep in mind is energy loss. Ventilation tends to remove heated or cooled air from your home, forcing your furnace or air conditioner to work harder to replace it. As a result, you pay more for energy and it?s never quite comfortable inside.
To avoid this problem, ask your contractor about how you can improve your system?s energy?efficiency.
Supplements to Ventilation
Proper ventilation should not only provide fresh air, but it should also ensure your home has clean air. The air outside may be fresher, but it can be filled with pollutants like pollen, dander and smoke. These should be removed if possible. To do this, you need a full sized air cleaning system that removes particles from the air down to 0.3 microns.
HEPA filters can do this, as will electronic air cleaners which can ionize and remove smoke and gas particles. Make sure you discuss filtration and cleaning with your Monroeville?HVAC?contractor when they visit your home. If you have any questions about your HVAC system or you need to schedule a service, give?Boehmer Heating & Cooling a call!
Tags: Air Conditioning, Indoor Air Quality, McKeesport, Monroeville, Murrysville
Monday, August 20th, 2012 at 8:00 am | Categories: Air Conditioning |
Are there one or two aspects of marketing shelter pets that you consider to be the most important or should every small detail related to marketing be considered essential?
To my mind, if a member of the public can see it, it?s marketing.? By that I mean to include such things as the cage housing the pet, the information on the kennel card, and obviously the actual pet.? In addition, there are numerous aspects of online marketing including any photographs, write-ups and pleas regarding the pet.
Is there a minimum a shelter should do in order to market a pet?? For example, present a clean pet in a clean cage to visitors and post a quality photo of the pet online?? Are small details such as the selection of a name for the pet significant?? Should shelters be considering all aspects of marketing as equally important?? Where do strategies such as offsite adoptions and crossposting to multiple websites fit into the equation?
Bad press continues to plague Obamacare, although the reasons for this are unclear. The Act has also been confirmed to be constitutional by the Supreme Court. Millions of people will benefit. You would think all the excitement would have died down. Except that?s not the way politics works in our great country. Whoever has the most money, shouts the loudest and gets their opinions heard. This means the irrational beliefs now prevail. As an example of why we should all be enthusiastically embracing the reforms, the 1st August saw the next set of rules come into force.
At no cost, a comprehensive set of preventative medical services must now be made available to women. Yes, that?s right. Access to all these services is free. If people are diagnosed early and get the necessary treatment, it costs less and gives you a country full of healthy people. If people delay until there?s an emergency, the cost of treatment is always higher and the chances of a full recovery lower.
So all women who hold health insurance plans are now entitled to a range of tests for cervical and breast cancers, gestational diabetes, osteoporosis, sexually transmitted diseases, and intervention into situations of domestic violence. Since cancers are the most common causes of death among women, screening for signs at a precancerous stage allows prompt and effective treatment. Similarly, the earlier osteoporosis is detected, the more rapidly the loss of bone density can be halted by calcium supplements.
Until now, women have been deterred from seeking access to screening services because either the initial costs or the copayments have been unreasonably high. As a result, many women have delayed getting the right treatment and have paid the price in the loss of health or with their lives. Promoting wellness through access to preventative medicine is now written into all health insurance plans for women. Why has this change in the law not been greeted with shouts of joy? We suggest it?s because the doctors are unhappy and pay for hostile propaganda. If preventive medicine becomes standard, their long-term profits will be hit. As it is, they receive the most by encouraging you to fall seriously ill and justify hospital treatment.
We often assume that Ultrabooks scarcely have any room to budge on the inside, and that's usually true. An iFixit teardown of ASUS' Zenbook Prime has proven that there's always an exception to the rule. Looking at a UX32VD with the same base layout as the UX31 we reviewed, the repair outlet finds that the upgraded Zenbook has both embedded and removable RAM: provided owners are still willing to perform some surgery, they can upgrade past the 4GB of included memory on their own terms. The repair team is a bit dismayed that there's a 5,400RPM hard drive spinning near the mini SSD -- how very 2011 -- but notes that it's equally swappable by those who want something faster. Whatever you think of the fully pieced-together ASUS PC, it's apparent there's a reward for those willing to take it apart.
NATIONAL HERITAGE WEEK KICKS OFF ON SATURDAY WITH OVER 1500 EVENTS??
OVER 600,000 PEOPLE EXPECTED AT EVENTS NATIONWIDE??
NUMBER OF BUILT HERITAGE PROPERTIES TO OPEN FOR FIRST TIME
Tuesday 14th August: On Saturday, National Heritage Week will kick off and run for eight days until Sunday 26th August. Throughout the week, over 1500 events, the majority of which are FREE, will take place across Ireland. Over 600,000 people are expected to attend events, meaning a huge knock-on economic impact for towns and villages across the country.?
The message from the Heritage Council, coordinators of National Heritage Week, is to GET INVOLVED. To find out what is happening throughout the week, log on to www.heritageweek.ie, download the free iPhone / Android Heritage Week Event App or pick up a copy of the Event Guide in your local tourist information office.?
This year, the Heritage Council has sought to focus on Ireland?s Built Heritage. During the week, over 600 built heritage events will take place with many sites and houses being made accessible to the public for the first time. ?These include Brownhall in Donegal, Free Masons Hall in Dublin, Courtown House in Kilcock, Stradbally Hall House in Laois, Kilpeacon House in Limerick, Hamwood House and Gardens in Meath, and Bracklyn House in Westmeath.
Speaking ahead of the week, Isabell Smyth, Heritage Council Communications Manager commented, ?2012 is shaping up to be the biggest National Heritage Week to date with over 1500 events registered to take place nationwide.This year will be particularly unique in that a number of built heritage properties will open their doors to the public for the first time. Ireland?s built heritage supports over 35,000 jobs and contributes in the order of ?1.5 billion to the national economy. The value of our built heritage as an economic resource has for too long been misunderstood and underplayed.? This is particularly evident in the case of our tourism offering. . The range and quality of our built heritage environment is a powerful motivating factor for wider tourism and related visitor expenditure, with 1/5 of all out of state visitor expenditure closely attributable to our built heritage.???
The sheer diversity of events taking place during National Heritage Week is what makes it unique. Seven years ago just 500 events took place for National Heritage Week, this year the week has hit a record high.? We expect over 600,000 people to attend events across the country during the week and we hope that towns and villages across Ireland will experience a knock-on economic effect as people attend events?, added Ms. Smyth.??
For those with an interest in photography, the annual National Heritage Week Photo Competition is now also open for entries. Images do not have to be taken during National Heritage Week but must have been taken in 2012. This year?s theme is Built Heritage. Simply submit an image(s) that you think captures Ireland?s Built Heritage. Images can be the interior or exterior of your favourite building, monument or ruin (historic or contemporary), a feature that captures your imagination (a window, door, handle, stairway), an interesting streetscape, a group of buildings, or examples of where built heritage meets natural heritage. To enter, upload your pictures to the official Heritage Week Photo Competition Site: http://pix.ie/group/heritageweek . The closing date for entries is 31st August 2012.?
To find out more about National Heritage Week pick up one of the 50,000 copies of the National Heritage Week Event Guide which are now available free throughout the country in F?ilte Ireland Tourist Offices, Libraries, OPW Sites, Bus Eireann Stations, County Council Offices etc. Complete event listings are also available on the National Heritage Week website, www.heritageweek.ie or on the FREE iPhone / Android Heritage Week App. You can also follow us on Twitter @heritageweek or the Heritage Week Facebook page.
Just some of the built heritage properties which are not normally open to the public but which are opening for National Heritage Week:
Cork ? (No public access normally) Guided Tour of Traditional Farm Yard:? (20th August 19.00 ? 21.00) (Free) A Guided tour, with Peter Scanlan, of traditional farm buildings with a display of old farm equipment. Venue:Home of John and Cathy Browne, Prospect House, Carrigadrohid,? Co. Cork. Organiser Name: Con Dunne, Contact Address: Killinardrish Carrigadrohid Co. Cork. Email: condunne1@hotmail.com? Telephone: 087 6904349
Cork -(No public access normally) Public Access to Mercy Order Gardens: (Sunday 19th August 14.00 ? 16.00) (Free)Macroom Mercy Order of Nuns welcome visitors to their gardens! A secluded treed cloister of creative earth adornment and a building model for sustainable communities. Children should be accompanied by an adult. Organiser Name: Teddy Cook Contact Address: Kilbarry, Macroom, Co. Cork. Email:macroomenv@hotmail.com
Donegal ? (No public access normally) Brownhall Building Conservation:(23rd August 14.30 ? 16. 30) (Free)? Presentation with Tour by Nicholas Prins, highlighting building restoration and preservation efforts at Brownhall, a 17th and 18th Century house. Nicholas Prins is an Irish Architectural Conservation Specialist credited with restoring a number of Irish churches, houses, and buildings. Limited parking; no toilet or catering facilities. Organiser Name: John & Radine Hamilton Contact Address: Brownhall Email: brownhall@eircom.net Telephone: 353 74 9734007
Dublin ? (No public access normally) Free Masons Hall:(20th ? 25th August 11.30 ? 13.00 and 18th ? 26th August 14.30 ? 16.00) (Free) Visitors will be guided through the rooms of this Victorian Hall ? home of the headquarters of Irish Freemasonry since 1869. Organiser Name: Rebecca Hayes Contact Address: 17 Molesworth Street Dublin 2 Email: archive@freemason.ie Telephone: (01) 6761337
Dublin -(No public access normally) Outhouse Tour and Historical Talk: (21st August 15.00 ? 18.00) (Free) Outhouse LGBT Community Resource Centre is based in an eighteenth century house located at the northern end of Capel Street. We are hosting an open house from 3 ? 6 with a talk about the history of the building. Organiser Name: ?ine Beamish Contact Address: 105 Capel St. Dublin 1, Email: aine@outhouse.ie, Telephone: 01 873 4999
Dublin -?(Public access intermittently during year and for Heritage Week) Deepwell House & Garden Tours: (18th ? 26th August 10.00 ? 13.00)? (?7 for house& garden) Occupied continuously since the 1740s, the early cellar vaults of ?Fairy Hill? survive but its private beach became a swamp after the first railway in Ireland was opened in 1834. Permission was granted to Richard S. Guinness in 1842 to fill in that swamp and create a walled garden. Then standing on a 1.2ha site overlooking Dublin Bay with Howth Head on the skyline a new house was built in 1857. It was re-named, reflecting the importance of the spring well which provided water for local homes and for watering horses. The present owners acquired the house in 1942. ?Deepwell is open throughout Heritage Week. A visit to the house to view the art is guided by tour guide. Organiser Name: Breda Conway. Contact Address: Deepwell, Blackrock, Co. Dublin. Email: breda.conway@ireland.com Telephone: 01 2887407
Dublin ? (Public access intermittently during year) Guided Tour Of Tibradden House: (18th ? 24th August & 26th August 14.00 ? 18.00)? (Free) Guided tour of Tibradden House and local history lecture. Tibradden is a handsome square Victorian house of three bays, built on the site of a Georgian farmhouse in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains, overlooking the city and Dublin Bay. The present house was built in 1860 for Thomas Hosea Guinness on land belonging to his wife, Mary Davis, as a wedding present from her father. The design was produced by a Dublin architect, Joseph Maguire, and is his largest and grandest commission. It was constructed by Matthew Gahan, a local builder from nearby Whitechurch. Organiser Name: Selina Guinness Contact Address: Tibradden, Mutton Lane, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16. Email: selina.guinness@iadt.ie Telephone: 083 1009099
Kildare ? (No public access normally) Courtown House, Kilcock: (18th August 14.30 ? 17.00) (Free)Courtown House and Demense is a superb Georgian period residence, which was built c. 1815 by the Aylmer family. Visit by kind invitation of owners. During the 1950s John Heuston and his daughter Angelica who lived there entertained such stars as Maureen O?Hara, Gregory Peck, John Wayne and others. Organiser Name: Pat Given Contact Address: Firmount, Clane, Co. Kildare Email: patkgiven@eircom.net Telephone: 045 868089 (h) 086 243 2359 (m)
Kildare -(Open intermittently during year) Guided Tour of Kildrought House: (18th August 10.30 ? 12.30) (Free) Guided Tour by the owner. Limited number of guests permitted ? so please BOOK IN ADVANCE to secure a place. Kildrought House is a Dublin Merchant?s house from 1719 in the heart of Celbridge. Kildrought House was built by Robert Baillie in 1719 to the design of Kildare architect Thomas Burgh who also designed the Library of Trinity College, Dublin. Organiser Name:Sean Darcy, ?sean.darcy@ie.dsv.com, ?087 2552468
Kildare -(Open intermittently during year) Guided Tour of Killadoon House: (18th August 15.00 ? 16.00) Guided tour by the owner. Limited number of guests permitted ? so please BOOK IN ADVANCE to secure a place. Killadoon House was built circa 1765 and it?s intact decorative scheme dates from the 1820s. From the outside, Killadoon appears a modest Georgian villa of fine proportions with little or-namentation, apart from the fenestration and central tripartite doorway. However, inside Killadoon, there is a sense of grandeur in the noble proportions of the rooms and their detailing. This is typical of Irish country houses of this date: generally plain on the exterior with many windows, just as the Georgian terraces of Dublin display little ornament (apart from their door cases and fanlights). This belies the richness of their interiors with extraordinary rococo and neo-classical plasterwork.Organiser Name: Sean Darcy Email: sean.darcy@ie.dsv.com Telephone: 087 2552468
Kilkenny ? (Open intermittently during the year) Tour of Ballysallagh House and Garden: (18th ? 26th August 9.00 ? 13.00) (?5 adult, ?2.50 OAP / Student / Children)Introduction to the 18th century house in the local landscape. Ballysallagh House, in the hills north of Kilkenny, is a charming example of an unspoiled house of the early Georgian period. The Purcell family, military allies of the Earls of Ormond, held the surrounding lands, which they forfeited under Cromwell but these were subsequently restored to Nicholas Purcell under a lease.Organiser Name: Geralyn White, Contact Address: Ballysallagh House Kilkenny, Email: geralynmwhite@gmail.com Telephone: 086 2322105
Laois ? (No public access normally) Stradbally Hall House Tours: (18th ? 24th August 09.00 ? 13.00) (?10 per person) Built in 1772, the Cosby ancestral home is located on 550 acres of rolling woodland, streams and countryside surrounded by ancient oaks and chestnut trees. Home to international boutique arts and music festival Electric Picnic. Come join us on daily house tours throughout Heritage Week. Organiser Name: Thomas Cosby Contact Address: Stradbally Hall, Stradbally, Co. Laois. Email: thomascosby@eircom.net Telephone: 086 8519272
Limerick ? (No public access normally) Kilpeacon House Open For Heritage Week: (18th ? 23rd August 12.00 ? 16.00) (Free)Detached three-bay two-storey country house, built c. 1810. This elegant villa, built for Edward Cripps Villiers, is attributed to Sir Richard Morrison. Special opening of property to public. Property can be viewed during times listed. Maximum 25 people. Organiser Name: Heather Holloway, Contact Address: Eagle Lodge, O?Connell Avenue, Limerick. Email: heather.holloway@eaglelodge.ie Telephone: 087 7651988
Limerick -(Open intermittently and for Heritage Week) Guided Tour of Ballinvirick House & Gardens: (18th ? 26th August 10.14.00)? (?5)Visit Ballinvirick House and Gardens for a tour of this early Georgian home with examples of many original features. Max 20 people per tour.Ballinvirick is an example of an early Georgian Irish Country House with formal Gardens, situated about halfway between Askeaton & Adare, County Limerick. The house contains several original architectural features and the property stands on 16 acres of parkland, woodland, formal & informal gardens. The house is presently undergoing renovations. Organiser Name:Kate Fleming, Ballinvirick House, Askeaton, Co. Limerick, ?katefleming@ireland.com 087 2559216
Meath ? (No public access normally) Hamwood House and Gardens: (18th ? 26th August 14.00 ? 18.00) (?5 for House; ?5 for Garden ) Hamwood House was built circa 1764 by Charles Hamilton, agent for the Dukes of Leinster, whose family have continuously occupied the property since that date. It was erected as a mid-sized, lime-washed Palladian villa of unusual design. Organiser Name: Anne Hamilton Contact Address: Hamwood, Dunboyne, Co. Meath. Email: Telephone: 01 8255210
Offaly ?- (Open intermittently and /for Heritage Week) Loughton House: (18th ? 26th August 14.00 ? 16.00)? (?5 including refreshment) Guided tour of main rooms of house and flower and vegetable garden including walled garden, water garden and woodland walk. Organiser Name: Dorothy Reilly Contact Address: Loughton, Moneygall, Co. Offaly Email: loughtonreilly@eircom,net Telephone: 050545943
Tipperary ? (Open for heritage week) Clashleigh Open House & Garden: (18th ? 26th August 09.00 -13.00) (?8 per person) Private house and gardens opened especially for Heritage Week. Clashleigh House is a lovely period Georgian home with fine antique furniture and objects throughout. Built in 1810 on the site of an earlier 18th century dwelling, it is a fourteen acre walled estate nestled in a tranquil valley near the lovely Knockmealdown Mountains. Contact Address: Clashleigh House, Clogheen, Co. Tipperary. Email: lizphysio@eircom.net Telephone: 086 8185334
Waterford ? (open intermittently during year and for Heritage Week) Guided Historical Tour Of Dromana House: (18th ? 26th August 14.00 ? 18.00) (?5 House, ?5 Gardens, ?3.50 Concession for both) ?Dromana House is a true gem, perched on a rocky outcrop overlooking the strikingly beautiful, unspoilt river Blackwater. It is surrounded by a 600 acre privately owned estate with numerous woodland and garden walks. Several interesting historic follies are also to be seen throughout the grounds including an ancient outer fortification, boathouse and slipway down to the river. This period property has been lovingly maintained by its owners whose family have lived on this location since 1200, the present owner being the 21st generation. Organiser Name: Barbara Grubb, Contact Address: Dromana House & Gardens, Cappoquin, Co. Waterford. Email: bgrubb@eircom.net; Telephone: 024 96144 or 086 8186305.
Waterford ? (Open intermittently during year and for heritage week) Curraghmore House & Gardens Guided Tours: (19th, 21st & 23rd Augsut 10.00 -16.00) (?5 Shell House & Gardens Tour ?10 House Tour, ?15 House, Shell House & Garden Tour)One of Ireland?s foremost and most intact estates that had been developed over hundreds of years and is unique in being occupied by the Power/Beresford family for 900 years. Tours of the House, Shell House, and Gardens are by appointment: 051 387102). The House and Gardens will not be open to visitors during the walk/run on 22nd August. Organiser Name: John Greene, Contact Address: The Square, Donabate, Co. Dublin. Email: info@curraghmorehouse.ie Telephone: 051 387101 or 051 387134
Westmeath ? (Not normally open to public) Tours of Bracklyn House: (19th August 15.00 ? 16.30) (Free) Former home of the Fetherstonhaugh family. A substantial and delicately detailed neoclassical country house, which retains its early form, character and much of its early fabric. Tour will comprise a walk through the grounds, entry to the house and a talk on the Fetherstonhaugh family history by Michael Murphy. Special thanks to the Murphy Family (present owners) in helping this event take place. Organiser Name: Bernadette Clancy, Contact Address: 3 Lacora Glen Delvin Co. Westmeath, Email: bbclancy@eircom.net, Telephone: 044 9664658
Wexford ? (Open intermittently during year and for Heritage Week) Guided Tours Of Newtownbarry House, Garden Visit & Woodland Walk: (18th ? 24th August 14.00 -18.00) (?6 House & Garden)? Detailed descriptions of historical house and architecture with dates of building, architecture, family history. Newtownbarry House (built 1883 ? 89) is one of the last country houses designed by Charles Lanyon (1813-1889), here assisted by his pupil W.H. Lynn (1829-1915) and his son John (d. 1900). Newtownbarry is almost entirely a new structure, both extraordinarily austere and Italianate at the same time. ?Brief history of local town and dates of garden (when built, when restored) as well as plant species.Organiser Name: Clody & Alice Norton, ?Newtownbarry House, Bunclody (near Enniscorthy), Co. Wexford. 053 9376383 / 087 0569805
The Heritage Council is the statutory body charged with identifying, protecting, preserving and enhancing Ireland?s national heritage. National heritage includes Monuments, Archaeological objects, Heritage objects, Architectural heritage, Flora, Fauna, Wildlife habitats, Landscapes, Seascapes, Wrecks, Geology, Heritage gardens and parks, and Inland waterways.
Established under the Heritage Act 1995, and operating under the aegis of the Department of Arts, Heritage & Gaeltacht, the Heritage Council provides advice to the Minister, and partners and networks with Local Authorities and a wide range of other organisations and individuals to promote Ireland?s heritage.
National Heritage Week is co-ordinated in Ireland by the Heritage Council in conjunction with the Department of the Department of Arts, Heritage & Gaeltacht,and is part of European Heritage Days, which is celebrated in over 49 countries across Europe.
