Doonloughan: a seasonal settlement site on the Connemara coast

A series of shell middens and miscellaneous habitation sites, located in a dune
system in west County Galway, have been exposed and are slowly disappearing
through wind, wave and surface erosion. In 1992 a project was initiated to
record, sample and date some of these sites and the radiocarbon results
demonstrated that activity in the area spanned the Early Bronze Age through to
the Iron Age and into the early and post medieval periods. This preliminary
fieldwork was succeeded by the excavation of three of the better-preserved sites; a Bronze Age midden in 1994 and two early medieval sites (the subject of this paper), in 1997. The medieval sites dated to the late-seventh to ninth century adand were represented by a sub-circular stone hut with a hearth and the charred remains of a more ephemeral wooden tent-like structure. The discovery of a bronze penannular brooch of ninth/tenth century date at the latter site wouldsuggest that the settlements are not the remains of transient, impoverishedpeoples of the lower classes of society, eking out a living along the coast. The calcareous sands ensured good preservation of organic remains*fish and mammal bones, charred cereal grains, seeds and seaweed, and marine molluscs. Analyses of these indicated exploitation of marine resources but, otherwise, were comparable with the diet and economy represented by assemblages from established contemporary site types of the period. Unlike raths, cranno´gs and monastic settlements, however, the volume of material represented at the Galway sites was slight, despite the excellent preservation conditions. A range of seasonal indicators also suggested temporary habitation: probable latespring/summer occupation of the stone hut site and autumnal occupancy of the second, less substantial site. It is suggested that the machair plain, beside which the dunes are located, was most probably the attraction for settlers to the area and was exploited as an alternative pasture for the seasonal grazing of livestock.
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Celtic nationalism and supranationalism: comparing Scottish and Northern Ireland party responses to Europe

This article explores how stateless nationalist parties in the ‘Celtic periphery’ of Scotland and Northern Ireland have used Europe to advance their territorial projects. Despite vastly different historical, political and social contexts, the Scottish National Party and Northern Ireland's Social Democratic and Labour Party have both advanced a pro-European, social democratic discourse that emphasises the importance of Europe as a framework for constitutional reform and shared sovereignty. However, in recent years the parties have diverged on Europe. While the SDLP has continued its principled commitment to further integration, the SNP has articulated an increased criticism of the supranational project. This divergence in party attitudes reveals the extent to which the pro-European dimension of Celtic nationalism is ideological or opportunistic.

Levels and patterns of material deprivation in Ireland: After the 'Celtic tiger'

In this article we use the first full wave of the Irish component of the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions survey to evaluate conflicting interpretations of levels and patterns of material deprivation in Ireland after the 'Celtic Tiger'. Radical critics of Irish economic policies have seen the Irish case as a particularly good illustration of the tendency for globalization to be accompanied by widespread economic vulnerability and marginalization. Here, employing a multidimensional perspective we identify one fifth of the population as being economically vulnerable and one in 14 as vulnerable to maximal deprivation, in that they exhibit high risks of deprivation across a range of life-style deprivation dimensions. Current levels and depth of material deprivation are a good deal more modest than suggested by radical critics of the Irish experience of economic globalization.