Reading the Irish Landscape

Muir, Richard; Mitchell, Frank; Ryan, Michaël

doi:10.2307/3060376

Cited by 19 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…The Neolithic is the benchmark for early human disturbance in the region, to the point of massive deforestation in mid-western Ireland (O'Connell and Molloy 2001). Neolithic clearance is also noted at G.F. Mitchell's (1965) renowned Littleton Bog site in Co. Tipperary, as well as in Co. Derry, Co. Kerry, and Co. Sligo (Mitchell and Ryan 1998). Neolithic woodland clearance, cattle de-barking, climate change, or disease (or a combination thereof) had a particularly detrimental, and regional, effect on elm.…”

Section: Prehistory: Palynological and Archaeological Datamentioning

confidence: 85%

“…The earliest waves of Celtic invaders may have reached Ireland from central Europe as early as ca. 650 BC (Mitchell and Ryan 1998) with subsequent groups arriving up to the time of Christ. The sensitivity of the lowland Celts (referring to the linguistic group that originated around the Danube) to their natural environment is evident from the measure of religious imagery associated with nature.…”

Section: Celtic and Christian Reverencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Legend insinuates that St. Brendan, an Irish saint famous for traveling, was using the Ogham alphabet by the 6 th century A.D. Though Ogham is based on the Roman alphabet and the suspected dates of early Ogham stones found in Ireland coincide with the arrival of Christianity (Mitchell and Ryan 1998), it is still considered the Gaelic alphabet. This alphabet consists of 13 consonants and 5 vowels.…”

Section: Celtic and Christian Reverencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Yew pollen has been found in Ireland's Pleistocene sediments (Dowling et al 1998;Mitchell and Ryan 1998) and early Post Glacial sediments (Fossitt 1994), but it was later in the Holocene, during the onset of warmer conditions and Ireland's Mesolithic Stone Age that yew proliferated, and in general, a climax phase of woodland endured.…”

Section: Prehistory: Palynological and Archaeological Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…4850 BP in Killarney, Co. Kerry. Delahunty (2000) Bronze Age cultures brought a new range of implements, weapons, and structures, such as socketed axes, knives, sickles, and chisels, the ard plough, and hill-top enclosures (Mitchell and Ryan 1998). It is generally accepted that Ireland experienced a rise in arable farming coupled with woodland decline.…”

Section: Prehistory: Palynological and Archaeological Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Ethnobotanical History and Holocene Extent of Yew (Taxus Baccata L.) on the Irish Landscape

Delahunty

2007

Journal of Ethnobiology

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The European yew tree ( Taxus baccata L.) has been utilized by humans for tens of thousands of years. The Irish saw the yew as a symbol of life and death, used the wood for religious implements, symbolized it in their alphabet, formed laws and stringent fines for harming the trees, and integrated its cultural significance into their lyric prose. There is contradiction in forest history literature as to the extent of this tree on the Holocene landscape, but toponymy, the ancient texts and pollen analysis suggest that yew was historically abundant. Pollen data suggest not only that the tree was abundant in Ireland, but also that it increased during a time of regional woodland decline. The tree became relatively rare on the natural landscape within the last 800 years and religious reverence has waned, but a revived interest in Celtic spirituality and movements by Heritage Council Ireland could serve to prevent further decline.

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Section: Prehistory: Palynological and Archaeological Datamentioning

confidence: 85%

Section: Celtic and Christian Reverencementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Celtic and Christian Reverencementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Prehistory: Palynological and Archaeological Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Prehistory: Palynological and Archaeological Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Ethnobotanical History and Holocene Extent of Yew (Taxus Baccata L.) on the Irish Landscape

Delahunty

2007

Journal of Ethnobiology

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Impacts of a mature forestry plantation on blanket peatland runoff regime and water quality

Flynn¹,

Mackin²,

McVeigh³

et al. 2022

Hydrological Processes

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A lack of information concerning the hydrology and hydrogeology of intact blanket bogs limits current understanding of how their alteration to mature forestry plantations impacts stream flow and associated water quality. An integrated hydrological/hydrogeological monitoring programme compared processes operating in a relatively intact blanket peat‐covered catchment with conditions encountered in an adjacent area under closed canopy plantation forestry. Groundwater monitoring revealed contrasting water level regimes and deeper summer water tables in the afforested area, with forest groundwater also having more elevated specific electrical conductance (SEC) and containing higher concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Near‐simultaneous pairwise runoff sampling at the relatively intact catchment and afforested catchment outlets demonstrated no significant difference in DOC concentration. Conversely, water samples from the afforested catchment outlet displayed significantly greater SEC; this arose in part because of higher concentrations of dissolved calcium and magnesium, discharging via artificial drainage. Comparison of base flow runoff SEC with peat groundwater samples reflected in significant contrasts in ionic signature and greater levels of mineralisation in surface water, pointing to contributions of deeper water, derived from inorganic substrate materials. Study findings indicate that disturbance to the ground in that part of the catchment under plantation forestry has led to greater variations in stream flow and water quality for aquatic ecosystems. Comparable conditions have been observed instreams flowing through plantation forestry in similar physical settings elsewhere. Study findings suggest that plantations on deep peat can adversely affect stream ecosystems and this may impact on a water body's legal status.

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Vegetation history of mid- to western Ireland in the 2nd millennium a.d.; fresh evidence from tephra-dated palynological investigations

Hall

2003

Vegetation History and Archaeobotany

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Reading the Irish Landscape

Cited by 19 publications

References 0 publications

The Ethnobotanical History and Holocene Extent of Yew (Taxus Baccata L.) on the Irish Landscape

The Ethnobotanical History and Holocene Extent of Yew (Taxus Baccata L.) on the Irish Landscape

Impacts of a mature forestry plantation on blanket peatland runoff regime and water quality

Vegetation history of mid- to western Ireland in the 2nd millennium a.d.; fresh evidence from tephra-dated palynological investigations

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