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Deirdre O' Mahony
Cross Land
Carron, Co. Clare
Beginnings
The Cross Land takes the form of a coppiced ‘X’ or cross, each arm 60 metres long and 1.5m wide, cut through an area of dense hazel scrub near Carron in the Burren Region in North Clare. This is an area of great ecological importance - a limestone Karst region whose remarkable botanical diversity and richness is an important consequence of traditional local farming methods. The Cross Land intervention was intended to encourage dialogue concerning some of the complex issues, which affect and regulate land use in the area.
The biggest recent change in the Burren has been the encroachment of hazel scrub over a greater area of the rock pavement and marginal lands. Locals, who have watched the scrub increase year by year, acknowledge that it has now become a serious problem. The spread of the scrub is problematic, as there is a real danger that it will overwhelm many important archaeological sites and colonise the unique rare plant habitats for which the Burren is renowned.
The original idea behind The Cross Land project was to use the X cut in the landscape to draw attention to the decrease in the numbers of the feral goats on the Burren, and the role they play in grazing the scrub. During the research for this project it became evident that the issue was far more complex than first suggested in the initial proposal and necessitating changes to the project.
The goats have been a marked presence here in the Burren for many years and large herds could be seen roaming the region. In the past five years, however, many have been culled and numbers have decreased dramatically. Some farmers complained that they knocked down stone field walls and destroyed pasture. With the implementation of the Rural Environmental Protection Scheme (REPs) and the obligations it places on farmers to preserve their lands including the dry-stone walls, the goats were a threat to subsidies. Many farmers believe that cross breeding between the feral goats and domestic goats has been responsible for recent changes in the grazing and behavioural patterns of the herds. Their absence today signifies the divide between uncontrolled nature and an increasingly regulated farming culture.
The demise of the great Burren feral goat herds and the beginning of the spread of the hazel seemed to correspond. But was this too simplistic a case of cause and effect? The goats have long been a source of local dispute; how ‘native’ are they? Do they actually play a role in controlling the spread of the hazel scrub? The marginal land where the ‘X’ was to be cut exemplified the problem of the hazel spread. The farmer said that the previous owner called it "cross land", hard to work, hard to access and hard for the animals - he would put cattle on it to graze and they would come off it skinnier than they went in. The ‘X’ became an image able to raise as many questions; suggest as many meanings as there were people to look at it.
Development
Research by Dr Brendan Dunford and the BurrenLIFE project into changing farming practices in the Burren suggests that several factors are affecting the spread of the scrub in the region. REPs has proven very popular in the Burren, with membership rates of up to 50% being recorded in the first scheme. This scheme is designed to support more ecologically sustainable practices, such as heritage farming, as part of a strategy to maintain and sustain regional diversity and local ecology. However the farming of inaccessible marginal lands has become very difficult with increasingly complex regulations by different agencies affecting planning and land use. Limited available labour, poor market returns and the use of different breeds and feeding systems compound the problem. Access for tractors to clear marginal land of the scrub is very difficult without permission for tracks and clearing by hand is extremely labour intensive. Marginal lands are not being used for grazing and have reverted to scrub. Another significant factor is the effect of climate change on the weather, the recent warm, wet summers providing ideal conditions for hazel growth.
The BurrenLIFE ecologist, Dr Sharon Parr examined the Cross Land site and proposal and in consultation with the Conservation Rangers of the National Parks and Wildlife Service advised on the regulations governing working on the land.. Dr Parr has researched the extent of the spread of the scrub using satellite mapping and it was originally hoped to document the project using the same technique but this was too expensive. The site used was not overlooked by an accessible vantage point and had to be documented from the air. A flyover to document the project by helicopter was ecologically and economically unsustainable. A simple alternative was Kite Aerial Photography (KAP) and eventually and using a kite, a small, light camera and cradle with an infra red trigger and several months of testing and waiting for the right weather, the image was produced. The carbon footprint is zero with the added bonus of being able to fly the kite over the site over time, documenting new growth and change.
A selected herd of feral goats will soon be given a fenced location in the Burren where they will be contained in an extensive area of mixed habitat and their role in grazing the scrub examined. The goats chosen will be those most evidently exhibiting the physical characteristics of the feral goat. It is now becoming clear that the days of the wild goats roaming unfettered in the Burren are nearing the end unless their role in holding back the spread of the scrub can be proven to bring more positives than negatives to the area.
Regulation
There are a number of agencies involved in regulating the Burren and the land used for the project. Part of the Burren is a designated National Park coming under the remit of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, which enforces the relevant Wildlife acts. Much but not all of the Burren is also a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) established under the European Union Habitats Directive. The Department of Agriculture regulates farming and it oversees the Rural Environmental Protection Scheme (REPS). The archaeological sites in the area are the responsibility of the National Monuments Service. Permission for the construction of buildings comes from the planning office for the local authority, in this case Clare County Council. Having to engage with a number of these agencies in the course of this project was difficult enough. Farmers have to comply with all the regulations while working their land from day to day.
Consultation
The Cross Land office was set up two evenings a week in the month of September 2006, in Cassidy’s pub in Carron. The objective was to put a face to the project and be available to answer questions and to listen to comments, opinions about local issues and get responses to the other Ground Up projects. The experience brought home the complete change that has taken place in rural pubs in recent years- on all but one of the 8 evenings spent in the pub, there was no more than 4 customers and most stayed for one drink and left.
Cassidy’s will be used to launch the project on St John’s Eve, 23rd June 2007. Prior to the launch there will be a ‘gathering’ of those involved with the project. This gathering will include farmers, BurrenLIFE, Ground Up 2 artists, heritage and wildlife representatives and REPs agents and tourism development agencies. There is a level of public anxiety surrounding a new initiative, the ‘Branding of the Burren’ project which is currantly researching the ‘branding’ of the Burren. The meeting is designed to give some of the stakeholders including the regulatory and funding representatives, the opportunity to meet face-to-face and discuss the future for farming in the Burren and ensure that all voices are heard in discussions about the local community. This adds a further layer of meaning and resonance to The Cross Land as a signifier of the intersection of people, place, farming and tourism development.
Propagation:
On completion of the project Dr Brendan Dunford at BurrenLIFE requested permission to use it in the project’s interim report to the EU. In this way The Cross Land will be presented at EU level - visual evidence of how sometimes EU regulation, with the best of intentions, fails to address and protect unique local habitats. The work will be visible as a postcard and poster, limited edition prints of the image will be given to all participants in the project and the documentation of the gathering written up and disseminated on the Shifting Ground website.
The realisation of the CrossLand project has involved an engagement between artist, agency, landowner, scientist, business interests and inhabitants. A small thread of the web of the interdependencies on both a governmental and human level has been grasped. As an artist I have found working on the project challenging and revelatory. My engagement with the Burren on this project has been long and hard, the Burren has repaid my troubles many times over.
The Arts Office of Clare County Council initiated Ground Up to foster a new type of engagement between Public Art and rural contexts. Ground Up 2 had a collaborative research stage called InUnderOverOut between five artists, which led to the development of individual proposals. The artists were Aileen Lambert, John Langan, Maria Kerin, Deirdre O’Mahony, and Vincent Wall. http://www.shiftingground.net/02_projects_about.htm
The Irish Times quoted a report stating the growth of the hazel and blackthorn scrub was increasing by “…almost 5% per year” 26/3/2007. The report, carried out by the Heritage Council in conjunction with BurrenLIFE, called for urgent introduction of a national landscape management plan.
BurrenLIFE: A project is to develop a new model for sustainable agriculture in the Burren in order to conserve the habitats designated under the European Habitats Directive. http://www.burrenlife.com
Brendan McGrath and Associates have been appointed to prepare a signage plan for the Burren and to develop a Burren brand. These are two key components of the Burren Initiative, a Fáilte Ireland Tourism Development Scheme project being carried out by Clare County Council, in partnership with National Parks and Wildlife Service, Burren Beo and Shannon Development. The signage plan will address issues such as rationalising existing practice, delineating the Burren, reducing visual clutter, effective directional signage to visitor attractions and facilities and the standardisation of place names. The branding exercise aims to develop a Burren brand that is distinctive and memorable, that will be supported by the local community and will become an effective marketing tool for local service providers. From press release for Branding the Burren. BurrenBeo Newsletter April 2007.
Artist Biography: Deirdre O’Mahony was born in Limerick and studied at the RTC Galway, St Martins School of Art, (BA) and the Crawford College (MA), Cork. She is currently undertaking an MPhil/PhD by research at the University of Brighton. Selected solo exhibitions include Viscaux, Galway Arts Festival 2006, Wall, Context Gallery Derry and Limerick City Gallery of Art, 2002 and WRAP Galway Arts Center and Fairfield University USA 2001.
She is a Lecturer in Painting at the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology Ireland and GMIT coordinator of the Shifting Ground partnership project with Clare County Council.