OPW bans tour guides from wearing green or orange at site of the Battle of the Boyne
The location is of particular significance to unionists, as William's victory in 1690 established Protestant dominance in Ireland, and is commemorated by the Orange Order with a series of marches on July 12 each year.
The rule prohibiting guides from wearing green or orange at the Battle of the Boyne visitor centre is not contained in the official OPW Guide Handbook, which is supplied to guides and information officers at heritage sites.
Instead, the directive is being communicated directly to new guides by a supervisor at the visitor centre after they have been hired, according to emails released under freedom of information laws.
The instruction, which is believed to be aimed at respecting the sensitivities of both unionist and nationalist visitors, is not the only unusual dress code directive issued by the OPW to its guides.
A section of the handbook dealing with clothing and uniform requirements specifies that 'nudity is prohibited at all sites'. Asked why it was considered necessary to include this in its dress code for new tour guides, the OPW declined to comment.
The Battle of the Boyne visitor centre was developed following the allocation of €15 million of government funding in 2005. Last year, a further €10 million was provided for the centre under the Shared Island initiative.
The site was famously chosen as the venue for Ian Paisley's (left) first official meeting as Stormont first minister with Bertie Ahern (right) in 2007 where he presented the DUP leader with a musket used in the battle. File picture: Collins
The site was famously chosen as the venue for Ian Paisley's first official meeting as Stormont first minister with Bertie Ahern in 2007. The then-Taoiseach presented the DUP leader with a musket used in the Battle of the Boyne.
An email titled 'Welcome aboard' sent by a supervisor to a newly hired seasonal guide last year contained details of the dress code for staff at the visitor centre.
It prohibits items including army jackets and clothes that feature 'slogans, badges or emblems'. The email stated that 'green and orange are not permitted on site'.
The OPW provides an annual allowance for guides where colour-coded clothing is mandated by local management. This is payable at a rate of €210 for permanent guides, and €100 for seasonal workers.
The OPW declined to comment when asked about the prohibition of green and orange clothing at the Battle of the Boyne site.
Read More
Loyalist bonfire on site with asbestos lit despite warnings
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
14 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Death toll rises after attack on church in east Congo church
The death toll from an attack on a Catholic church in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo by Islamic State-backed rebels has risen to 34, officials said. The incident took place in the place of worship in Komanda, Ituri province. Dieudonne Duranthabo, a civil society coordinator, said: 'The bodies of the victims are still at the scene of the tragedy, and volunteers are preparing how to bury them in a mass grave that we are preparing in a compound of the Catholic church.' At least five other people were killed in an earlier attack on the nearby village of Machongani, where a search is ongoing. 'They took several people into the bush; we do not know their destination or their number,' Lossa Dhekana, a civil society leader in Ituri, told reporters. Both attacks are believed to have been carried out by members of the Allied Democratic Force (ADF) armed with guns and machetes. The military has confirmed at least 10 fatalities, while local media reports put the total death toll at more than 40. Mr Duranthabo said attackers stormed the church in Komanda town at around 1am. Several houses and shops were also burnt. Lt Jules Ngongo, a Congolese army spokesperson in Ituri province, confirmed 10 were killed in the church attack. Video footage from the scene shared online appeared to show burning structures and bodies on the floor of the church. Those who were able to identify some of the victims wailed while others stood in shock. A UN-backed radio station said 43 people were killed, citing security sources. It said the attackers came from a stronghold around seven miles from the centre of Komanda and fled before security forces could arrive. Mr Duranthabo condemned the attack 'in a town where all the security officials are present'. He added: 'We demand military intervention as soon as possible, since we are told the enemy is still near our town.' Eastern Congo has suffered deadly attacks in recent years by armed groups, including the ADF and Rwanda-backed rebels. The ADF, which has ties to the so-called Islamic State, operates in the borderland between Uganda and Congo and often targets civilians. The group killed dozens of people in Ituri earlier this month in what a United Nations spokesperson described as a bloodbath. The ADF was formed by disparate small groups in Uganda in the late 1990s following alleged discontent with President Yoweri Museveni. In 2002, following military assaults by Ugandan forces, the group moved its activities to neighbouring Congo and has since been responsible for the killings of thousands of civilians. In 2019, it pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC), which has long struggled against the rebel group, has been facing attacks since the renewed hostilities between the Rwanda-backed M23.
Extra.ie
a day ago
- Extra.ie
The bizarre reason why restoration of Rathfarnham Castle has taken 30yrs
Restoration works at one of the country's oldest examples of Elizabethan-era grandeur will take another two years at least – because the weather hasn't been right. In a statement read into the Dáil record, the Office of Public Works (OPW) said it anticipates that it will now complete the restoration of the facade of Dublin's Rathfarnham Castle in 2027. The OPW had been under fire recently for its costly and delayed projects including at the Workplace Relations Commission in Ballsbridge, Dublin, which resulted in a 70 metre stretch of low wall outside the building costing €490,000 to complete. The beleaguered agency, which also oversaw the building of the now infamous €336,000 Dáil bike shed, has been engaged in a restoration project at Rathfarnham Castle for three decades. This month the OPW admitted that the promised completion of render to the front of Rathfarnham Castle which had been promised by this summer, will now take at least another two years. Rathfarnham Castle. Pic: Sean Dwyer The issue was raised by the Fianna Fáil TD John Lahart who asked OPW Minister Kevin 'Boxer' Moran why, having been told in 2024 that the job of restoring the frontage of the castle would be finished in 2025, the OPW was now saying the job wouldn't be completed until 2027. The minister replied the exterior of the castle is showing signs of wear and tear and needs to be finished with a substance called lime harling, to be restored to its former glory. However, Mr Moran said he had been advised by the OPW that the 'problem with lime harling is that there is a short seasonal window, along with weather conditions, in which the lime harling finish can be applied and these works are not expected to take place until 2027'. Mr Lahart asked why 2027 was the new date, given that in 2024 he had been told 'a weather window would be required to carry out the works and the works would be carried out in 2025'. The beleaguered agency, which also oversaw the building of the now infamous €336,000 Dáil bike shed, has been engaged in a restoration project at Rathfarnham Castle for three decades. He said: 'The warm weather window has well and truly been with us for the past four or five months. Now, the Minister of State is saying the works will be carried out in 2027. What has changed?' In reply the minister said: 'To be honest, I can't say.' Mr Moran noted that funds have been allocated to undertake this project, with a senior architect assigned to oversee the design and completion. The minister also assured the Fianna Fáil TD that he would not let the matter rest, saying 'I will pursue it because I fell in love with the castle when I went there. It is a fabulous facility.' Rathfarnham Castle was built in 1583 and has been owned by Archbishop Adam Loftus, the founder of Trinity College, 18th century politician Speaker Conolly, and the Jesuit Order. The castle is one of Elizabethan houses. It was declared a national monument and purchased by the State from the Jesuits in 1987. Responding to this latest delay, Mr Lahart told this week: 'The OPW appear to exist in a different time zone to the ordinary citizen, where one year in citizen time is three years in OPW time. Fianna Fáil TD John Lahart. Pic: RTÉ One 'The castle is a critical social and cultural asset and yet the driest summer on record does not apparently provide them with the three decades-long job. Apparently, even climate change cannot speed up the OPW.' Elsewhere, the OPW is also embroiled in a row with locals in Co. Kildare over Castletown House. Last year, it proposed a new entrance and car park to the popular estate near the village of Celbridge but locals objected. In response, some locals have been maintaining a protest at the entrance to the Castletown estate for 11 months. The site has been open to the public for the past three decades but over the past year the row has bitterly divided the Co. Kildare town.
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Irish Independent
Anti-vaccine campaigner Dolores Cahill urged to sell her castle to community
Ms Cahill, an anti-vaccine campaigner during the pandemic, bought White's Castle by the River Barrow for €450,000 in 2019 when she was chairperson of the Irish Freedom Party. She had planned to turn the 16th-century castle into a centre for political talks and events. However, she resigned from the party days after hosting a St Patrick's week gathering at the castle for an estimated 75 guests in March 2021 at the height of the Covid lockdown. A garda investigation led to several people being fined for 'non-essential travel'. The tower house needs repairs, with cracks found in the walls and the roof and battlements in need of immediate attention, local councillors have been told. Historian and former councillor Frank Taffe held 'preliminary discussions' with Ms Cahill late last year with a view to her selling the property. 'I made it very clear that it should be in public ownership, either the OPW, Clare County Council or the civic trust,' he said. 'We had agreed that we would have further discussions. 'She was prepared to discuss it, but there was no decision made. There was no indication that she would be able to transfer it or sell it.' Mark Leigh, a Labour Party councillor who helped found the Athy Civic Trust, said the organisation is working towards buying back the castle. 'It would be the wish of the people of Athy, of all the historical societies, and all the community groups that the castle comes back into the ownership of the people of Athy,' he said. Ms Cahill claimed children who wore face masks would have a lower IQ because of a lack of oxygen Land registry documents list Ms Cahill and John O'Brien as the registered owners since January 2020. Before that, it was sold for €1.3m in 2005 and went on sale in 2012 for €195,000. Ms Cahill was a professor at the UCD School of Medicine and chair of the Freedom Party when she began advocating against the government's strict public health guidelines on mask-wearing and social gatherings during the pandemic. She left her role as professor of translational science at the university in 2021 after students protested about her pronouncements on the Covid-19 virus. Ms Cahill claimed children who wore face masks would have a lower IQ because of a lack of oxygen and was fined for holding an anti-lockdown protest in London in 'flagrant breach' of restrictions. She is suing UCD and the university's governing board in the High Court. In a separate case, she issued legal proceedings this month against the Protected Disclosures Commissioner, the Health Products Regulatory Authority and the State. She was recently associated with the Irish Republican Brotherhood, which has listed her online as 'chief justice of the Sovereign Republic of Eire'. She is billed as co-host of the Weekend Truth Festival in Cumbria next month. The event will cover topics such as the campaign against 5G technology and the legal system.
