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Céide Fields Visitor
Centre - Ballycastle,
County Mayo, Ireland
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The Céide
Fields in North Mayo will certainly give you a unique experience.
For this is not just another archaeological monument or visitor
centre. Here you can indulge yourself in a vast prehistoric
landscape, a natural wild ecology of blanket bog, dramatic cliffs
and coastline, and a much acclaimed building, which has received
Ireland's most prestigious architectural award.
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The Céide
Fields are the oldest known field systems in the world, over
five and a half millenia old. It is a unique Neolithic landscape
of world importance, which has changed our perception of our
Stone Age ancestors. The remains of stone field walls, houses
and megalithic tombs are preserved beneath a blanket of peat
over several square miles. They tell a story of the everyday
lives of a farming people, their organized society, their highly
developed spiritual beliefs, and their struggle against a changing
environment beyond their control.
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Visit
the multi-award winning Centre, which has exhibitions, audio-visual
show and tearooms and take a guided tour with our professional
guides and discover a buried wall for yourself using a centuries
old method of probing. Experience the unique ecology of the bogland,
with it's colourful mosses, sedges, lichens, heathers, flowers
and insect-eating sundews while listening to the larks.
The Céide Fields Visitor Centre is run by Dúchas The Heritage
Service and it houses displays and exhibitions in English and
Irish. (Script of exhibition available in Dutch, French, German,
Italian and Spanish). Access for visitors with disabilities to
ground floor of centre and to tearooms. Special parking may be
arranged by prior arrangement. As much of the tour is outdoors,
visitors are advised to wear weather protective clothing and shoes
suitable for walking over uneven terrain.
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