Tom Dunn Project Seeks Participants for Hedge School Workshops

A number of free hedge school workshops will be taking place in Rostrevor for residents of the district in August to celebrate the life of Tom Dunn the renowned Rostrevor hedge school master and leading member of the United Irishmen.  Participants on the workshops will learn about the life of Tom Dunn, who was born in 1736 and courageously educated both Presbyterian and Catholic children together and helped move local people towards a more integrated, cohesive, and shared society.  

The hedge school workshops are part of a PEACE IV Shared Spaces Project and linked to the overall Tom Dunn Project that will see the installation of a bronze statue in The Square, Rostrevor in autumn. A new walking trail and social media App have also been developed through the project with new interpretative panels featured as part of the statue and walking trail. This project is supported by the European Union’s PEACE IV Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).

If you are interested in attending the workshops in Rostrevor and finding out more, please contact Fiona Pegrum at tomdunnhedgeschool@gmail.com. Workshop dates and times are dependant on participants needs and access requirements.  Full workshop details including dates, times and locations will be shared with all booked participants in advance of each workshop.   

Along with the hedge school workshops participants will go on a tour of the new Tom Dunn walking trail; get involved in a reenactment evening on Tuesday 1 August of the 1792 Wolfe Tone visit to Rostrevor. A fact-finding site visit to Belfast will also take place on Wednesday 16 August to learn about the United Irishmen. All workshops, with the exception of the Belfast trip, will take place in Rostrevor. The hedge-school workshops will also involve local primary school-aged children. 

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Chairperson, Councillor Valerie Harte said, “This exciting PEACE IV project will not only give participants a great opportunity to learn about a local historical figure, but it will also leave a tangible tourism legacy for Rostrevor with the upgrade of The Square, the addition of the bronze statue as a focal point and the new walking trail. The local Tom Dunn Project group who worked alongside the Council in developing this project must be commended for their great work in bringing this project to life and for the lasting heritage and economic benefit it will bring to the area.”

Dermot Russell, Chair of the Tom Dunn Project Committee said, “I am delighted that the life and legacy of Tom Dunn is now finally being recognised. I would commend the Council, the Special EU Programmes Body as funder as and all those involved from the Committee both present and past for getting us to this stage and I look forward to the educational programme planned and the official opening of sculpture, App and walking trail in September.”

The unveiling of the Tom Dunn statue by Mary McAleese, Patron of the Tom Dunn Society will take place in September 2023 and will be the final event in this six-part programme celebrating the life and times of Tom Dunn (1736-1798). 

Match funding for this project has been provided by The Executive Office in Northern Ireland and the Department for Rural and Community Development in Ireland.