Minister Joe O’Brien Welcomes Funding for Four Key Heritage Sites in Fingal
Four heritage sites are to benefit from the Community Monuments Fund along with a new Fingal Historic Tombs Project.
In total, 95 heritage projects across the country will receive a total of €4.5m as part of the Historic Structures Fund, as announced by Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD. This comes in addition to another €4.5 million also to support heritage buildings announced earlier this month under the Built Heritage Investment Scheme.
Welcoming the announcement, Joe O’Brien TD said:
“We are incredibly lucky in Fingal to have a very rich and beautiful stock of local heritage and it is important to ensure that we preserve and protect it. This funding, from my Green Party colleague, Malcolm Noonan, TD, for four key sites and an exciting Fingal Historic Tombs Project will help to safeguard our history.
“These sites and buildings are an important part of our culture and they need to be conserved so that our communities can continue to enjoy them long into the future. Through this investment, the Green Party continues to celebrate the value and diversity of our built heritage, while also protecting our history for future generations.”
St. Columba’s Church and Round Tower has been allocated €120,000 for phase two of the conservation project which includes local re-pointing of eroded masonry and the removal of unstable floor remnants.
St Mary’s Church and Graveyard in Clonmethan has been awarded €114,697 which will help address concerns regarding the structural stability of the upstanding remains of St Mary’s Church, with evidence for cracking, building subsidence and the loss of masonry, as well as the inappropriate removal of external render. Furthermore, work will be carried out on sections of the graveyard enclosure wall which are bowing outwards and in danger of collapse.
Malahide Church and Graveyard has been awarded €100,000 to facilitate works on essential masonry and mortar repairs, to address water ingress and unwanted vegetation and to arrest and retard the damage arising from weather exposure generally and the accelerated effect of climate change. The project will also encompass a training element in traditional skills for Council staff.
Balrothery Tower has been awarded €100,000 all for the conservation and repair of the masonry walls to secure the historic fabric including the control of vegetation, repointing and crack stitching.
In addition, the Fingal Historic Tombs Project has been allocated €29,520 for the development of Conservation Management Plans and to assess the condition of tombs across a range of graveyards.
Announcing the funding, Minister Malcolm Noonan said:
“Through this investment, this Government continues to celebrate the value and diversity of our built heritage, while also supporting traditional building skills. These actions also continue to help us deliver on our commitments to built heritage under Heritage Ireland 2030, the national heritage plan which I launched last year.”