Jekyll2024-03-28T20:16:37+00:00https://duninmara.org/feed.xmlShire of Dun in MaraA part of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA)
Contestants for Spring Crown2024-03-12T21:00:00+00:002024-03-12T21:00:00+00:00https://duninmara.org/posts/2024/03/12/crown-list<p>Their Majesties have announced the list of couples who will contest the tourney at Spring Crown.</p>
<p>Lord Jan van Nyenrode fighting for Maestra Victoria Piera Rossell<br />
Master Fardäng Skvaldre fighting for Viscountess Ingridh Olafsdotter<br />
Master Alexandre Lerot d’Avignon fighting for Master Agnes Boncuer<br />
Honourable Lady Yda v Boulogne fighting for Dame Sela de la Rosa<br />
Baron Rodrigo Bernardez fighting for Lady Teresa of Dun In Mara<br />
Viscount Joel ben Stuart fighting for Viscountess Valda ingen Cháemgein<br />
Viscountess Valda ingen Cháemgein fighting for Viscount Joel ben Stuart<br />
Honourable Lord Mícheál Breathnach fighting for Lady Gwerful an Filí<br />
Duke William of Richwood fighting for Duchessa Isabetta del Verde<br />
Sir Jon fitz John fighting for Maestra Ellisif Gydasdottir<br />
Master Agnes Boncuer fighting for Máistir Aodh Ó Siadhail<br />
Lord Etienne the Younger fighting for Viscountess Susanna of York</p>
<p>The winners of the tourney will become heirs to the throne of Drachenwald.</p>
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<a href="/events/2024/crown/" class="btn btn-primary text-center shadow">More about Spring Crown 2024</a>
</div>Their Majesties have announced the list of couples who will contest the tourney at Spring Crown.Camping Pods for Spring Crown2024-01-16T09:00:00+00:002024-01-16T09:00:00+00:00https://duninmara.org/posts/2024/01/16/crown-camping-pods<p>We plan to open registration very soon (hooray!), but before we do, we want to share a little bit more information about booking our camping pods. These camping pods are an excellent budget option for tickets. The site has four camping pods and each can sleep 4 adults. You could squeeze in 5 if one or two in the group are children. You can find more details about them in our ‘<a href="https://duninmara.org/posts/2023/11/30/crown-accom/">Accommodation Options at Spring Crown</a>’.</p>
<p>The pods are small, so we recommend that if you are interested in staying in one that you gather a group of 3-5 and register all together. Once your booking is confirmed, a pod will be reserved for your group.</p>
<p>Of course, you are still welcome to book a single ticket for a camping pod, but we cannot guarantee that you will have the space to yourself. We will group single bookings together in a pod to ensure that we use every available bed space and allow as many people as possible to attend our event.</p>
<p>Thank you for your understanding, and if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact myself or Dame Sela, as the co-event stewards, at SpringCrown@DuninMara.org</p>
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<a href="/events/2024/crown/" class="btn btn-primary text-center shadow">More about Spring Crown 2024</a>
</div>We plan to open registration very soon (hooray!), but before we do, we want to share a little bit more information about booking our camping pods. These camping pods are an excellent budget option for tickets. The site has four camping pods and each can sleep 4 adults. You could squeeze in 5 if one or two in the group are children. You can find more details about them in our ‘Accommodation Options at Spring Crown’.Accommodation options at Spring Crown2023-11-30T20:00:00+00:002023-11-30T20:00:00+00:00https://duninmara.org/posts/2023/11/30/crown-accom<p>Now that we have announced pricing for our Spring Crown Tournament, we wanted to share a little bit more information about what each ticket includes so that you can choose the ticket that is best for you!</p>
<p><strong>Adult, weekend, bunk bed — €85.</strong> This ticket is good for one adult SCA member for the entire event! All of your meals will be provided, including travellers fare Friday night, breakfast, lunch and a delicious feast cooked by Aodh Ó Siadhail on Saturday, and breakfast on Sunday morning. You will have a bunk bed in one of the dorm rooms with all bedding provided (pillow, sheets, duvet), and toilet and shower facilities in the building where you are sleeping. You’ll need to bring your own towel.</p>
<p><strong>Adult, camping pod — €50.</strong> This ticket is also good for one adult SCA member for the entire event! Just like the above option, all meals are provided, including the feast. The difference is in your sleeping arrangements. The camping pods are small wooden permanent structures with raised platforms around the sides and back walls where you can sit or set up your bed for the night. We have been told that there is enough height for most people to be able to stand up straight in the middle of the pods. You will need to bring an air mattress and all of your own bedding for a comfortable night’s sleep. This option would be good for a close group of 4 friends to book together, as we are told it’s very cosy inside! Toilets and shower facilities are located in a separate building. You’ll need to bring your own towel.</p>
<p><strong>Adult, camping in own tent — €35.</strong> For the brave SCAdians who want to gamble with the Irish spring weather! All of your meals, including feast, are provided and you will have access to toilet and shower facilities, although you need to bring your own towel. You will also need to bring your own tent, bedding, and anything else you need to sleep comfortably outside.</p>
<p><strong>Day trip — €30.</strong> This ticket is perfect for any adult SCA member who wants to come along for Saturday (and Friday evening if you’re free!) and enjoy all the delicious meals for the day, including feast. You won’t have anywhere to sleep on site, so this option is best if you live nearby or have booked into a hotel or BnB. Toilet facilities are, of course, available for use all through the event.</p>
<p>Here’s a photo of one of the camping pods from outside</p>
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<figure class="figure">
<img src="/images/crawfordsburn/camping-pod.jpg" class="figure-img rounded shadow" width="500" alt="An small, arch-shaped wooden building" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-center">Crawfordsburn camping pod, on the left</figcaption>
</figure>
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<a href="/events/2024/crown/" class="btn btn-primary text-center shadow">More about Spring Crown 2024</a>
</div>Now that we have announced pricing for our Spring Crown Tournament, we wanted to share a little bit more information about what each ticket includes so that you can choose the ticket that is best for you!Pricing for Spring Crown2023-11-30T09:00:00+00:002023-11-30T09:00:00+00:00https://duninmara.org/posts/2023/11/30/crown-pricing<p>Greetings all! We hope you are getting excited about our upcoming Spring Crown Tournament in Belfast, Northern Ireland!</p>
<p>Pricing for the event has been announced!</p>
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<a href="/events/2024/crown/" class="btn btn-primary text-center shadow">See pricing</a>
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<p>There’s something important about pricing for this event that we’d like to note.</p>
<p>You may be aware that our affiliate organisation, that arranges our insurances, had to make some changes this year to make sure that we’re covered. In particular, we need to pay a daily insurance surcharge for non-members to attend events. Now that’s fine; we’ve already been working like this for a couple of months, and we have a good system in place to make sure that any SCA member, of any affiliate, is covered.</p>
<p>Here’s the thing: for this event, the surcharge we’d have to add for non-members is almost as much as the cost of joining SCA UK/Ireland for a year. We don’t feel great about just adding that charge without offering the benefits of an annual membership – not to mention that, by omitting it, we can make reservations a lot simpler for everyone.</p>
<p>So our thinking is that we’ll ask <strong>everyone attending the tournament</strong> to be an up-to-do-date, paid <strong>member</strong> of the SCA or any affiliated group. If you’re in the UK or Ireland, you can join at <a href="https://membermojo.co.uk/scauk">https://membermojo.co.uk/scauk</a> for £15. Links to the affiliates for Finland, Sweden and elsewhere are at <a href="https://www.sca.org/join-us/">https://www.sca.org/join-us/</a>.</p>
<p>If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Katie or myself as the co-event stewards at <a href="mailto:springcrown@duninmara.org">springcrown@duninmara.org</a></p>
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<a href="/events/2024/crown/" class="btn btn-primary text-center shadow">More about Spring Crown 2024</a>
</div>Greetings all! We hope you are getting excited about our upcoming Spring Crown Tournament in Belfast, Northern Ireland!Announcing: Spring Crown 20242023-09-12T23:00:00+00:002023-09-12T23:00:00+00:00https://duninmara.org/posts/2023/09/12/spring-crown-2024<p>The Shire of Dun in Mara is delighted to announce that Drachenwald’s
Spring Crown 2024 (AS 58) will take place on 5-7 April at Crawfordsburn,
near Belfast, Northern Ireland.</p>
<p>The site, close to a major city, is easily reached from two airports in
Belfast, and less than two hours’ drive from Dublin.</p>
<p>We’ll have more information on the event very soon, including pricing
and booking information. Keep a close eye.</p>
<p>See you in April!</p>The Shire of Dun in Mara is delighted to announce that Drachenwald’s Spring Crown 2024 (AS 58) will take place on 5-7 April at Crawfordsburn, near Belfast, Northern Ireland.New Year, New Plans!2023-01-09T11:00:00+00:002023-01-09T11:00:00+00:00https://duninmara.org/posts/2023/01/09/new-year-new-plans<p>We have had a busy couple of months with our Harvesttide Revel in October, monthly Arts & Sciences meetings and our weekly Fencing & Armoured Combat practices.
And this year is continuing as the last one ended. Armoured Combat practices each Thursday have already resumed and Fencing on Tuesdays will follow suit shortly. If you want to give it a try, check out our <a href="https://duninmara.org/practices/">Practices</a> page.</p>
<p>Last Saturday, we got together in Santry Community Centre for our first Arts & Sciences meeting and while everybody had their own projects to work on, we also started our community project of making sets of heraldic banners. Everybody is welcome at these get-togethers, first attendance is free and if you let us know in advance what you are interested in, we will do our best to facilitate for you to try that out.</p>
<p>In the coming months, we are planning several one day workshops, for example basket weaving and an introduction to fencing. We are also looking into some outings to work on our archery skills and have started the preparations for the 2nd iteration of our 5 day camping event <a href="https://duninmara.org/events/2023/strawberry-raid/">Strawberry Raid</a> at Sigginstown Castle in Co. Wexford and our participation in the Dublin Pride Parade.</p>
<p>If you are interested or have any question, you can reach us at <a href="mailto:seneschal@duninmara.org">seneschal@duninmara.org</a>
We´d be delighted to meet you and if you want to wear a mask to minimise risk, we encourage this.</p>alaysWe have had a busy couple of months with our Harvesttide Revel in October, monthly Arts & Sciences meetings and our weekly Fencing & Armoured Combat practices. And this year is continuing as the last one ended. Armoured Combat practices each Thursday have already resumed and Fencing on Tuesdays will follow suit shortly. If you want to give it a try, check out our Practices page.COVID-19 update2020-08-20T19:00:00+00:002020-08-20T19:00:00+00:00https://duninmara.org/posts/2020/08/20/covid-update<p>With the restrictions announced by the Irish government this week, we’ve had to make changes to our plans.</p>
<p>We will cancel Harvest Tavern; Cruinniú is now planned to take place in 2021. If you booked for either of these events, check your mailbox. You should receive a refund by the same method of payment that you used to book originally. For more information, check the pages for <a href="/events/2020/harvest-tavern">Harvest Tavern</a> and <a href="/events/2020/cruinniu-aris">Cruinniú Arís</a>.</p>
<p>We just recently restarted our Fencing practices; we’re looking for a way to run them safely under the current circumstances, and we expect to have more news on this in the coming days.</p>
<p>Obviously, we’re gutted to have to make these changes – we were especially looking forward to running our first events since COVID–19 hit. However, we have a lot still going on:</p>
<ul>
<li>We’re tentatively planning <a href="/events/2020/an-event-probably">an event, probably</a> as a small, local gathering for the weekend that Cruinniú Arís was scheduled.</li>
<li>We’re running virtual Armoured Fighting practice sessions and discussions every Thursday.</li>
<li>We’re planning an online event for later in the year (and our friends around Europe have <a href="https://drachenwald.sca.org/events/calendar/">several online sessions a week</a>)</li>
<li>And we’re still chatting on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/113098955376605">Facebook Group</a> and our <a href="https://discord.gg/vEds9Yj">newly created Discord chat</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p>So stay safe, stay in touch, and one way or another, we’ll see you soon.</p>salWith the restrictions announced by the Irish government this week, we’ve had to make changes to our plans.So where are we with COVID?2020-07-15T11:30:00+00:002020-07-15T11:30:00+00:00https://duninmara.org/posts/2020/07/15/where-are-we-with-covid<p>Hi! It’s been a while. I hope you’re having a good summer in the circumstances.</p>
<p>We have a better picture now than we did last March of how COVID-19 is affecting our lives, and our activities. There are still a lot of unknowns, and things can of course change at any time depending on government requirements and public health advice.</p>
<p>We’re keen to get back to our activities, but we’ll be doing so with all the particpants’ health in mind. So, following the public health guidelines, we’ve been working on plans for the rest of the year, and we’d like to share them with you.</p>
<p>Here’s where we are as of mid-July 2020.</p>
<h2 id="combat-practices">Combat practices</h2>
<p>Our venue for Fencing practice is reopening, and we’re currently looking at how we can restart this feasible and safely. If things go well, we hope to be able to make an announcement about resuming, possibly as soon as next week.</p>
<p>We’ve been running online Armoured Combat practices throughout the spring and summer, and also joining in online practices run by our friends in the UK and elsewhere. We’re now starting to run some informal outdoor/backyard practices, including one this Sunday. The best place to keep an eye out for these is <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/113098955376605" title="Dun in Mara Facebook Group">on our Facebook group</a>.</p>
<p>We’ve nothing to announce on Archery or Arts & Sciences yet, but we’ll post as soon as we do have something.</p>
<h2 id="harvest-tavern">Harvest Tavern</h2>
<p>We’re designing <a href="/events/2020/harvest-tavern/" title="Harvest Tavern event">Harvest Tavern</a> as an event for the COVID-19 era. It’s fully outdoors at a spacious venue, with comfortable tents, the facilities to cook your own food, and room to interact safely with others when you want to.</p>
<p>We see this as a chance to reunite, for those who feel comfortable doing so. Many of us won’t feel able to do this just yet. And while we might have a small number of visitors, we’re not promoting this event internationally.</p>
<p>As we get closer to the event, we’re paying close attention to the public health rules and advice around what we’re doing, and we’ll make the changes we need to make that work (which, as with any event at this time, still includes the option of cancellation, though we hope that won’t be necessary.)</p>
<h2 id="cruinniú-arís">Cruinniú Arís</h2>
<p>We postponed Cruinniú to October once it became clear that we weren’t going to be able to run it on its original date. There are still a lot of unknowns around this one (including whether our special guest will be able to travel) so we’re working on a number of plans. One option we’re looking at is moving the event to the same venue as Harvest Tavern, which would make it much easier to maintain distance.</p>
<p>Those who have registered for Cruinniú should expect to receive a survey next week asking about whether you expect to be able to travel, and how some of our plans might affect your decision. Keep an eye on your email.</p>
<h2 id="yuletide-university">Yuletide University</h2>
<p>We’ve been holding off on making any big decisions, but it’s Dun in Mara’s turn to run Yuletide University this year. This event, focused on arts and sciences, usually takes place in or around early December. We’re keeping our powder dry on this one for now, but we haven’t forgotten. One option we’re looking at is moving the event online this year. We’ve seen a number of University-type events run online this summer, and it could allow us to open the event up to an audience (of both students and teachers) that wouldn’t normally get to participate. Nothing concrete for now – we’ll have more to say in the autumn.</p>
<h2 id="and-beyond-that">And beyond that…</h2>
<p>…there is a <em>lot</em> of activity still happening online with our friends around the Kingdom. The <a href="https://drachenwald.sca.org/events/calendar/#/" title="Drachenwald Calendar">Drachenwald Calendar</a> typically has a series of online classes or events that anyone can tune in to, so it’s a tab worth keeping open in your browser.</p>
<p>So while things have been quiet, physically, for the past few months, we’ve been busy, and we’re looking forward to (hopefully) meeting up and (certainly) sharing that work with you over the rest of the year.</p>
<p>All the best,<br />
Sal, Aodh, Aoife and the rest of the officers.</p>salHi! It’s been a while. I hope you’re having a good summer in the circumstances.Cruinniú Arís!2020-04-03T09:30:00+00:002020-04-03T09:30:00+00:00https://duninmara.org/posts/2020/04/03/cruinniu-aris<p>Friends, we have good news. We will gather again at the Cruinniú, this October.</p>
<p>Cruinniú Arís will take place <strong>2-4 October 2020</strong> at <strong>Aspire House, Clara, Co. Offally</strong>, the same venue as previously planned. We cannot express how eager we are to welcome you to Ireland.</p>
<p>And, best of all, despite all of the problems, Duke Sean has been able to rearrange his travel to join us and teach. We will run a full three day event, from Friday evening until Sunday evening, so that Duke Sean can teach his full workshop.</p>
<p>This event is only able to happen because of the kindness and generosity of the many people who donated and fundraised for us, so we are especially happy and grateful to be able to go ahead with the event, as originally planned, later in the year.</p>
<p>We will see you, once again, at Cruinniú.</p>salFriends, we have good news. We will gather again at the Cruinniú, this October.Tavern of Fools cancelled2020-03-21T10:00:00+00:002020-03-21T10:00:00+00:00https://duninmara.org/posts/2020/03/21/tavern-cancelled<p>We’re cancelling Tavern of Fools as well. Realistically, anyone planning an event at this time has only two choices: press on, or cancel. And everyone planning to attend events has to deal with a lot of uncertainty. Our food-focused events (there will be more) are supposed to be relaxed and unstressful; uncertainty around travel or health isn’t really on-brand for that.</p>
<p>More importantly, we want to support both you and our fellow groups in attending and running successful events in Ireland this year. The next big event planned in Ireland is Summer Coronation, so we think the best thing in the short term is to put all the wood behind that arrow. Throughout the second half of the year, Eplaheimr has a number of events already planned, and we’d love to see you there, all going well in the world.</p>
<p>Anyone who has booked for Tavern of Fools will receive a refund through Fienta. We in Dun in Mara will be running more events later in the year, and we’re working hard on planning those right now. We’ll announce them as soon as we’re happy that we have some certainty around them.</p>
<p>And in the meantime — take care, have fun, and try not to watch too much news.</p>
<p>In service,<br />
Agnes, Aodh, Vitus and Sal.</p>salWe’re cancelling Tavern of Fools as well. Realistically, anyone planning an event at this time has only two choices: press on, or cancel. And everyone planning to attend events has to deal with a lot of uncertainty. Our food-focused events (there will be more) are supposed to be relaxed and unstressful; uncertainty around travel or health isn’t really on-brand for that.