Horizons

Not just any old Iron:Last year, an exhibition of the bodies of four Iron Age men discovered in bogs around the country provided insights into life and death in ancient Ireland. Now the National Museum of Ireland is following up that exhibition with a lecture series exploring new perspectives on the Iron Age.

The series begins on Wednesday next with a lecture on the Irish Bog Bodies Research Project, which will be delivered by Rolly Read, keeper of conservation at the museum.

Subsequent lectures will explore Iron Age rituals, the historical events that may have influenced Celtic mythology, and the hierarchy of authority in early medieval Ireland.

The lectures will take place at the National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin on Wednesdays at 1pm and again at 6.30pm. They will run from January 17th to March 7th, excluding January 31st. Admission is free. See www.museum.ie.

New plan for old street

The recently announced conservation programme for Ireland's first Georgian streetscape on Henrietta Street, Dublin sets out a plan of action which is to begin this year. Speaking at the launch of the plan, city manager John Tierney said: "Henrietta Street is the single most intact and important architectural collection of individual houses, as a street, in Dublin. Internationally, the street is of unique European significance, being the only intact example of an early 18th-century street of houses, which influenced what was to become the Georgian style."

The architecture of Henrietta Street marked a decisive move away from gable-fronted terraced houses, usually built as pairs and sharing a large, angled chimney breast. The conservation plan notes the need to update information on the current state of each house and to compile technical guidance manuals for the owners. A study will also be commissioned to identify the best way to establish a heritage conservation fund for the street.

Cultivating energy changes

Cultivate, the sustainable living and learning centre in Temple Bar, Dublin, begins its 2007 programme of activities on Tuesday with the first in a series of talks on energy use. Led by Davie Philip, the series aims to inform people about the future context of energy use, considering the depleting stocks of fossil fuels and the need to respond to climate change. Philip will explore how we can make changes on a personal, community and global level. It costs €72 (€60 for members) for the six-week series.

There will also be an introductory talk on biofuels on Wednesday at 7pm. Call 01-6745773 or see www.cultivate.ie.

Another look at 'Eco Eye'

Check out the fifth series of the environmental television programme, Eco Eye, on Wednesdays at 7.30pm on RTÉ1. Next week, Duncan Stewart and his daughter Tania Stewart will explore biodiversity and farming, bio-energy production and the lakelands of Cos Leitrim and Fermanagh. Subsequent programmes will look at sustainable tourism and illegal dumping. On January 31st, the programme will focus on our transport problems, looking at ways to encourage more urban people to use public transport.

EcoWeb

www.energysavingtrust.org.uk

On this site, more than 30,000 people in Britain have committed to saving 20 per cent of the energy they use every day. As an incentive to others, they have posted images of their favourite places, which their efforts will help preserve.