Common Knowledge

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We empower people to create sustainable, affordable and happy homes. https://linktr.ee/ourcommonknowledge
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20/10/2026

We’re delighted to invite you to The Bog Sauna at Common Knowledge this Saturday evening, 24th October.

Experience the wider and wilder side of the Common Knowledge grounds by immersing yourself in The Bog Sauna. A restorative space for relaxation, community awakening and nature connection. Allowing for both quiet reflection and shared moments of warmth. Set in a secluded bogland location on site, the sauna is clad using storm-fallen steel roofing that would otherwise have been disposed of.

Book through our website or at the link in our bio

19/10/2026

We are so excited to welcome Sinéad Grimes to our panel on ‘Communities taking action on Peatland Restoration’, hosted by Anja Murray at Peatlands in Practice Festival this weekend.

Sinéad Grimes is Project Manager of the Dúlra Project at FORUM Connemara CLG. She works with a local team, farmers and landowners on invasive species control and peatland restoration across Connemara and South Mayo. Her background includes project management, rural development and managing agricultural European Innovation Partnership projects. Through Dúlra, her focus is on building local skills and employment, and supporting communities to take an active role in caring for their landscapes.

Peatlands in Practice is a two-day gathering at the Common Knowledge Centre on Sat 24th and Sun 25th October, for people taking action on peatland restoration.

All tickets are now sold out. Sign up to our waiting list at the link in bio or by visiting our website.

Peatlands in Practice is funded by National Parks and Wildlife Service Ireland and The Heritage Council

16/10/2026

Introducing our Peatlands in Practice Festival Workshop Hosts 📣

Participants can choose from two workshops or a tour of the land for Sunday morning of the programme.

10am - 1pm: Peatlands Re-wetting - Timber Dam Building with Féidhlim Harty:
Féidhlim Harty is an environmental consultant and writer. His company, FH Wetland Systems, offers designs and guidance on waterway repair and rewilding; facilitation on local catchment protection and enhancement; training and workshops. He is an advocate for beaver reintroductions into Ireland and passionate about learning from nature so that until such time as we have implemented full ecosystem repair we can work fulfill the role of missing species using careful land management practices and techniques.

10am - 1pm: Peatlands in Action: Get to know your bog! With Lydia Furey:
Lydia Furey is a general ecologist, most recently working with Wetlands Surveys Ireland where they have been surveying wetland habitats of fen, marsh, transition mire and bogland. They have a background in environmental consultancy with contributions made to projects spanning all over Ireland including that of woodland monitoring, wintering and breeding bird surveys, invasive species management, grassland studies, aquatic surveys, bat surveys, habitat mapping and classification. They are a lover of all things outdoors and strongly believe in equipping people with the tools and enthusiasm to recognise the beauty and importance of our peatlands.

11am - 1pm: Peatlands and Heritage Tour with the Common Knowledge Team:
Discover the diverse flora and fauna that thrive here and learn about our ongoing conservation efforts. Join us for a talk on the traditional heritage methods we use onsite. Learn about our peatlands restoration plans, history of the site and sustainable practices that help preserve our heritage.

Sign up to our waiting list at the link in our bio or by visiting our website.

Peatlands in Practice is funded by National Parks and Wildlife Service Ireland and The Heritage Council

15/10/2026

An update from , our restoration lead, about some exciting new progress in our peatland restoration project! 💦🌱

13/10/2026

New Winterage Walk Added at Common Knowledge, Kilfenora - Thursday 22nd October at 2pm 💚

Winterage celebrates the Burren's farming traditions and the close relationship between people, farming, and landscape that has shaped the region for thousands of years. Join us for a walk in at the Common Knowledge Centre in Kilfenora to look at that relationship and at how traditional knowledge can support nature and biodiversity today Common Knowledge

This is a free event for anyone attending a Winterage Cattle Drive on the October Bank Holiday Weekend. Booking is essential and spaces are limited. Thanks to the the team at Common Knowledge, we can't wait to visit!

Visit burrenwinterage.com/programme for tickets and all event information for Burren Winterage Weekend

Winterage Weekend is coordinated by , with support this year from Acres Burren Aran, FBD Insurance, The Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark, Visit the Burren, and National Parks and Wildlife Service

12/10/2026

Barry O’Loughlin, Helen Flanagan (Friends of Ardee Bog) and Laurence Fullham (Community Wetlands Forum) will be joining us for a panel hosted by Anja Murray on ‘Communities Taking Action on Peatland Restoration’ at Peatlands in Practice Festival on 24th and 25th October.

Barry O’Loughlin is Biodiversity Officer with Clare County Council, where he leads the integration of biodiversity policy and best practice into local planning and cross‑departmental operations. He collaborates with communities, landowners, and public bodies to advance habitat protection and restoration. He has project led the only two community peatland rewetting projects implemented in Clare to date, Knocknahila Bog Peatland Rewetting Project and the award winning Shanakyle Bog Restoration Project; and has led the rehabilitation of cutaway peatland sites in the midlands region.

Friends of Ardee Bog is a community group made up of farmers, Archeologists, retired people, ecologists and artists, all interested in protecting and promoting Ardee Bog, Ireland’s most Easterly Raised Bog, in County Louth. Their work includes peatland and nature restoration work, community education and arts and cultural activities. Helen Flanagan is a multidisciplinary artist and organiser in the group. Her work is lively and collaborative, weaving informal education and community knowledge sharing, collaborative making, play and participatory magic.

Laurence Fullam is the Chairperson of the Community Wetlands Forum CLG. He has a background in Adult & Community Education, and is an experienced researcher with a particular interest in the concept of legitimacy. Working in the area of local development as a trainer & facilitator, he has managed a number of EU funded projects from concept to implementation. He has a keen interest in the connections between identity, local history and change.

All tickets are now sold out. Sign up to our waiting list at the link in our bio or by visiting our website.

Peatlands in Practice Festival is funded by National Parks and Wildlife Service Ireland and The Heritage Council

09/10/2026

Kate Flood, Lucia Reid and Luke Casserly will be joining us for a panel hosted by Anja Murray on Engaging the Community through Culture at Peatlands in Practice on 24th and 25th October.

Kate Flood is a peatland researcher and community volunteer working at the intersection of social science, ecology, culture and the arts to explore the relationships between people and peatlands. Kate’s work engages with themes of memory, culture and community and how recognition of our extractive past can help shape a regenerative future for Irish peatlands.

Lucia Reid has professional and academic experience with Irish, African and Brazilian farms, agribusinesses and community development projects. Currently, Lucia works for the Lighthouse Farm Academy as a co-ordinator, facilitator and educational content creator for their professional educational programme for food system stakeholders. Alongside this Lucia volunteers with RE-PEAT, a youth-led, non-profit collective active across Europe that bridges culture, policy, science, and grassroots advocacy for peatlands.

Luke Casserly is a multidisciplinary performance maker from Longford, Ireland. His work weaves together ecological research, autobiography, sound art, and place as a way of carving out space for new possibilities to emerge between live performance and physical landscapes. His projects have brought audiences through city streets, back gardens, train stations, beaches, and a bog in the Irish Midlands which have led to the creation of a network of wildflower meadows across Ireland (1000 Miniature Meadows, 2020-23), the planting of 1000 indigenous trees (Root, 2021), and the development of an organic perfume made using botanicals from the Irish bog (Distillation, 2023). Luke is currently the Creative Placemaking Associate with Workhouse Union in Callan, Co Kilkenny.

All tickets are now sold out. Sign up to our waiting list at the link in our bio or by visiting our website.

Peatlands in Practice is funded by National Parks and Wildlife Service Ireland and The Heritage Council

Poster by Votive

07/10/2026

This is how the Lisdoonvarna community garden came together, one workshop at a time.

Over the summer and autumn, neighbours from all over the town joined us for Growing Together, four free workshops on growing food, making space for wildlife, and building garden structures. On the 24th of September it all came together at our final meitheal. We built raised beds, planted vegetables and fruit bushes, added new structures, and finished the day with a picnic.

Lots of people arrived as strangers and left as friends, with a garden they can keep coming back to together. We made a short video from the day so you can hear from them yourself.

A big thank you to Bank of Ireland and Community Foundation Ireland for funding the project, and to Lisdoonvarna Fáilte CLG - North Clare Sports & Amenity Park and Lisdoonvarna Tidy Town for partnering with us on this project.

06/10/2026

For next week's Build School, we've added a Supported Place at a reduced cost for anyone facing financial barriers.

Build School runs Monday 12th to Friday 16th October at Common Knowledge. Over five days, you'll learn timber framing, roofing, insulation, plumbing and how to use power tools safely, then put it all into practice by raising the structure of a real 25sqm cabin with the group. No experience needed. Plenty of people arrive having never used a drill and leave ready to take on their own self-build project.

Build School is more than a building course, though. You'll sit down to a healthy lunch from our chef each day, and in your free time you can explore the nature trail and sculptures across our 50 acre site. In the evenings, the common room fills up with board games, sessions, conversations and people comparing project plans and sharing stories. Many people arrive on their own and leave with a crew of fellow builders they stay in touch with long after.

Book your place at Build School at https://www.ourcommonknowledge.org/course-build-school-level-1

Address

Ballyteige
Kilfenora
V95DK38

Website

http://ourcommonknowledge.org/, https://linktr.ee/ourcommonknowledge

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