130-year-old glass bottle found by pupils on Cork beach clean-up
Blitz Picture: Pupils In Noonan Group Cleaning Of A The Cathal Involved
It may be a recyclable material but a near 130-year-old glass bottle has been found during a massive beach clean blitz involving hundreds of school children along the Cork coast.
The antique medicine bottle, which dates between 1880 and 1900, is now being used as an environmental teaching tool to show children that just because we throw something away, it doesn’t mean it goes away.
“We’ve all heard of a message in a bottle. Well, in this case, the message is the bottle,” the founder of Clean Coasts Ballynamona, Proinsias Ó Tuama, said.
The squared-shaped translucent green glass bottle was found buried in sand during the beach clean on the Front Strand in Youghal in East Cork during one of a series of beach cleans organised as part of a major Blue Flag marine education event organised by Clean Coasts Ballynamona and supported by Cork County Council.
Students from Midleton Educate Together found were fascinated to find the words ‘Elliman’s Embrocation’ embossed on it.
Measuring around 11cm high by 4cm wide, the bottle has flattened sides, rounded shoulders, a short neck, and two collars. It was missing its lip or stopper.
Mr Ó Tuama researched the find later, and using the Museum of Healthcare at Kingston, dated the bottle to between 1880 and 1900.
The embrocation was first sold in 1847 as a rub for animals. By 1850 it was being sold for use by humans, as an aid for aching muscles and joints.
Mr Ó Tuama said we may never know how the bottle came to be on the beach in Youghal, or how it survived for so long in the harsh marine environment.
“But what we do know is this proves that when you throw something away, it doesn’t go away,” he said.
A total of 14 schools from across the county, with some 600 children and some of their teachers, took to four of the county’s best-known beaches across four days to learn about them and then clean them ahead of the busy summer season.
Through interactive sessions, workshops, and hands-on activities, the students learned about various crucial aspects of the importance of our bathing waters, about protecting water quality and coastal habitats, they engaged in workshops on sewage-related litter and biodiversity, and they learned how to reduce marine litter pollution and make eco-friendly choices.
They finished each day with a beach clean, tackling Redbarn and the Front Strand in Youghal, Garryvoe near Ballycotton, and Barleycove beaches on the Mizen Peninsula.
“The initiative educated children about the importance of water quality, understanding coastal biodiversity, the impact of sewage-related litter on the environment, and living sustainably to reduce carbon footprints," Mr Ó Tuama said.
“We are immensely proud to have played a significant role in educating the next generation about environmental conservation and sustainability.
“By instilling these values at a young age, we are sowing the seeds for a better, more sustainable future for generations to come.”
He praised the staff and students of St Colman’s Community College in Midleton and the Clean Coasts Ballynamona volunteers for their support of the Blue Flag marine education days initiative.