07th April 2020

Newsletter No 1

On our arrival to Myross Wood House we were warmly greeted at the door by Fr John Fitzgerald, the Deputy Provincial of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in Ireland. Today Myross Wood is a Retreat and Spirituality Centre run by the brothers of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. Fr John brought us on a tour throughout the entire building while also telling us the story of the building’s history and it’s development as a spiritual centre for the community. The house was built in the 1800’s by the Townshend family and was purchased by the Irish Missionaries Society in 1946 when it was first repurposed as a study house for the young religious. 

Fr John suggested we then take a walk through Myross Wood and experience the surrounding nature on the grounds. We all left Myross Wood that day feeling a sense of tranquillity and peace before hitting the traffic queuing up to get into Cork city. We all felt a little more familiar with one another after our shared experience and concluded the visit with a meal at The Bodega in the city centre, where we sat together, ate together and even broke into song before saying goodbye.

This was the first in a series of webinars to be hosted by NCE Insulation as part of the Energy Pathfinder project 

The 20 minute webinar covered the work Carrig Conservation International has been doing to achieve the sustainable energy renovation of historic and traditional buildings. 

The webinar was introduced and chaired by José Ospina, Project Manager of Energy Pathfinder Project. Dr Caroline Engel Purcell (Head of Research) and Peter Cox (Managing Director) of Carrig Conservation International Ltd delivered a presentation that examined Carrig as a conservation consultancy with over 25 years’ experience in the practical conservation of the historic built environment.The consultancy is experienced at both research and practical application of energy efficiency and reduction of carbon emissions. Carrig associates have written extensively on heritage and climate change for prestigious journals and presented at key international conferences. 

Carrig is currently working with the Heritage Council to deliver a CPD Lecture Series on the Fundamentals of Energy Renovation for Traditional Buildings, which has been funded in part by the SEAI. Carrig is providing technical support to several practical sustainable energy regeneration projects, including the Callan Sustainable Town Regeneration programme, the Skellig Michael Lighthouse NZEB Strategy and the Askeaton Castle Gate Lodge NZEB Strategy.

On November 18th 2019 Oulu University organised an information Seminar in Raahe, Finland to present and discuss activities in the Energy Pathfinder Project.

The event was lead by the mayor of Raahe Town and there were invited representatives of associate partners, The Finnish Heritage Agency, Museum of Northern Ostrobotnia and the Council of the Oulu Region. The event included visits to both Energy Pathfinder pilot sites.

The Town Hall and Rector’s House are located in the Raahe Seminar campus. The day was a great success which was shared to public as the front page of local newspaper Raahenseutu.