The Céide Fields and Mayo Boglands, situated near Ballycastle in north Mayo, have been included on a government list as a potential World Heritage site.
The list includes seven sites around Ireland and has been submitted by the Government to the UN as potential nominees to this prestigious list.
Their candidacy will be considered at a meeting in Brazil at the end of July.
The Céide Fields is the most extensive Stone Age monument in the world, consisting of field systems, dwelling areas, and megalithic tombs. These magnificent stone walled fields, which are covered by natural blanket bog, extend over thousands of acres and are almost 6,000 years old. It is the oldest known site in the world.
Irish sites already on the UN’s World Heritage List are the prehistoric Brú na Bóinne complex in Newgrange, Knowth, and Dowth in Co Meath, and the seventh century monastic complex of Skellig Michael off the Kerry coast.
Other sites nominated for the World Heritage List include the Burren, the monastic city of Clonmacnoise, Georgian Dublin and its literary tradition, early medieval monastic sites like Durrow, Glendalough, Kells, and Monasterboice, royal sites like Cashel and Tara, and the Western Stone Forts.
Environment Minister John Gormley made his recommendations following advice from an expert advisory group. He said that stakeholders here would be consulted before anything is finalised.
