Refurbished Bettystown House offers a glimpse into centuries of Irish history
Dating back to circa 1630, Bettystown House, originally known as Betaghstown House, was built by the prominent Betagh family, from whom the area takes its name. Over the centuries, the estate underwent several major renovations, including significant works around 1780 and again in the mid-19th century, resulting in the distinctive Georgian-Victorian structure seen today.
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RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
'Acoustic trauma' could have caused Mayo whale beaching
A True's beaked whale and her calf who became stranded and died in Co Mayo could have beached due to "acoustic trauma", according to the CEO of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group. Acoustic trauma can cause great harm to whales due to loud man-made sounds in the ocean, particularly when naval exercises make use of active sonar. Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Dr Simon Berrow, who is also a lecturer at Atlantic Technical University Galway, said the stranding in Kilcummin Back Strand on 27 July happened around the same time as similar incidents in the Netherlands and Orkney in Scotland. "When you put them all together, it could just be a coincidence, or it could indicate that something has happened. "Typically, when these deep-diving species live-strand, your first thought is it could be acoustic trauma," Dr Berrow said. He added: "These species are deep divers. They'll go down to 1,000 or 2,000 metres on every dive so they're designed to dive deep routinely. "And often they're getting washed up with signs of the bends, which is an incredibly unusual thing, so it tends to be attributed to acoustic trauma when the animal has surfaced too fast. "This is generally associated with typically naval exercises because the navy - not the Irish navy – would use a thing called an 'active sonar' which is the same frequency as the whales use to communicate and they're incredibly sensitive to these frequencies. "We're not saying that's the case but when you've an unusual event over a wide geographical range you kind of flag and think 'what's going on? Is this just a coincidence or a little bit indicative of something sinister going on'," Dr Berrow said. According to Dr Berrow, the stranding of the two True's beaked whales was only the second confirmed sighting in Irish waters ever, and the 20th stranding of that species in total since 1899. He said nothing at all could have been done to save the whales after they became stranded. "The logistics of refloating these whales are quite challenging, you need people, you need people who are trained, it can be quite dangerous." Dr Berrow added that while the calf refloated on its own, it was found dead a few days later. "It probably died fairly quickly and that's probably a good thing because with the adult mother dying the calf would have starved to death," he said. An investigation is under way to determine what happened to the whales. However, Dr Berrow is unsure whether it will get to the bottom of what happened due to the complexity of conducting the post-mortem and a lack of expertise in Ireland.
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Signpost: A guide to successful re-seeding
The main advantage of re-seeding grassland is that it increases both the quantity and quality of grass grown. Estimates vary, but new re-seeds should grow in the region of 20-40% more grass and importantly, a lot of this extra growth will occur in the spring and autumn. Increased animal performance, improved responsiveness to nitrogen and a great opportunity to establish clover are all additional benefits of reseeding. However, at roughly €400/acre it represents a significant investment, while also been without the field for between 5-8 weeks. Thus, the importance of a successful re-seed is vital. Drainage Before spending money on re-seeding any drainage issues must be addressed first. Drains should be cleaned and if shores are required, they should be installed. Ploughing can help with drainage and levelling badly damaged fields, but be aware that the 'good soil' with the high fertility is being buried and this may take some years to be built back up again. Grass varieties Use the Pasture Profit Index, PPI, to select suitable grass/clover varieties. These varieties have been tested under Irish conditions for important traits to Irish farmers, like spring/ autumn growth, herbage quality & grazing utilisation. In short, if the variety is not on the PPI list, it should not be used. Take some time to select varieties that are best suited to what you want the new sward to do, grazing, silage or a mix. Timing In general, the rule is, the earlier in the growing season re-seeding is done the better. The reason for this is that post-seeding management, grazing off the sward and post-spraying, can be difficult once we get into later into the year. Also, successful clover establishment is a lot easier with April or May re-seeding. Spraying A young grass/clover plant is not very strong and will struggle badly with competition from weeds. Thus, it is essential to spray off the old sward. Any of the glyphosate products are effective, but rates need to be carefully checked as they can differ a lot. Most of the products need 7+ days to fully absorb the chemical. After the plant is dead the sward can be cut for silage or grazed. Fertility Ensuring adequate Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K) and Lime is essential for successful re-seeding. The most accurate way to judge a soil's requirement for these is to do a soil test, but this can take three weeks to get results back, so plan in advance. If the soil is not being ploughed and a min-till method is been used, i.e. discing or power harrowing, lime will need to be applied, 2t/ac, to counteract the acid that will be produced as the old sward decays. As a general rule of thumb, three bags of 10:10:20 per acre are required for re-seeding but this will depend on the soil test results and if a farm is allowed to buy in Phosphorus. FYM or slurry can both be used to reduce or replace bag fertiliser. Fine and firm seedbed There is sometimes a lot of debate about ploughing or using min-till. The decision will depend on a number of factors including cost, stoniness of ground, equipment available etc. All the methods can give excellent results, but the basic requirement does not change, which is a fine firm seedbed. After sowing, the field should be rolled to ensure good soil-to-seed contact and preserve the moisture in the soil. If clover is important make sure this is on the surface. Post spraying Thistles, nettles, red shank and docks commonly emerge after sowing. These should be sprayed, preferably with a clover-safe spray, five to six weeks after sowing, or when grass is at the two to three leaf stage. Pests like fruit fly and leather jackets can attack re-seeds and should be sprayed early if present. These tend to be more of a problem when there is a lot of trash left on the surface. Clover In more recent years, clover has become an increasingly important way to help agriculture to meet its environmental obligations. By supplying N to the sward that otherwise would be supplied by artificial N. Also, clover improves the mid-season digestibility of the sward, this helps to improve animal performance. If clover is to be targeted to be active in the new sward, particular care must be taken with post-emergence spray, soil fertility has to be high, and the sward has to be well grazed frequently with a low pre-grazing cover (less than 1,000kg/ha). Post-reseed grazing As a guide, graze the re-seed once the plants do not pull out of the ground. If weather allows, swards should be grazed by cows, as they will graze it off very quickly. However, if conditions are poor calves or sheep can be used, but try to get the field grazed as quickly as possible. It is very important that autumn reseeds are grazed before the first winter, to help ensure clover survival and avoid a very heavy cover the following spring. Re-seeding is an expensive investment, but in general, offers an excellent return on investment. However, for the investment to succeed attention to the above detail is vital, thus giving the young delicate grass/clover plant every chance to establish.
RTÉ News
4 hours ago
- RTÉ News
National Museum of Ireland refurbishment a 'huge amount' of work
The Keeper of Natural History at the National Museum of Ireland, Paolo Viscardi, has said the refurbishment of the museum's site in Dublin city centre will be slow going. The museum has been closed since September of last year in order to facilitate major refurbishment works. The Natural History Museum was built in 1856 and is often referred to as a 'museum in a museum'. Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Viscardi said they have not got the building's plans as they may have been destroyed in the Customs House fire in during the War of Independence. The building, situated on Merrion Street, is almost 170 years old and needs "a huge amount" of work to make it fit for purpose into the future. "There's a huge amount that has to be done because it's never had any kind of major refurbishment before," Mr Viscardi said. He added: "It's a big job, doing the planning and understanding what we can do and what needs to be done, what the building requires because we don't know enough about it because we just don't have the information. "We're just about to undertake investigative works in the space so that'll be starting next week. "At the moment, it's not a great space for a museum. It's a wonderful, beautiful building, we love it, and historically it has huge, huge significance and we don't want to lose that," he said. While the Dead Zoo is undergoing the refurbishment, the Natural History Museum will be opening a 'Dead Zoo Lab' at the National Museum, at Collins Barracks. Mr Viscardi said the museum will be "experimenting" with its exhibits to see what appeals to visitors before the move back to Merrion Street. "We tried to get a good selection of the really popular objects from Merrion Street," he said. "So we have things like Spoticus the giraffe, we've got out giant Irish deer and we've even been able to get out some specimens that haven't been on display for quite some time."
