Subj: [EMI] Fw: "Crunch" time Date: 03/07/2001 2:16:40 PM Eastern Standard Time From:    maqqi@indigo.ie (Stiof) Reply-to: <A HREF="mailto:Early-Medieval-Ireland@yahoogroups.com">Early-Medieval-Ireland@yahoogroups.com</A> To:    Irish-Archaeology@yahoogroups.com (IrArch), Early-Medieval-Ireland@yahoogroups.com (EMI), Iron-Age-Ireland@yahoogroups.com (IAI) Folks, I've received several mails off-list from people planning to travel to Ireland during the next four months or so, asking for advice on whether they should cancel or not. I hope all those involved will forgive me for not responding directly, but its clear that this is an issue that affects quite a number of people, so... The current situation is that there is no foot & mouth disease in the Republic of Ireland, and as every day passes the liklihood of an outbreak lessens. Nonetheless, the various government departments with responsibility for areas affected or potentially affected by this problem have set out a series of guidelines, advices and rules in order to ensure that the risk is kept to a minimum. Foremost of these is the decision to keep ALL Dúchas-run sites (ie almost all archaeological and historic sites and areas of environmental interest such as the Millenium Forest plantations etc.) closed for at least 30 days after the last identification of a case of foot & mouth in Britain or Northern Ireland. The same principle is being applied to other safeguards such as border checks, disinfection mat use etc. To put this into perspective, let's say that the last case in Britain is identified today, March 7th. All Dúchas sites will remain closed at least until April 7th. If this scenario comes about, all visitors looking to access sites during May or June will almost certainly be allowed in, ie for the most part people will not travel to Ireland fruitlessly. That, though, is speculation, and at the end of the day its a gamble you will need to make your own call on. I cannot advise anyone either way, only point out where the issues lie. If cases continue to appear sporadically over the next six weeks in Britain, it may be that sites will not become open to the public until early June, or perhaps later depending on how the state authorities decide to play it. It might be also worth bearing in mind that almost all farmers and other landowners are extremely reluctant to contemplate allowing people access to their land at present to visit sites or walk the countryside. Many that I know are even asking postal deliveries to be handed over the farm gate rather than allowing the postal van onto their property. People are being extremely vigilant, with most businesses and shops having their own disinfectant mats at the door, most sporting and social events being postponed or cancelled, and even social visits being put off between friends. There is a great determination to keep the Republic of Ireland FMD-free. It would not surprise me to find that, even several months after the all-clear is given, landowners are still reluctant to allow access to their land to people they don't know. In other words, if you *will* visit and seek access to sites, check in advance for permission if at all possible, both for access to state-run and privately owned sites. Whatever else, I would urge anyone visiting or travelling across Ireland, north or south of the border, to respect the concerns of the people of Ireland. Thanks for your attention. MAQQI To join related Irish Archaeology & History Suite lists, mail: Iron Age: iron-age-ireland-subscribe@yahoogroups.com 1000-1700AD: late-gaelic-ireland-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Settlement: irish-settlement-studies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Archaeology: irish-archaeology-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Unless otherwise stated, copyright resides with the author. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Vicki Vicki McGlaun Culpepper McGlaughon Mail List Owner Proud Rootsweb Sponsor McGlaughon MyFamily.com site McGlauhon/McGlohon/Glohon/McGlohan/McGlaughon/MeGlaehan/McGlawn/McGlawhorn/McG laun/McGlaughn/McGlaune/McGlon/McLawhorn/