With this year Féile na gCloch (Festival of Stone) going online again, The Dry Stone Wall Association of Ireland has got together with the festival to run another miniature dry stone walling competition.

We encourage everyone, young and old to get involved. We have some great prizes to give away over the weekend. Below is some information on how to build a miniature wall in your own home and how to get involved in the festival.

Your Miniature Walls

To enter your wall in the miniature wall competition post you photos or videos online using the hashtags #FeilenagCloch #miniaturewalls #drystonewall or email your creations to info@dswai.ie and we will post all your creations here and on social media. Closing date for entries is Sunday the 10th of October 2021.

Look through last years entries below for inspiration. Thank you everyone who took part.

Prizes

Over the weekend we will be giving away a number of prizes.

Prize category will include:

• Best built wall

• Most unique wall

• Most miniature wall

• Best mini arch

• Best use of non stone materials

• Best video of wall construction

• Best Photo

• Best scaled wall

• Best Strength Test

Over the weekend we will be giving away a number of prizes.

Prizes will include:

• Féile na gCloch Festival Tshirts & Hoddies

• Irish stone walls book by Pat McAfee

• Event only ticket to Féile na gCloch 2022

• 1 year free membership to DSWAI

• Walls Without Mortar Tote Bags

• Walls Without Mortar Stickers

• Dry Stone Walls of Ireland Postcards

How to build miniature dry stone walls and arches

Quick Tips:

• Materials (gravel, pebbles or small stones, broken up paving stones or tiles, fruit?, LEGO)

• Larger stones at the ends will make it easier to build your wall between them.

• Make a batter frame and use a line.

• Lay out your stones and fill in the spaces between them with little (hearting stones).

• Bigger stone on the bottom with smaller stones on top

• Use larger stones for the last row to cap the wall and protect the smaller stones below.

• When taking photos, include something in the photo for scale like a coin or a phone etc.

The Strength Test

Using a framed panel of a model Wall and a Pendulum

WHO DARES TAKE ON THE PENDULUM STRENGTH TEST CHALLENGE??

A special prize for the person who best demonstrates the pendulum strength test challenge.

Engineer and DSWAI Director John Lyness has devised a special test to test the strength of a dry stone wall using a scaled model and a pendulum. Are you up for the challenge?

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View the instruction in the PDF here

KIDS WALLS

Quick Tips:

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• Don't be afraid to ask for help. This can be fun for all the family.

• Materials (gravel, pebbles or small stones, broken up paving stones or tiles, fruit?, LEGO)

• Larger stones at the ends will make it easier to build your wall between them.

• Bigger stone on the bottom with smaller stones on top.

• Give your wall type a name.

• Don't have stones? use your imagination. I bet cut fruit pieces or sweets or even LEGO would be great.

• Dont forget to take photos of your wall and get an adult to send them to us.

• Put something in the photos too show how small the wall is (a coin, a toy or even your hand)

• Most importantly! HAVE FUN!

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Kids Prize Categories:

We will be giving away lots of prizes over the weekend for thing like:

• Best miniature wall

• Best non stone wall (building a mini wall using a different material)

• Best wall name

• Best photo

• Best video

• Youngest contestant

• and more....

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To enter your wall in the miniature wall competition post you photos or videos online using the hashtags #FeilenagCloch #miniaturewalls #drystonewall or email your creations to info@dswai.ie and we will post all your creations here and on social media.

Be sure to get an adult to help with entering the competition and to include your name, age and country.

Closing date for entries is Sunday the 10th of October.

Click here to go to the festival sketching event

Click here to go back to the

Feile na gCloch main website

Why not try a mini arch?

Here is a video by Nell (age 10) with tips on how to build a miniature drys tone arch

Some of last years strenght test videos