Leinster Orienteering Championships 2009

Rossmore Forest Park, Monaghan, County Monaghan, 5th April 2009.

Fingal Orienteers invite all orienteers to the Leinster Orienteering Championships 2009. This page will be updated as information becomes available.

Rossmore Castle

Old Photo of Rossmore Castle, now demolished.

Some recent photos of Rossmore

Results

Planners Report

Some LOC2009 Photos

VenueThe 2009 Leinster Championships will take place in Rossmore Forest park, just outside Monaghan town. Rossmore Forest Park is located 3.5km south west of Monaghan Town on the R189 to Newbliss, off the N54 Monaghan to Clones Road. Grid Reference H 653 299
OK, Monaghan is in Ulster, but there have been Connaught Champs in Ulster and Leinster before. Rossmore was first mapped in the late 70s by Pat Healy, then in the 1980s by ECO members, but it hasn't been used except for the odd army event for at least 15 years. Padraig Higgins did an initial update of the map in 2007, while Tommy Burke and Val Jones finalized it in 2008.
Final Information The event will be signposted from the junction of the N54 Monaghan to Clones raod and the R189 Monaghan to Newbliss road. The entrance to the forest is on the R189 1Km from the junction above.
Note that there is a low entrance barrier with a height restriction of 1.9m at the entrance. We have had no indication of anybody bringing a bus or a minibus so this should not be a problem. However if anyone has a SUV type vehicle you should chech the height.
Parking will be in the forest car park. If this is full then return to the entrance avenue and park on the left side only, facing towards the entrance. The registration tent will be in the car park area. The start is a 12 to 15 minute easy walk from the car park. The finish area is just 1 minute from the car park. The finish is in nice open parkland and is suitable for club tents , flags etc. This area will include the download tent and a tea tent.
Competitors must stay on the marked path on the way to the start. Anyone leaving the path and entering the forest will risk disqualification.
Courses 1 to 5 will have a mid point water station and water will also be available at the finish. We request that you use the refuse bags on hand to dispose of used cups and bottles.
Course 1 (M21L) will have a map exchange. At the finish there will be map reclaim bags for each club. The maps can be reclaimed after the last start.
SI will be used for all courses, including Entry On The Day. Please note that we will have a mixture of BSF7 and BSF8 type units. The BSF8 type will only have the code number on the front. The BSF7 unit will have the code on front and the top. IF A UNIT FAILS TO REGISTER PLEASE PUNCH THE MAP. All maps are waterproof, plastic bags are not required. Out of bounds roads are marked on the map. Please also note that there are some brambles so we suggest the wearing of gaiters and we request that everybody carry a whistle but this will not be checked..
Entry FeesEntry fees for the event will be Seniors €15, Juniors(M/W 18-), Students and M/W 65+ €10, Families €35.
Sterling fees same as Euro. For sterling entries a sterling cheque may be sent by post which will be exchanged for cash on the day.
Online Entry Online Entries are now closed
Postal Entry FormClick here to open, right click to save. (pdf file, adobe acrobat or plugin required)
EntriesEileen and Ciaran Young, Corduff, Lusk,Co. Dublin, (01)8431939
Start ListClick to view Start List and Times Check your details are OK
Closing DateThe closing date was the 23rd March 2009 (post marked). No entries will be accepted after this date. There will be entry on the day courses but will not be eligible for prizes.
Other EnquiriesTommy Burke , 2 Sycamore ave, Beaufort Place, Navan, Co. Meath 046 9074711
OfficialsPlanner : Val Jones
Controller : Igor Stefko (LVO)
Organiser : Tommy Burke
Entries and SportIdent : Ciaran and Eileen Young
Original Map Survey : Pat Healy, ECO Members
Map Update : Padraig Higgins, Val Jones, Tommy Burke
Assembly Forest Car Park.
TerrainThe area is nearly all forest. It is typical Monaghan drumlin country with small round hills and several small lakes in between. There is an extensive network of roads and paths in the forest. Vegetation is very varied with both mature and immature sections of coniferous and deciduous trees. Specimen trees include some Californian Redwoods. Some sections are very runnable while others have patches of typical Irish forest brambles and undergrowth. The ruins of Rossmore Castle are within the forest as well as an old walled garden.
Map Notes
ClassesM/W 10,12,14,16,18,20, 21(L,S),35,40,45,50,55,60,65 Classes may be amalgamated on the day depending on entries, others added if enough demand. Entry on the day courses will also be available.
Courses
CourseControl DescriptionsClassesDistance KClimb M
1Control DescriptionsM21A11.9350
2Control DescriptionsM35, M209.8320
3Control DescriptionsM40, M45, M188.7300
4Control DescriptionsW21L 7.9280
5Control DescriptionsM50, M21S, W35, W207.3255
6Control DescriptionsM55, M16, W18, W40, W456.1185
7Control DescriptionsM60, W50, W554.3120
8Control DescriptionsM14, W16, W21S4.190
9Control DescriptionsM65, W65, W603.175
10Control DescriptionsW143.375
11Control DescriptionsM12, W123.270
12Control DescriptionsM10, W102.440

Start Times Click to view Entries and Start Times
Registration and Download Registration, for Entry on the day, collecting rented SI cards, and control descriptions, will be in the car park. Download will be at the finish, which is close to the car park
Toilets There are toilets near the car park.
Start The start is a 10 to 15 minute walk ( 0.8 K ) from the car park.
Finish The finish is 200 M from the car park. Early starters will be asked to deposit their maps in bags marked with their club name. These maps can be reclaimed at Registration shortly after the last start.
EOD There will be a number of Entry On the Day courses available. Entry will be taken at registration.
SportidentSportident will be used for the event. SI cards can be hired at €2 per card. A fee will apply where the card is lost or broken.
Start TimesTimes for starting will be from 10.30am to 1.30pm Click here to view Start List and Times.
ResultsResults will also be available through the E Group or the Fingal Orienteers website or by a self addressed envelope submitted with entry.
Prize Giving At Finish, as soon as possible after 3.00 PM.
PrizesLOC 2009 Prizes
Accommodationwww.monaghantourism.com
Make it a 2-DayMake it an Orienteering weekend in Ulster. LVO are holding an event on the day before, Saturday, 4th April, at Crossmurrin, Co. Fermanagh, venue of 2007 middle distance Irish Championships. Details on the LVO web site
Rossmore History The Barony of Rossmore was created in 1769 and Robert Cunningham, an MP for Monaghan Burough from 1769-1796 became the first Baron. Following his death, his wife's nephew Warner Westenra, succeeded the title. It was he who commenced the building of Rossmore Castle. His son Henry Robert completed it. Rossmore Castle was very large and complex building, constructed on the outskirts of Monaghan town in Tudor Gothic style in 1827 by the 3rd Lord Rossmore, to the designs of William Vitruvius Morrison. An extension was added in 1858 in Scottish Baronial style, designed by William Henry Lynn.
A main feature of the original building was a large square tower and turret with crow step battlements. The extension also featured two towers, one with a polygonal turret and cupola, the other a smaller square tower with a spire.
The building underwent further smaller changes, a number of which were inspired by a competition which had developed over the years between Lord Rossmore and Mr. Shirley of Lough Fea, as to which of them could claim to have the largest room in County Monaghan. As a result the drawing room in Rossmore Castle was enlarged five times! Eventually the combined changes and additions resulted in a building with three towers and over 117 windows in 53 different shapes and sizes.
After World War II the house developed a severe case of dry rot, and the 6th Lord Rossmore and his family were forced to leave the castle and take up residence in Camla Vale, a Georgian house owned by the family and situated within the estate grounds. The castle was eventually demolished in 1974. Only the buttresses to the castle walls and the entrance stairway now remain providing a viewing point to the surrounding countryside.
Examples of a wedge tomb and a court tomb dating back to about 3000-1800 BC exist within the Park. A gold 'lunula' or collar, dating from 1800 BC was discovered in the Park around 1930 and is on display in the National Museum, Dublin. A walled garden was developed as a formal garden. Its main attraction is the yew hedges and arched walkways of trained shrubs and a water feature.
Conspicuous features of the Monaghan and Cavan landscapes are the drumlins. These were laid down during the Ice Age over 10,000 years ago when boulder clay was deposited as small hillocks by moving ice. The combination of a range of habitat types including coniferous and deciduous woodland, grassland, lakes and rivers makes Rossmore Forest a haven for wildlife. The forest now comprises a mixture of coniferous and broadleaf trees. Predominant species are Norway spruce, Sitka spruce, Douglas fir, oak and beech. Many of the original estate trees still remain, notably Scots pine, cedars and monkey puzzle. The main avenue leading to the car park displays several large Sierra or giant redwoods while an avenue of yew trees runs a full 460 meters from the walled garden to the mausoleum in the graveyard. A special feature of the park is the rhododendron and azalea display, which is at its colourful best in early summer. Rhododendron was introduced into Europe from Asia Minor in 1763 for its attractive flowering display and for the shelter it offered to game birds. Mammals include otters, badger, fox, and hedgehog and pigmy shrew. Five of Ireland's seven species of bat are to be found in the locality. There is a large residential population of birds and migrants such as wildfowl increase this collection in winter and warblers, swallows, cuckoo and flycatchers in summer. The Park also displays interesting communities of plants and the lake and rivers encourage a great variety of insect life