Nine historic sites in Galway city and county are to benefit from close to €450,000 in grants under the 2022 Community Monuments Fund, it was announced this week.
The grants, totalling €448,108, will see archaeological heritage projects in Galway avail of grants ranging from €3,000 to €85,000.
The funding was announced by Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan, on Tuesday.
His Department’s 2022 Community Monuments Fund will this year see 128 projects being supported around the country, with an overall investment of €6 million.
The Galway projects awarded funding under the scheme are Terryland and Merlin castles, Galway, €85,000; Menlo Castle, Galway, €85,000; St Kerrill’s (religious house ), Clonkeenkerrill, Co Galway, €84,999; Abbeygormacan, Co Galway, €50,000; Kilclooney Castle/Tower House, Milltown, Co Galway, €80,000; St Mary’s Graveyard, Athenry, €15,000; Killeroran Church and Graveyard, Ballygar, €16,000; Issertkelly Church and Graveyard, between Ardrahan and Kilchreest, €29,109.50; and Tuam Market High Cross, €3,000.
The core objective of the Community Monuments Fund is to support the conservation, maintenance, protection, and promotion of local monuments and historic sites. It contains a number of different measures aimed at enabling conservation works to be carried out on archaeological monuments which are deemed to be significant and in need of urgent support, encouraging access to archaeological monuments and improving their presentation, and also building resilience in archaeological monuments to enable them to withstand the effects of climate change.
The fund supports a broad range of measures aimed at protecting and promoting archaeological monuments, including emergency conservation repair works at monuments, masonry repair, the development of conservation management plans, access infrastructure and installation of interpretation signage, and social media projects aimed at disseminating knowledge of Ireland’s archaeological heritage.
“The increased funding we are announcing today of €6 million to 128 projects will help protect our wonderful archaeological heritage and make it more accessible to the many who cherish it,” Minister Noonan said this week.
“These awards help us to deliver on various commitments under Heritage Ireland 2030, the new national heritage plan launched earlier this year. It will provide further supports for communities and custodians and the heritage sector, for archaeologists, conservation architects, stone masons, and other professional trades. These projects will also help build resilience against extreme weather and mitigate the impacts of climate change, a priority action embedded in our Climate Adaptation Plan.
“I want to commend our National Monuments Service for their huge effort in managing the scheme and the local authorities for their incredible support in administering applications,” the Minister added. “I am particularly happy that we are helping to meet the ambition of local communities across Ireland in protecting their archaeological heritage.”
