Irelandclick Comment: Dulra
Mountain opening unearths some hidden treasures
Two ancient dwellings have been found on the new Divis Mountain nature reserve.
Workers discovered the small forts while clearing the hillside after it was bought from the Ministry of Defence.
The homes date from the Bronze Age around 2,000 years before Christ. Divis warden Dermott McCann said they will now be included in the organised walks across the mountains.
The forts were found by workers who cleared 1,500 tons of rubbish from the mountain, including more than 1,000 dumped tyres.
Dermott said, “Our archaeologist was delighted by the finds and discovered that they were in fact unique to Ireland because they have an inner chamber.
“They’re just a series of small stone walls but you can imagine what they were once like and the incredible views these ancient, pre-Celtic people enjoyed.”
Hundreds of people attended the official opening of the mountain this week, although there were no volunteers for the mountain’s Black Walk.
There are four organised walks in total and each are colour-coded. The shortest can be completed in just over an hour – but the biggest – The Black one – takes all of eight hours, so you’ll need to pack some sandwiches.
It goes around the circumference of the 1,500 acre reserve and Dúlra has put it on his to-do list, although it will take some time before he can build up the courage.
Divis Nature Reserve is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. There’s no cost – it’s just a matter of arriving and walking. Although Dulra would recommend doing it soon – winter on Divis Mountain starts in September and lasts 10 months!
New life
Ever see birds playing? Dulra hadn’t until this week when the baby blue tits left their nest in the garden wall.
Around 10 of them packed into a broom bush and set about chattering to each other, swinging on the branches and flapping their wings with abandon.
They hadn’t a care in the world and were like a group of kids on their first day of nursery school. Their constant chattering even sounded like laughter.
Dulra went out to get a closer look and they didn’t budge. He could have picked them up in his hand.
The parents haven’t got round to teaching them about the dangers of life. But it won’t take long. One deadly swoop by a sparrowhawk or a cat’s sharp claws will rob them of their childhood innocence.
All the time, the parents buzzed back and forth, trying to feed all 10 hungry gobs. They’ll do this for a day or two, then it’s time for the young blue tits to find their own way.
Two days of childhood, having fun with their brothers and sisters in the broom bush, is all they’ll get.
Tough old life isn’t it?
A word of remembrance
The prayers of hill walkers are for the family of John Hannon, the Tornaroy farmer who died this week, on the very day that Divis was given back to the people.
John was a familiar figure and he and his family farmed on the mountain for generations.
He will be sadly missed.
