Mayo Historical and Archaeological Society
Archaeoastronomy in the West of Ireland
6, Feb 2013 - 20:48

Dr. Malachy Thompson to address Mayo Historical & Archaeological Society on archaeoastronomy - the way our ancient people looked at the sky - and what they saw there.

Dr. Malachy Thompson, a former lecturer in Chemistry at the GMIT. Campus , Galway, will be the guest

Dr, Malachy Thompson, lecturer.

speaker at the next meeting of the Mayo Historical & Archaeological Society in the Michael Davitt Room, GMIT. Campus, Westport Road, Castlebar, on Wednesday, February 20^th at 8 pm. All are welcome.

The title of Dr. Thompson's fascinating lecture is ‘Archaeoastronomy in the West of Ireland.

Although Dr. Thompson's main field of study was chemistry, alongside, he developed a keen interest in archaeoastronomy - a study of how people in the past understood the phenomena in the sky; how they used phenoma in the sky; and what role the sky played in their cultures.

The west of Ireland is particularly rich in sites associated with these cultural groups and with their religious beliefs. Here in Mayo, we have sites at Bohea and Killadangan near Westport. Bohea may represent a Bronze Age Calender, while at Killadangan, the winter-solstice is clearly marked. Dr. Thompson's lecture will give us a greater understanding of our ancient forbears and their way of life, and should provide us with a most interesting and thought provoking lecture.

Dr. Malachy Thompson ran adult night classes in astronomy at the GMIT. Galway, for many years.