Reflections of Council Members

The Heritage Council

Reflections of Council Members & the Chief ExecutivePage

2 Future-proofing Heritage in Ireland:Community, Education & StewardshipConor Newman, Chairman, the Heritage Council

5 Through the Chair: Reflecting on 20 Years ofExpert Guidance & AchievementMichael Starrett, Chief Executive, the HeritageCouncil

8 From Small Seeds: The Origins of the HeritageCouncilDr. Michael Ryan, former Council Member

10 Formative Years: The Heritage Council 2000-2005William J. Smyth, former Council Member

12 A Particular Place: Heritage Council Projects onthe GroundGráinne Shaffrey, former Council Member

14 Landscape as Resource: the Heritage Council &the OutdoorsDr Caro-lynne Ferris, current Council Member

16 Highlights of the Heritage Council 1995-2015:An Archaeologist’s PerspectiveProfessor Gabriel Cooney, current Council Member

FeaturesPage

18 Mining Ireland’s Cultural ResourcesBeatrice Kelly, Head of Policy & Research, theHeritage Council & Isabell Smyth, Head ofCommunications, the Heritage Council

22 So, What’s New in Cultural Heritage?Ian Doyle, Head of Conservation, the HeritageCouncil

25 Local Authorities & Local Communities:Building Partnerships to Manage Heritage atLocal LevelDr Gerry Glabby, Heritage Officer, Fingal CountyCouncil

28 Wild Child: Reconnecting Children with theOutdoorsUrsula Kilkelly, University College Cork

30 Shaping a New Urban Policy for Ireland’s TownsBased on the findings of research reportscommissioned by the Heritage Council

32 Heritage in Conflict: How can we protectcultural property during war-time?Dr Cathy Daly

Partner Organisations ContributionsPage

34 Brave New World: Reflections of aConservationistDr Liam Lysaght, Director, National BiodiversityCentre

36 Celebrating Research in Irish Archaeology: The Achievements of the Discovery ProgrammeDr Edel Bhreathnach, CEO, The DiscoveryProgramme

38 Conserving our Heritage Buildings: Irish Landmark TrustMary O’Brien, CEO, Irish Landmark Trust

RegularsPage

40 Image Gallery: Highlights from the last 20 years

48 Events

53 Publications

56 Crossword

57 Heritage Council Staff & Heritage Officer contactdetails

Established under the Heritage Act of 1995

Heritage Council, Áras na hOidhreachta, Church Lane, Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny

Tel: 056-7770777 Fax: 056-7770788

Email: [email protected]

www.heritagecouncil.ie

For further contact details see page 57.Heritage Council Members:Conor Newman (Chairman), Dr Ciara Breathnach, Prof. GabrielCooney, Mr Ted Creedon, Dr Brendan Dunford, Dr Caro-LynneFerris, Ms Catherine Heaney, Ms Mary Keenan, Dr Fidelma Mullane, Dr Kieran O'Conor, Mr Michael Parsons.

All rights reserved. The views, opinions and policies expressed in HeritageOutlook may reflect those of the contributors but do not necessarily reflectthe views of the Heritage Council, Heritage staff or the magazine’s editorialstaff. While all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy ofthe contents of this publication, no responsibility can be accepted by theHeritage Council for problems arising as a result of the magazine’s content.Printed on paper comprising of fibres sourced from well managedsustainable forests and bleached without the use of chlorine.

Produced by Isabell Smyth – The Heritage Council /Edited by Geni Murphy / Designed by Ian BarryISBN: 978-1-906304-29-4

Contents

I am privileged to provide this introduction to the special20th Anniversary Edition of Council’s occasional magazine,Heritage Outlook. The decision to suspend publication of themagazine in 2011 was not taken lightly but was an inevitableconsequence of cuts to the Heritage Council's budget duringthe recent economic crisis. The magazine was missed bythose both working in the heritage sector and by those with aninterest in Ireland's diverse heritage. It was a valuableshowcase to express ideas, to challenge convention, to presentinnovation and above all to highlight the valuable contributionthat our natural and cultural heritage makes to this country’soverall sense of well being. As an organisation we haveenjoyed embracing the many digital platforms now availablebut there still remains a place for the printed word.

The reappearance of the publication at a time when we arecelebrating the 20th Anniversary shows that we have survived,with confidence, the worst that the crisis could throw at us. It speaks volumes about the resilience and flexibility of thecommunity-based model for heritage conservation,management and development that has been carefullyimagined and constructed by the Heritage Council and a widerange of partners over the past 20 years.

In reading the contributions of those who laid thefoundations you will see the origins of that building processand celebrate with us a selection of the thoughts and workthat are ongoing. Most importantly you will have theopportunity to share in the views and vision that are setting theagenda for this organisation on behalf of the public it willserve for another 20 years.

The potential that heritage offers is immense and benefitseveryone. Communities are clamouring for new frameworksthat support their knowledge and commitment to theirheritage and their sense of place. If the last 20 years has beenabout building to show what is possible, the next 20 yearsmust be about investing in the potential of heritage totransform communities and provide a sustainable future. We hope you will join us on that journey.

Michael StarrettChief Executive, The Heritage Council

June 6th 2015

1www.heritagecouncil.ie

Setting the agenda for the next 20 years

Heritage Outlook Foreword

2 The Heritage Council

Future-proofingheritage

in Ireland: community, education

& stewardship

Conor Newman, Chairman, the Heritage Council

Muiris Ó Súilleabháin’s memoir of life on the GreatBlasket Island, Fiche Bliain ag Fás, (Twenty Years aGrowing), speaks directly to us from an Ireland thelast rays of which have slipped silently over thehorizon, into the realms of history. This and therecollections of his fellow Blasket chroniclers, TomásÓ Croimhthain and Peig Sayers, were written, or inthe case of Peig Sayers recorded, with a sense ofurgency in the face of certain change: sensing theywere an endangered species, and knowing that theirstory had value, these islanders recorded their livesfor posterity.

Change was indeed in the air. Returning to theBlasket after two years ‘abroad’ in Connemara, ÓSúilleabháin remarked:1

There was great change in two years - green grassgrowing on the paths for lack of walking; five or sixhouses shut up and the people gone out to themainland. Fields which had once had fine stone wallsaround them left to ruin; the big red patches on theSandhills made by the feet of the boys and girls dancing- there was not a trace of them now.

Yet, despite its ethereal qualities, heritage canalso be surprisingly resilient. Eleven years after thepublication of Fiche Bliain ag Fás, and in what issurely an homage of sorts; Evans was not asentimentalist; to Ó Suilleabháin; one of the foundingfathers of heritage studies in Ireland - Emyr EstynEvans made the following observation:2

The Ireland I am writing about is one which ispassing away, and some of the customs and toolsdescribed and illustrated in the following pages havealmost entirely gone, but I have learnt that it is rarelysafe to use the past tense in writing about Irishmatters. I have more than once come across customswhich were described as dead half a century ago: theold ways are an unconscionable time a-dying.

Evans, like others before him and since, was afterthe ‘real Ireland’ - in fact this is the title of the firstchapter of his book. He too turned to the likes ofMuiris Ó Suilleabháin as witnesses to a real butpassing Ireland. In so doing, but inadvertently in hiscase, he helped create, if not a myth, then a culturalparallax that differentiated out at least two Irelands,one valorized as being more authentic than the other,but for all that, more trapped by history. Here is notthe place to discuss how this stigmatism at the core

of Irish identity has played out, except to say that it isultimately disenfranchising, of all sides.

Heritage is not a new concept, and itsguardianship is not a new imperative but given theaccelerated rate of change, globalisation and thesocial isolation of virtual reality, it is something wetoo approach with a sense of urgency. The wisdom ofages has taught us the value of belonging, and howto recognise and honour the myriad of things that ingrounding us, in earthing us in social authenticity,contribute to our belonging to family, communityand society.

This, I believe, is what President Michael D.Higgins meant when he said “Knowledge of history isintrinsic to citizenship” 3.

To paraphrase Eric Hobsbawn, safeguarding“the social mechanisms that link one’scontemporary experience to that of earliergenerations” is the only defence we haveagainst “one of the most characteristic andeerie phenomena of the late 20th century,the spectre of the ahistorical, unlocated,non-citizen”4.

This, ultimately, is the task of those individualsand organisations interested in safeguarding andpromoting heritage. Heritage management is a socialservice.

We may smile at the thought of Muiris ÓSuilleabháin being wrenched from the Blaskets allthe way to Connemara but only because, if you’llpardon the contradiction, our world has shrunk tosomething a lot bigger. Like any big picture, however,it lacks real depth of field, sacrificing detail in favourof the bigger pattern. But we don’t live out our lives inthe bigger pattern. The bigger pattern does not offera genuine homestead or genuine belongingness. Welive, instead, in the detail. It is there you will find us.Because it is in the detail of daily lives that heritage ismade, the philosophy of the Heritage Council hasbeen to put people first, to listen and respond to theneeds and ambitions of communities around theirheritage, to ally with existing heritage-relatedorganisations, and to create capacities where noneexisted before.


Left: The Blasket Islands as seen from Dunmore Head.


The ‘ground up’ approach adopted by the HeritageCouncil has made it a highly networkedorganisation, with an almost bewildering numberand range of relationships, from national bodiesto parish-level communities-of-interest.

People define what is heritage in the choices theymake, consciously or unconsciously, between whatvestiges of the past still matter and are worth holdingon to, and what is discarded or let go. In this sense,heritage per se might be thought of as a process. Anda surprisingly dynamic one at that; as more and morepeople engage with heritage, the range of heritagesis expanding, and increasingly novel and oftenplayful, sometimes even irreverent ways ofembracing heritage are emerging. This is down to theaccelerated rate at which the discovery, celebrationand stewardship of heritage is transferring intopublic ownership. It is a phenomenon that ishappening all over Europe right now. Though such aprospect may be daunting, challenging even, toauthorities with statutory responsibility for aspects ofthe heritage, it holds the promise of delivering onambitions championed repeatedly in internationalconventions of:

“awakening or increasing public interest, as fromschool-age, in the protection of the heritage, the qualityof the built environment and architecture [and] demonstrating the unity of the cultural heritage andthe links that exist between architecture, the arts,popular traditions and ways of life...” 5. This is a goalworth pursuing.

Heritage per se is a comparatively young disciplineand profession. This is the context in which theachievements of the Heritage Council over the pasttwenty years ought to be gauged. As a field ofendeavour, and indeed an essential dimension ofpublic policy, heritage was in its infancy when theHeritage Council was first established. Over thecourse of twenty years, the beginnings of a heritagesector have emerged, public consciousness ofheritage per se has increased, consciousness ofheritage as a publically-owned asset has increased,

and awareness of the myriad values of heritage hasgrown. The Heritage Council has played a key role inthese developments. In addition to awareness-raising, advocacy, and the administration of highlysuccessful grant schemes that have contributeddirectly to the conservation and presentation ofheritage assets, an enduring legacy of the HeritageCouncil is the infrastructures of policy and capacity ithas built and is building to manage and developheritage as a social good.

Whereas there are academic/professionaldisciplines associated with different categories ofheritage and combinations thereof, such asarchitecture, wildlife, history, archaeology, folklore,earth sciences and so on, heritage per se has givenrise to a distinct discipline whose focus is on theintersection of these inheritances and the public.Concerned with when, where, how and why peopleengage with heritage, and in particular themanagement of those nexuses, the discipline ofheritage has developed its own canon, skills set,methodologies and training. Similarly, publicoutreach and transdisciplinarity have emerged asareas of specialisation in their own right in the caseof these other disciplines (e.g. public history andpublic archaeology). Thus, heritage and the suite ofrelated disciplines are moving in broadly the samedirection, guided by the principles of publicauthorship, public ownership and sharedstewardship. n

1 Twenty Years A-Growing (translated by M. Llewelyn Davies and G. Thomson,Oxford University Press, 1953)2 Irish Heritage: The Landscape, the People and their Work (W. Tempest,Dundalgan Press, Dundalk. 1942)3 Michael Littleton Memorial Lecture 2013. Remembering the 1913 Lockout.19th June 2013.4 Eric Hobsbawn 1994. The Age of Extremes: the short twentieth century, 1914-1991, London: Abacus, 3.5 Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of the ArchitecturalHeritage of Europe (1985)


Commemorations are a time of reflection, as muchas setting new goals for the years ahead. So it isentirely appropriate as we mark the 20thanniversary of the founding of the Heritage Councilthat I should reflect on the outstanding contributionmade by the Council’s chairpersons over the pasttwenty years, and especially since my ownappointment as Chief Executive in 1996.

The first chairperson of the Heritage Council wasFreda Rountree who held that post from 1995 untilher untimely death in February 2000. In every senseof the word she was the true pioneer of Council’srole and saw that it needed to carve its own nicheand not try to sort out everything. She understoodthat the new organisation needed to complementthe role of existing State heritage bodies with theirresponsibilities for state-owned property, andnationally designated and protected sites.

Freda recognised the need for somethingdifferent and her own deep involvement with localcommunity pointed the way. She believed stronglythat community involvement had to be at the heartof everything we wanted to achieve and that Councilshould do that in a way that empowered, enabledand supported the importance of place to people.This led to the publication of our first Strategic Plan1997-2000, and its three themes of collecting data,promoting pride, and proposing policy.

The community grants programme and theHeritage Officer network have their origins in this

approach, as did the innovative proposals thatexamined the impact of major land uses, such asforestry and agriculture on the national heritage.Council also carried out the first ever research onLevels of Heritage Awareness in Ireland duringFreda’s time in charge. The base line was set,allowing for change and public shifts in heritageawareness to be identified, evaluated and be fedback into the work of the Heritage Council.

Following Freda’s tragic death, Ruth Delany wasappointed as Chairperson for the short period up tothe appointment of a new Council in July 2000. Herquiet and gentle manner allowed us to cope withgrieving Freda’s loss while keeping our focus on thelong term goals that had been set. Ruth shapedinfluential proposals on Inland Waterways thatultimately led to the establishment of the cross-Border Waterways Ireland. She also drove thecritical Waterway Corridor Studies project that led toa much more integrated approach on themanagement of Ireland’s water catchment areas.

Ruth also stoutly defended Council’sindependence during her time in the chair. Council’scritiques of the National Development Plan and theTax Incentive Schemes for the Upper Shannoncaused some tension at that time but hindsightshows the value of the contribution. It was Ruth toowho secured agreement with the Church of Irelandthat, should it decide to part with its Bishop’s Palacein Kilkenny, and subject to planning permission, theHeritage Council would acquire the property as its

Through the ChairReflecting on twenty years of expert guidance and achievementMichael Starrett, Chief Executive, the Heritage Council, June 2015


Left: Past Chairpersons - Tom O'Dwyer and Ruth Delany with

current Chairperson, ConorNewman.

Below: The late Freda Rowntree -first Chairperson of the Heritage

Council 1995-2000.

national headquarters. It took eight years for that agreement to become

reality under the guidance of Tom O’Dwyer, whosucceeded Ruth as Chairperson. Tom brought awealth of experience both at national and Europeanlevel to guide the next stage of Council’sdevelopment. It was Tom who secured the Ministerialagreement and the funding for us to finally acquireand develop the building into Áras na hOidreachta.As well as being Council’s administrativeheadquarters, today the building provides a centreand focus for many community-led activities -through the location and use of its headquarters,Council is, in effect, practicing what it preaches.

Tom’s oversight of the review of Council’sfounding legislation (as part of a commitment in theNational Heritage Plan) and the clarity of purposethat was secured as a result proved invaluable toCouncil in maintaining its momentum. Thatmomentum and Tom’s intimate knowledge of thepublic service saw the realisation of major heritageinfrastructural proposals and developments thathad been the subject of discussion for many years.These included the National Biodiversity DataCentre, the Irish Walled Towns Network and theMuseum Standards Programme for Ireland, as wellas increased capacity for the community grantsscheme.

The Heritage Officer network was expanded,Council published major policy proposals forIreland’s landscapes, on the future of Irish thatch

and on our maritime heritage. Many communityinitiatives and organisations, including the WicklowUplands Council, Woodlands of Ireland, Burren Beoand Bere Island received ongoing support fromCouncil. These projects demonstrate the efficacy ofa model for public service delivery that supportedlocal communities to lead the conservation,management and development of their heritage.Tom also presided at the official opening of the newnational headquarters by President Mary McAleesein April 2008 prior to the end of his second period asChairperson.

Conor Newman succeeded Tom as Chairpersonin 2008. All seemed set for him to continue to buildon the achievements of his three predecessors. Andthen the Irish economy crashed. As a result, fromthe outset of his chairmanship Conor found theHeritage Council (and the wider heritage sector ingeneral) being subjected to draconian cuts whichonly ceased last year. The budget available toCouncil shrank dramatically from €20m in 2008 to€7m in 2014. Also in 2011 it was proposed byGovernment that Council be absorbed into theDepartment of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltachtremoving its status as an independent advisory body.It was Council’s steadfast view that this would undoyears of work supporting community groups acrossIreland and result in the loss of the heritageinfrastructure needed to support local initiatives. Inaddition its independent policy advisory role wouldno longer be needed.


Led by Conor, Council vigorously resisted theproposed merger, arguing – as one commentatorput it – that all that would happen if such a mergerproceeded, was that most of what the Council didwould be abandoned, and the rest would bepoliticised. An external critical review of theorganisation resulted in the proposed merger beingwithdrawn (a decision supported by all politicalparties) and an acknowledgement that the workcarried out by Council, and indeed the manner inwhich it carried it out, was not something that couldbe replicated by a Government Department.

This positive result was secured with unstintingsupport from all sectors with an interest in heritagematters. Local authorities, community groups, andindividuals, all expressed their view on the value andsignificance of Council’s work and supported itsapproach of working for and with them. Conorplayed a critical role in articulating the need for thatsupport and in securing it. Amazingly, throughConor’s steadfast advocacy, commitment andguidance, the entire heritage infrastructure thatCouncil has imagined and supported has survived. It now remains primed and indeed is clamouring forongoing and regular investment to realise itspotential.

Notwithstanding all threat of mergers andreduction in budgets, Conor has articulated clearlythe Council’s commitment to support employment,education and heritage tourism through itscommunity-based work. He has set out to provide a

wider understanding of the significant role thatheritage can play in aiding, not only nationalrecovery but just as critically in building stronger,more actively engaged communities. Publishedresearch on the Economic Value of the BuiltEnvironment and on the Children and the Outdoorshas helped strengthen our arguments and givenCouncil firm foundations to build on in the future.Further important policy proposals, includingProposals for Ireland’s Landscapes and the need toPlan in Harmony with Heritage continue to emergeand to consolidate our service delivery within a firmpolicy framework.

Conor has also led discussion on the emergenceof heritage as a discipline in its own right. Drawingon more traditional disciplines such as archaeology,architecture and biological sciences among others,and considering these diverse disciplines in anintegrated manner marks another shift. Above all,under Conor’s guidance, Council has achieved majornational and international recognition for its work inrecent years and continues to build successfulpartnerships at home and abroad.

Besides these reflections on the past twentyyears our focus is now very much on the future andto realising the full potential of what has been put inplace in the heritage sector. That will requirecommitment, understanding and flexibility from allof us if we are to secure essential, phasedinvestment in and renewed support for our work.That will surely continue to motivate us all. n

The current Board of the Heritage Council.


FromSmallSeeds:The origins of theHeritage Council Dr. Michael Ryanformer Council Member

The origin of the Heritage Councilcan be traced back to FrankMitchell’s Presidential Address tothe Royal Irish Academy in 1979. Ina wide-ranging paper he exploredthe state of archaeology in Irelandand the value of our heritagegenerally. Frank’s vision was to seeGovernment take a comprehensiveview of all aspects of our heritage.His paper was read by the Taoiseach,Charles Haughey who kept theissues raised in his view. On hisreturn to power in 1987, a committeewas formed which included suchfigures as Maurice Craig, FrankMitchell, Padraig Ó hUiginn, AnthonyCronin and Paschal Scanlan.

The committee was tasked toconsider the possible formation of abody which could take the desiredwide view of the heritage - naturaland cultural. I had the pleasure ofserving on that committee. Agenerous scope was defined whichincluded replacing a number ofstatutory bodies with a singlecouncil. While legislation was beingprepared, and in order to makesome impact without delay, a non-statutory Heritage Council was set


up under the leadership of Lord Kilanin which beganimmediately to develop policies and to providegrants for research. A parallel development, TheDiscovery Programme, was gradually brought withinthe Heritage Council’s remit through the provision ofits annual grant.

The completion of legislation enabled the firstMinister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and theIslands, Michael D. Higgins, to establish thestatutory Heritage Council in 1995. The very widebrief of that first Department was the closest Irelandhad come to a Ministry of Culture on the continentalmodel. The tendency in Irish politics to juggle thecomponents of many government departments aftereach General Election certainly eroded thecoherence of that first iteration of a culturaldepartment but throughout the changes over thenext decade, the Heritage Council kept itscomprehensive role and coherence.

The establishment of the Heritage Council on astatutory basis was one of the lastingachievements of that Government and to serveon the Council in the early days of developingprocedures, setting out parameters for policyformation and gradually building a staff was anexciting and demanding task.

The critical foundation task was to define staffingneeds and recruit expert staff and, crucially, toappoint a CEO. In the first year or so, Members ofCouncil were very hands-on but as the staffingarrangements bedded down, we had to learn to stepback from executive functions and allow the talentedstaff to grow into their roles while we thought aboutstrategy and development. This was helped by thecharismatic leadership of Freda Rountree as Chairwho guided the process of establishment and set theCouncil on the road to maturity before herpremature death in early 2000. By then the HeritageCouncil had proved its worth in policy development,in well thought-through grant-schemes and vastamounts of encouragement to communities andpublic bodies.

It is the atmosphere of that first statutoryHeritage Council that I cherish in memory – we were pioneers of new ways of working for theheritage, listening as much as telling, consultingwidely and bringing together disparate andsometimes clashing interests. For me theoutstanding achievements were developing thegrant schemes, setting up the Museums andArchives Committee and taking the first steps on theway to creating a quality assurance scheme formuseums in Ireland, which is now the much-admired Museum Standards Programme for Ireland.

We also undertook the first ever landscapeconference, a review of urban archaeology anddeveloped the general policy of encouraging localcommunity effort. The grants programme providedmuch-needed seed funding for communities andprojects and the appointment of the first HeritageOfficers in local authorities was a remarkable stepforward. Above all, I recall with friendship andrespect the members of Council, staff and theconstructive relationships which were developedthroughout the country. The Heritage Council of1995-2000 was remarkable but credit is also due tothe work of its non-statutory predecessor whichblazed some of the trails that we followed. n

Dr. Michael Ryan is an archaeologistwho has written widely on prehistory,landscape development and EarlyChristian art in Ireland. He served asDirector of the Chester BeattyLibrary and Keeper of IrishAntiquities in the National Museum.He was President of the Royal IrishAcademy 2002-2005 and Chair of theDiscovery Programme 2000-2010.

The late Charles J. Haugheyset up the first committee toconsider the formation of abody which would haveresponsibility for the

formation of policy on thenational heritage.

While legislation was beingprepared which would set outthe scope and responsibilitiesof the Heritage Council, a non-statutory body was set up

under Lord Kilanin.

President Michael D. Higgins,the first Minister for Arts,

Heritage, Gaeltacht & the Islands formely

established the HeritageCouncil in 1995.

The board of the Heritage Council - referred to as Councilmembers - is comprised of 11 members who are appointedby the Minister for Arts, Heritage & the Gaeltacht (previously the Minister for Environment) for a period ofeither four or five years.


Formative YearsThe Heritage Council 2000-2005

William J. Smyth, former Council Member

I was a member of the Heritage Council from 2000to 2005, which was then under Tom Dwyer’s ablechairmanship. In retrospect, I see my experience asa member of the Council as a different kind ofgeographical fieldwork. It was both refreshing andstimulating to deal with and respond to the oftenvery different perspectives of both other Councilmembers and equally the specialist committeemembers who were not on Council. I rememberRuth Delany as a most experienced and dedicatedmember, always helpful to the newcomer.

We held our inaugural meeting in Galway wherethe great maritime expert John de Courcy Irelandwas a guest-speaker. We were all moved when hesaid: “I have waited a long time for this day”. Wemanaged to draw attention to the need to conservemany of our smaller port and fishing settlements as


well as helping out with vernacular boat-buildingand conservation. Council members from Co. Clare,Michael McMahon and Michael McNamara were tothe fore on all aspects of rural Ireland. I stillremember Michael McNamara regaling us withstories of the making of eel-traps and the intimategeographies of eel-fisheries. Maurice Hurleyinvariably provoked lively discussions with hiscontributions on archaeological issues.

The Council had many achievements in these fiveyears. The gradual filling in of the county map withHeritage Officer appointments was major – theyhave since been towers of strength in championingthe heritage agenda. More recently, I haveexperienced at a professional level how veryeffective such officers are within their variedcommunities.

For me, the most exciting annual event was thepresentation of awards to community groupsfrom all over the country. Heritage Council grantsto these communities has been central to theachievement of core heritage objectives.

The key Education Committee was innovative ona number of fronts, including nurturing thepublication of a text for post-primary schools onGeographical Fieldwork on heritage issues as wellas supporting the publication of many books focusedon local, country and national heritage initiatives.Before books can be written, the Heritage Councildoes and should continue to foster documentation,photographic and otherwise, of vernacular artefactsthat might otherwise be ignored or lost.

Our Council was deeply involved in sustainednegotiations with the Church of Ireland over theacquisition of the Bishop’s Palace in Kilkenny for itsnew headquarters. Happily, this has been long sinceachieved. Regrets I have a few – I think we couldhave been more active and alert on key planningissues and in particularly in relation to Tara and theproposed motorway. That Conor Newman was laterappointed Chairman of the Council providedreassurance in this arena.

In looking to the future, one would wish that theCouncil could retain if not enhance itsindependent role vis-à-vis government in theexecution of its business.

That was certainly the intention of the founders ofthe Council twenty years ago. I would also advocatefor equal attention and funding to be invested in thevernacular architecture, as is invested in what may bedescribed as 'high' architecture. The conservation ofmany forlorn handball alleys around the country,farm villages in South Kilkenny, the Dingle peninsulaand parts of Co. Louth stand as a testament to thepositive contribution that this type of architecturemake to our local landscapes and towns. As Irelandrapidly urbanises, as we fly past in our cars and aslocal memory is being lost, the Council ought toconsider a pilot county project on highlightingtownland nomenclature in the landscape.

Most importantly, the Heritage Council mustsustain, through its officer corps at headquarters andits heritage officers in the field, the business ofmaintaining and strengthening support for all formsof community endeavour. Where the Council providesleadership, there is still a well-spring of dedicationon the part of most parish communities to enhancetheir environments in so many diverse ways.

Beir bua agus beannacht. n

Emeritus Professor William J. Smyth is a graduate ofUniversity College Dublin (UCD) andthe National University of Ireland(NUI). He has lectured in UCD, NUI, inuniversities in Syracuse, New York andLos Angeles and was Professor ofGeography at University College Corkbetween 1977 and 2009.


Opposite: The former Bishop's Palace in Kilkenny, now Áras nahOidhreachta - the headquarters of the Heritage Council.

Right: The great maritime expert John de Courcy Ireland - guestspeaker at the inaugural Heritage Council meeting in Galway.


At this point in the Heritage Council’s life, it isnotable that the dominant drivers behind publiclegitimacy (and public funding) of the heritagesector forces the emphasising of value over love.

In practice, the instrumental registers louderthan the intrinsic. In this, the heritage sector is nodifferent to the arts and other cultural sectors. Weexist in competitive times and, as such, the demandhas been to argue the (primarily economic) values ofheritage so that they are made available for‘exploitation’, as Wendell Berry might have it. Suchexploitation should not be seen as entirely negative– there are pragmatic reasons to exploit ourheritage, such as the very essential utility of ourhistoric building stock as purposefulaccommodation for civic, commercial and everydaylife. This is an increasingly sound position givenclimate change, the prerogative to prioritise use ofexisting resources and the need to regenerate ourtowns and villages.

Nonetheless, in considering the rich legacy of 20years of Heritage Council activity, it is probablythrough the individual projects – the particularisingof heritage – that care for and emotional connectionwith our heritage has been triggered mosteffectively. These projects primarily take placewithin the context of a general programme –Buildings at Risk; the Traditional Farm BuildingScheme; Village Design Statements; Irish WalledTown Network, are some examples - although therehave also been notable one-off projects such as theseminal Mayglass Farmstead Project. What these allhave in common, however, is the combination ofpersonal interactions, specific project focus and theachievement of tangible, positive, outcomes. Theyhave been place-based and have engenderedawareness, interest and care for place (theparticular place).

The particular, somehow, tests and proves thestrategy. And so the Heritage Council’s approach ofdeveloping and implementing policy throughprojects and activities has left a rich legacy widelydispersed throughout the country. In taking thisapproach the Heritage Council may have sometimesoperated within the shadows of the national

“People exploit what they have merelyconcluded to be of value, but they defend

what they love, and to defend what we lovewe need a particularising language, for we

love what we particularly know”

Wendell Berry quoted in Robert McFarlane’s essay: “From aquabob to zawn” Guardian Review, February 2015.

A ParticularPlace:

Heritage Council Projectson the Ground

Gráinne Shaffrey, former Council Member

The seminal Mayglass Farmstead conservation project, Co. Wexford,before and after conservation.

limelight, nurturing the grassroots. Twenty years on, itis worth celebrating the accumulation of projects,which have proven a gradually evolving, yet, consistentpolicy position.

Equally so, it is worth celebrating the effectiveoperation of a double register – initiating programmesand supporting projects within these programmes.There are many illustrations: • The Museum Standards Programme for Ireland with

its ‘hands-on’ support for all scales of museum toset and, critically, maintain high standards.

• The Conservation Plan methodology introduced bythe Heritage Council means that the concept andpractice of integrated and holistic conservationplanning for complex sites is now establishedpractice.

• The Heritage Officer network which allows a certainindividuality of voice within a highly supportivenetwork is now closely integrated with other localauthority departments and functions.

• The growing body of traditional farm buildingswhich have been conserved in partnership with theDept. of Agriculture, Food & the Marine, exemplifiesthe Heritage Council's concern for the most humbleof our heritage.More recently, the Heritage Council has deployed its

strength as ‘honest broker’ in facilitating assemblies ofshared interest. The Traditional Buildings SkillsWorking Group is a current example which brings onboard the educators, practitioners and professionals,becoming greater than the sum of its parts. Thisworking group is beginning to make a significantpositive impact on this sector, in particular in the areaof apprenticeship and training.

Looking forward to the next twenty years andbeyond, more interaction with and inclusion of thenon-heritage sector will provide an effective way ofcommunication and development.

There are many areas of heritage concern whichalign with interests lying well outside the immediateheritage spectrum -the cultivation of our land and ourfood; the future of our towns and sustainablesettlement patterns; the interrelationship betweenenvironment and health; the management of ourlandscapes – rural, urban, seascape – and ourmanagement of climate change.

It is hoped that the Heritage Council can continue tooperate at the project level and this will depend on thenature and level of funding. Developing policy throughworking groups, research and position papers remainscritical but it will always be more effective whensupplemented by action and implementation throughexemplars and projects. These projects are theparticularising language which helps us know ourheritage and, in the knowing, we will continue to careand defend. n


Above: The Traditional Farm BuildingsGrants Scheme has seen hundreds offarm buildings throughout the countryconserved for use into the future.

Left: The Buildings at Risk Scheme’srestoration of the Clonaslee church spire.

Below: Fethard medieval festival, part ofthe Irish Walled Towns Network.

Gráinne Shaffrey is a Director withShaffrey Associates Architects andwas a Board Member of the HeritageCouncil between 2008-2013.



From 2005 I have enjoyed the immense privilege ofbeing a member of the Heritage Council. Having apersonal interest in the role that outdoor recreationcan play in helping individuals, communities andsociety to connect with and enjoy Ireland’s richheritage - this is the area of the Heritage Council’swork that I believe is worthy of celebration.

Recognising that outdoor recreation contributespositively to the nation’s health and well-being,community cohesion, environmental protection,rural regeneration and economic development,the Heritage Council has supported numerousinitiatives both directly and indirectly that havebeen instrumental in delivering theaforementioned benefits.

Ireland’s landscape is available to all for itsbeauty and exploration. By its support of theprovision of trails, the Heritage Council hasfacilitated the enjoyment and experience of one ofthe most easily accessible heritage assets. TheHeritage Council has directly supported initiatives

Landscape as Resource: the Heritage Council & the OutdoorsDr Caro-lynne Ferris, current Council Member

Pilgrims Paths provides seven walking trailsaround the country, developed in association withlocal communities, they follow the routes thatmedieval pilgrims would have taken.

Seeking to promote the implementation of the EuropeanLandscape Convention, Proposals for Ireland's Landscapessets out new ideas regarding how we might manage, plan

and conserve Ireland’s landscape into the future.


such as the development of the Beara Breifne Way,the Pilgrim Paths and also allowed, through itsgrant programmes, many communities to awakenthe interest of trail users to the local heritage of anarea by providing for example, trail leaflets andinterpretation panels. In addition, the HeritageCouncil’s on-going support of organisations such asthe Wicklow Uplands Council has enabled it, throughpartnership-working with local landowners andstakeholders, to provide improved access to theWicklow Mountains.

The value of Ireland’s inland waterways as amajor outdoor recreation resource and heritageasset has also been recognised by the HeritageCouncil. In partnership with local authorities,government agencies and local communities it hasled the preparation of five waterway corridor studiesalong the River Shannon. These comprehensivestudies acted as the catalyst necessary for many ofthe areas to develop their outdoor recreationoffering, resulting in increased numbers of peopleenjoying the outdoors and ultimately the natural andbuilt heritage on offer.

As an advocate of partnership-working, theHeritage Council has delivered numerous outdoorrecreation and heritage focused projects bycollaborating with partners both north and south. Aneffective partnership with Outdoor RecreationNorthern Ireland saw the delivery of a successfultwo day conference on the impact of climate changeon Ireland’s landscapes and seascapes andconsequently outdoor recreation. Also, a partnershipwith Coillte saw the completion of a major researchproject which considered the public good of Coillte’sestate including the provision of recreation,landscape, habitats and species, in addition tocultural heritage.

In spite of significant resource constraints, theHeritage Council continues to progress new policyareas, most recently through its work with childrenand outdoor play. With a comprehensiveunderstanding of the barriers and constraints tochildren’s reduced contact with the outdoors andnatural heritage now known, the Heritage Council iswell placed to develop policy in this important areaand recommend specific measures necessary tosupport children’s engagement with the outdoorsand natural heritage.

In moving forward it is fundamental that theHeritage Council continues to deliver objectiveswhich encourage increased numbers of thepopulation to enjoy Ireland’s rich heritagethrough participation in outdoor recreation.

In particular, attention should be given tofacilitate those communities that are currentlyunder-represented such as the disabled, minorityethnic and those of high social need. However

without a doubt, the next few years will continue toremain a challenge for the Heritage Council asbudgets are expected to remain constrained.Despite this, I have every confidence that theHeritage Council will continue to place partnership-working at the heart of everything it does, remaincommunity focused, continue to strive for excellencein every aspect of its work, providing a qualityservice to its customers and stakeholders anddeliver its activities with integrity whilst ensuringvalue for money. n

Caro-lynne Ferris has been amember of the Heritage Council’sBoard since 2005. She is a graduateof Liverpool University and ExeterUniversity and has a PhD fromQueen's University, Belfast. Caro-lynne has an MBA with specialism inPublic Management from theUniversity of Ulster. She has worked

with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, theNorthern Ireland Tourist Board, Sport NorthernIreland, the Mourne Heritage Trust and OutdoorRecreation Northern Ireland.


View of Mount Brandon, Co. Kerry along the route of Cosa ́n naNaomh - one of Ireland's most fascinating and beautiful oldpilgrimage roads.

The Heritage Council’s on-going support of organisations such as WicklowUplands Council, Burren Beo Trust and Woodlands of Ireland has enabled

increased public access and appreciation of these special places


My first formal encounter with the HeritageCouncil was in my then capacity as editor ofArchaeology Ireland, the quarterly magazine thatcovers all aspects of Irish archaeology. In the newssection of the Summer 1995 issue I wrote that theHeritage Act 1995, which established the HeritageCouncil on a statutory basis, had passed all stagesin the Oireachtas and had been signed into law bythe President, Mrs Mary Robinson. My initialperspective on the new Council was that of anobserver interested in issues to do with archaeologyand heritage as well as an active researcher.

It was a statement of intent to think aboutheritage, people and communities in a differentway to move the headquarters to Kilkenny, whichvery quickly became Council’s home as well asits working base.

My perspective has changed over the last tenyears when I have had the privilege of serving as aboard member of the Heritage Council. My enduringrecollection is the quality of the work carried out bythe staff of Council, the service and breath ofexpertise of all of the members of the board overthat period, and how successfully Council copedwith the dramatic decrease in resources over thelast five years. I played an active role on committeesand working groups and through this came toappreciate that we have to set specific areas ofinterest, like archaeology, in the wider context ofheritage.

Highlights of the HeritageCouncil 1995-2015:

An archaeologist’s perspective Professor Gabriel Cooney, current Council Member


Heritage, tangible and intangible, cultural andnatural, is about the role of the past in thepresent, and the value that we place on it.

There are some highlights of the work of theCouncil that stand out for me. In relation toarchaeology, three highlights are the Review ofResearch Needs in Irish Archaeology (2007), the Brúna Bóinne World Heritage Site Research Framework(2009) and the establishment of the programme forIrish National Strategic Archaeological Research(INSTAR). From a broader perspective - the HeritageOfficer network, established by the HeritageCouncil, now plays a vital role in the recognition ofheritage at local authority and community level. TheMuseums Standards Programme for Ireland whichnow covers 61 museums; from major nationalcultural institutions to community museums, put inplace a national, accredited programme of trainingand management that transformed this sector.Finally the engagement of Council with thelandscape, as the arena in which we live and wherewe face the challenge of valuing inheritances fromthe past and managing the future, has had a majorimpact on the national debate about landscapestrategy.

So what of the future? That news item I wrote inArchaeology Ireland in 1995 commented on thepassing into law of the 1994 amendment to the National Monuments Acts, as indicative ofgovernment support for the protection of thearchaeological resource. Since then we have been

through unprecedented economic growth and thesubsequent period of austerity, when culturalheritage appears to have been targeted for excessivecuts in government spending. These appear to havebeen done without any coherent strategy, plan forthe future or awareness of long-term consequences.

The challenge for Council over the next 20 yearsis to re-establish the central role of heritage in Irishsociety. This is not about going back to oldparadigms but affirming the cultural value ofheritage, its contribution to people and society andexploring heritage as a critical contributor ofenvironmental, social and economic sustainability,which is the key national and global priority. n

Gabriel Cooney is a current boardmember of the Heritage Council. He isProfessor of Celtic Archaeology andcurrently Head of School in the Schoolof Archaeology, University CollegeDublin. He chairs the HistoricMonuments Council of NorthernIreland. A member of the Royal IrishAcademy, he currently serves on the

Council of the Academy. He is an expert member ofICAHM (the International Committee on ArchaeologicalHeritage Management), and a member of ICOMOS.

Opposite Page: Jerpoint Abbey, Thomastown, Kilkenny.

Above: The Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site Research Framework.

Above Left: Excavation of an early medieval cemetery at Carrowkeel,County Galway.

Left: Established by the Heritage Council, the INSTAR web archive isone of the most important online archaeological informationresources currently available in Ireland.


The Heritage Council18

Beatrice Kelly, Head of Policy & Research, the Heritage Council & Isabell Smyth, Head of Communications, the Heritage Council

Mining Ireland’s Cultural Resources

Ireland’s cultural heritage is vast,underappreciated and amazing! It is the stonecircles on boggy mountain tops to 7th centurymanuscripts with monk’s complaints written inthe margins, to the medieval street layouts ofour modern towns, to ruined abbeys besidemisty rivers. It is the collections of ‘stuff’bequeathed to us from earlier generations.

Not only is it amazing, it is a resource thathelps us create better places to live and workand is a source of inspiration, enjoyment andentertainment.

This resource is made up of the over 500museum collections and archives spreadacross the country, the hundreds ofmonuments we literally step over daily andthousands of records and artefacts in ourlibraries, museums, organisations and homes.These are the remnants of the creative energyand effort of previous generations, our sharedinheritance as a country but how do we unleashthe potential of this wonderful resource?

One way is through the use of digitaltechnology. It allows us to re-visit, re-imageand rediscover our heritage. On-line access tomanuscripts, library and archival documentsallows many more people the opportunity toengage with these collections whether forlearning, developing new businesses orenjoyment. It also allows people from verydifferent disciplines to collaborate, creating

Glasnevin Museum: One of 61 participating museums in theMuseum Standards Programme for Ireland (co-ordinated by the

Heritage Council), which provides a framework for improvedcollections management and visitor experience.


something that is fresh and new such as thekind of creative work we see in animation,gaming and advertising – between architectsand graphic designers, archaeologists andgamers and archivists and the Mad Men people.Those who are part of the new and valuablecreative industries draw on the imagination ofprevious generations bringing a fresh approachand new business opportunities to places andobjects we know well of old.

Our cultural heritage collections and siteshave the potential to become a new source offunding for research projects, helping Irelandtake part in the European research fundingprogramme, Horizon 2020.

Digitization can help us to care for the originalobjects better too, by making what is called a digitalsurrogate for research or interpretation, thus allowingthe original to be conserved and put to less use.

Better digital access to our heritage meansthat more nuanced and interesting tourismmaterial can be provided; visitors can beencouraged to adventure to the more hiddensites and to explore less known aspects of thewell-known sites. Some online tools arecurrently being developed in this area such asthe monastic Ireland project www.monastic.iebut much more is possible.

With almost 1000 monuments in state carealone and 500 collections around the country,

what can be done to ensure access andawareness of this asset? Other Europeancountries have been much quicker to recogniseits importance and have invested substantiallyin digitisation schemes for objects, documentsand books. For example the Dutch spend €5million annually simply to store the digitalversion of their national library, while we spent€5.9 million for our entire National Libraryoperations in 2013. Other countries such asFrance invest in their regional and localmuseums and art institutions. For example, inFrance a new branch of the Louvre has beenopened recently in Lens, a post industrial townin the North East at a cost of €150 million.

Museums and collections are valued not justfor their role in attracting tourists but are justas important for creating a sense of place in atown or region, a sense of pride and wellbeing.Places with a strong sense of pride and placefind it easier to attract new businesses to start-up or relocate there according to IDA research.With its emphasis on citizen participation andengagement, cultural heritage has the potentialto make a strong contribution to ‘smart cities’1

an idea the EU is keen to develop; we need tofoster the cultural heritage laboratory conceptrather than the theme park.

The Heritage Council, along with the Designand Crafts Council of Ireland, the Butler Galleryand Rothe House are promoting the concept of

Rahan Monastic Site: Oneof nearly 1,000 monumentsin state care around thecountry.

The Monastic Irelandproject assemblesaccurate andcomprehensive informationrelating to the history,landscape and materialculture of Irish monastichouses c. 1100–1700,which is presented onlineat www.monastic.ie.


The deserved recognition given to Cartoon Saloon’s Oscar nominatedfilms - the Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea speak to the technical

and creative competence now available in Ireland.

a ‘treasury’ of cultural collections to beincluded in the new development of the formerbrewery site in the heart of Kilkenny, a purposebuilt space for the storage, research, displayand animation of collections relating toKilkenny. Such a facility will complement thedisplays in St. Mary’s, Butler Gallery and RotheHouse and will provide a service to theresidents of Kilkenny and county whileproviding an additional reason to visit the city.Such a resource will attract researchers as wellas the potential for applied conservation skillstraining, including digital preservation leadingto new collaborations and increased economicpotential in a small regional city.

Inspiring Ireland (www.inspiring-ireland.ie)2the award-winning website for our culturalinstitutions shows us too what is possibleonline.

In some cases private companies are leadingthe way. Recognising the added value of theircultural heritage they are investing significantlyin its care and conservation. Perhaps mostvisible to the public is the use of the Guinnessarchives that pop up in their advertisingcampaigns and are central to the Guinnessbrand, providing the rich content that isrecognised across the globe.

Guinness currently employs four archivists to carefor its collection while in contrast the State’s policyand funding body for heritage, the Heritage Council,has neither Archivist nor Museums Officer.

The deserved recognition given to CartoonSaloon’s Oscar nominated films the Secret ofKells and the Song of the Sea speak to thetechnical and creative competence nowavailable in Ireland but behind the skills is therich folklore and heritage that inspired itsfounders, Tomm Moore and Paul Young, toretell the stories they loved in a contemporaryformat. Without a knowledge of or access tothis heritage resource we lose a source ofinspiration and a link with place that is hard tomeasure. Other technology and gamingcompanies, also based in Ireland, would benefitfrom greater access to our valuable culturalheritage ensuring that Ireland’s creativereputation abroad is not just maintained butdeveloped while shifting our work force fromassembly line workers to creative developers.

We need as a country to recognise thepotential and invest in this area, in collectionsmanagement, conservation and digitisation to

unlock these cultural assets, to inspire newideas and creativity, as well as enhancingexisting industries like tourism. For ourselvesas citizens too, greater investment in ourcultural heritage would help boost pride in whowe are while enhancing what we have andwhere we live. Lets join the dots on this! n

1. A smart city uses digital technologies to enhance performance andwellbeing, to reduce costs and resource consumption, and to engagemore effectively and actively with its citizens. A smart city should beable to respond faster to city and global challenges than one with asimple 'transactional' relationship with its citizens. Interest in smartcities is motivated by major challenges, including climate change,economic restructuring, the move to online retail and entertainment,ageing populations, and pressures on public finances. The EuropeanUnion has devoted constant efforts to devising a strategy for achieving'smart' urban growth for its metropolitan city-regions. Arup estimatesthat the global market for smart urban services will be $400 billion perannum by 2020. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_city2. The Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI) emerged from a nationalrecognition of the need and responsibility to preserve the digital recordof our culture and society. Our digital records and images are fragileand will be lost over time without a trusted national infrastructure topreserve them. DRI was launched in 2011, and we are now a cross-disciplinary team of nearly forty researchers and scholars, softwareengineers and system administrators, and digital archivists andlibrarians, working together to deliver digital preservation for Ireland.


The aim of the MonasticIreland project is toassemble accurate andcomprehensive informationrelating to the history,landscape and materialculture of Irish monastichouses c. 1100–1700,presented online through www.monastic.ie.

The Monastic Ireland project offers a gateway to:

The Visitor is led through a summary of a site’shistory and given a guided tour centred on aninteractive plan of the foundation. The tour providesa gallery of images and explanatory texts on thesite’s architectural remains of the foundation.

The Researcher is provided with a comprehensivelisting of sources and, where available, links toinformation from medieval and early modernsources, a database of images, and where applicableinformation on previous archaeological work atspecific sites.

The Student and their teachers are offeredresources that can be used by primary andsecondary schools, undergraduates and localhistory communities. This provides an importantoutreach aspect to the Monastic Ireland project.

The Monastic Ireland project has been funded throughthe Fáilte Ireland Applied Research Scheme and theDepartment of Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht (BuiltHeritage Scheme), University College Dublin (Phase 1:2011-2013) and the Irish Research Council (2014-2016).

www.monastic.ie

Over 60 sites across the country take part in the MuseumsStandards Programme forIreland (co-ordinated by theHeritage Council), whichbenchmarks and promotesprofessional standards of

collection care and visitor management.

Each museum unravels unique stories from ourhistory and natural heritage, from the glamour ofFoynes as the centre of the aviation world in the

1930s and 40s at the Foynes Flying Boat andMaritime Museum, to the clatter of newspaper andprinting industries at the National Print Museum(Dublin) with its still operational printing presses;from the development of Ireland's oldest city,Waterford, at Waterford Treasures to memories ofPolar explorer Earnest Shackleton told in hisbirthplace, Athy; from displays of tractors and fastforgotten equipment at the Irish AgriculturalMuseum in Wexford - as well as the museum'sfamily of peacocks! Visitors can take part in a rangeof activities at each institution to experience at firsthand diverse aspects of Ireland’s heritage andhistory.

By joining the programme, these museums arecommitted to ensuring their visitors have the bestpossible experience as well as managing theirdiverse collections appropriately. Achievingaccreditation also gives reassurance and aguarantee to others who lend them objects fordisplay, that these objects will be cared for properly.Over half of sites in the programme have achieved alevel of accreditation. In Jan 2015 25 sites hadreached full accreditation with a further 11 at theinterim stage. Eight sites have been awardedmaintenance of full accreditation certificatesmeaning they have held full accreditation for threeyears or more. This number continue to increaseannually.

For a full list checkwww.heritagecouncil.ie/museums-archive

Over 130 monuments and buildingsfrom Ireland, including decoratedhigh crosses, the island monastery ofSkellig Michael, the passage tombs ofKnowth and Newgrange, and theceremonial landscape of Tara arenow featured in a European widedigital collection of highly accurate3D models. The DiscoveryProgramme scanned the monuments in Ireland andis now liaising with the Irish Film Board to helppromote these resources to film companies workingor wishing to work in Ireland.

The 3D-ICONS project was co-funded through theEU Competitiveness and Innovation FrameworkProgramme (CIP).

www.3dicons.ie

Case Study 1Monastic Ireland

Case Studies

Case Study 2Museum Standards Programme for Ireland (MSPI)

Case Study 33D Icons


This sentence appears at the start of a new report issued by the EU Commission entitled‘Getting cultural heritage to work for Europe’. This report and recent documents signal a new and growing interest from the EU Commission incultural heritage.

The term ‘paradigm shift’ is a much used if notover-used term. At present it is being used inheritage discussions, papers, publications andseminars to describe a shift, sometimes achallenging one, towards new forms of practice, newapproaches to heritage management where there isless comfort in old certainties and more of agrappling with new realities. So what does thismean, is this a reality or simply another example ofthe emperor’s new clothes, this time applied toheritage?

The answer from this writer’s perspective is thatthere has never been a more exciting time to work incultural heritage. Amid the growing recognitionfrom the EU Commission of the value of culturalheritage, the discipline itself continues to evolve andlevels of community engagement and involvementare growing steadily. That said this is also achallenging time for Irish heritage in terms of thelevel of resources available and the lack of anational strategy for heritage. And heritage itself ischallenging. As we embark on the Decade ofCommemorations in Ireland, strains are already

‘Cultural heritage is asignificant force for 21stcentury Europe. Not only is itat the heart of what it meansto be European, it is beingdiscovered by bothgovernments and citizens as ameans of improving economicperformance, people’s livesand living environments.’

So, what’s new in cultural heritage?Ian Doyle, Head of Conservation, the Heritage Council


apparent involving competing views about how weremember events that can be seen as difficult ordivisive. The issue of Magdalene Laundries andmother and baby homes with all of their associatedmemories of marginalisation and infant mortalityrates, illustrates that not all of our heritage can becelebrated, but it has to be remembered.

Yet, internationally we can point to thebroadening of inclusivity and participation in culturalheritage. This perhaps is best represented indocuments such as the ICOMOS Burra Charter orthe Council of Europe Faro Convention on the Valueof Cultural Heritage to Society. Both of thesedocuments highlight the need for greater publicinvolvement in the opportunities and challengeswhich cultural heritage presents and represent amove away from an expert-dominated view.

In particular, the Burra Charter articulates a setof values that recognises that differentindividuals and groups might perceive and valuecultural heritage in different ways.

Equally, there is a recognition that Charters likethis were written explicitly with disenfranchisedlocal groups (indigenous peoples) in mind, and whilesuch groups are not immediately obvious in Europe,local communities were often ignored aboutdecisions relating to their heritage which were takenby government bureaucracies. While Ireland has yetto ratify the Faro Convention, communication andpublic engagement are becoming more and moreunderstood as basic elements of practice. Theongoing development of community archaeologyprojects in Ireland demonstrates this and thevolume of applications to the Heritage Council’s2015 Community Heritage Grants programme alsoechoes this shift and shows how communities areworking in partnership with experts in caring andsafeguarding collections, habitats, monuments andlandscapes.

Other notable trends have been an awarenessthat landscape-based approaches are crucial to theprotection of heritage assets. The protection ofactual monuments and buildings was achieved inlaw many years ago but the need to care for theirsetting and wider context has been a more difficultissue. The development of a conservation ethosbased on the dynamic management of change,epitomised by the European Landscape Convention,has gone some way to assisting this. Tools whichplace an emphasis on dialogue and participationsuch as Village Design Statements, characterisationstudies and Conservation Plans can go a long way toaddress this. The recent approval by government ofthe National Landscape Strategy (NLS) and therecognition of Ireland’s need to progress theEuropean Landscape Convention in such a strategyis also a significant development. The

Opposite: The Palace of Versailles. © Dennis Jarvis

Above: People, Place and Policy: Growing Tourism to 2025.

Below: Co ́rdoba, Southern Spain. © Danel Solabarrieta

Ian Doyle, Head of Conservation, the Heritage Council


implementation of the NLS after its launch will be ofcrucial importance and is something the HeritageCouncil will be urging.

We have also seen a realisation that heritagecontributes significantly to tourism. This is acritically important area with estimatessuggesting that this contributes €415 billionannually to Europe’s GDP and the vast majorityof what attracts visitors to Europe is heritage.

Notably, for perhaps the first time in Ireland, therecently launched People, Place and Policy: growingTourism to 2025 flags heritage as a key asset thatunderpins the authenticity of the overall tourismoffering. This is all positive, yet again the trendinternationally is to stress that seeing heritage justas a tourism resource is a narrow view that missesits full potential. As pointed out by Peter Bacon andAssociates in a report for the Heritage Council therepair and maintenance of historic building stockcontributes significantly to the wider economy.Moreover the role of heritage in providing attractive

and vibrant places through heritage-regenerationschemes, particularly in urban areas is also widelyaccepted.

So, while there are a lot of positive thingshappening and perhaps even more that is notcovered here such as the vast potential of digitalheritage and the growing recognition of theimportance of intangible heritage, arguably we aremore stuck in a paradox rather than a paradigmshift. We have a vast resource of heritage assets anda well-educated and energised heritage sector thatis critically absorbing exciting international thinking.Local communities have a growing appetite forcaring and promoting heritage sites yetparadoxically ours is a sector where restrictions onresources and a lack of a high level national visionhave hampered progress. The vision from the EUCommission is that Europe can become a centre ofheritage-led innovation and not a heritage themepark. Can Ireland meet this challenge over the next decade? n

A Venice street © Artur Staszewski.


LocalAuthorities

& LocalCommunitiesBuilding partnerships to manage

heritage at local levelDr Gerry Glabby, Heritage Officer,

Fingal County Council

Over the past 20 years local authorities have becomecentral to the management of natural and culturalheritage at local level. This development can betraced to the introduction of the local governmentreform programme known as Better Local Governmentin the mid-1990s, which led to a broadening of localgovernment activity with a renewed focus on workingwith and supporting communities. It also has its rootsin the consolidation and updating of the planning codein 2000 which greatly enhanced its heritage andenvironmental focus, giving local authoritiesincreased responsibility for safeguarding thearchitectural, archaeological and natural heritage.Today through the work of heritage officers and otherheritage professionals, local authorities work toprotect, manage and to promote pride and awarenessin local heritage in communities across the country.

Beginning in 1999 with a pilot programme in threecounties initiated by the Heritage Council, there arenow heritage officers in 28 local authorities across thecountry. In addition a small number of largerauthorities employ additional heritage professionalssuch as architectural conservation officers,archaeologists, field monuments advisors, archivists,museum curators and biodiversity officers. Heritageexpertise has allowed local authorities to developheritage plans and biodiversity action plans which setout 5-year action plans for natural and cultural

Below: Volunteers clear willow and birch at LullymoreWest Bog during Heritage Week. © Gary O’Neill.

heritage at local level. These plans enable localauthorities to work with local and nationalstakeholders to promote a partnership approach toheritage management.

Despite a reduction in heritage funding in recentyears, local authorities have also adopted newapproaches to manage heritage including thedevelopment and implementation ofConservation Plans, Village Design Statementsand Public Realm Plans.

New technology has been used to increaseaccess to our heritage such as Offaly CountyCouncil’s high-resolution 3D scanning ofmonuments and Clare County Council’s Heritageapp which provides information on over thirtyecclesiastical heritage sites in Clare. Newpartnerships have been forged such as Action forBiodiversity – a cross border project involving Meath,Louth and Monaghan County Councils and sevenlocal authorities in Northern Ireland which deliveredbenefits for biodiversity across the north-east inrecent years. Substantial investments have beenmade such as Fingal County Council’s €10 millioninvestment with Fáilte Ireland which has re-vitalisedMalahide Castle and Gardens. Creative approacheshave been used to bring our heritage to newaudiences such as Dublin City Council’s DublinTenement Experience developed in collaboration withthe Irish Congress of Trade Unions and The IrishHeritage Trust which gave visitors an opportunity toexperience life in a Dublin tenement during thecentenary of the Dublin Lock Out in 2013.

Local authorities, like Fingal County Council, areleading the way in introducing new thinking andinnovative approaches to heritage managementsuch as green infrastructure planning whichintegrates the management of our natural heritageinto land-use plans so that social, economic andenvironmental benefits are maximised. AndEuropean funding is being used, throughprogrammes such as LEADER, INTERREG, LIFE andPEACE, to work with local communities puttingthese new approaches into practice. A key elementin all these achievements has been the support ofthe Heritage Council through funding support, itssupport for the heritage officer programme andthrough its commitment to a partnership approachto heritage management at national and local level.

The Government’s current programme of reformfor local government, Putting People First, providesan opportunity to further strengthen heritagemanagement at local level in the coming decade. In particular the establishment of local enterpriseoffices (LEOs), local community developmentcommittees (LCDCs) and the development of localeconomic and community plans (LECPs) provide fora more coherent and integrated approach to local


Below Left: Image from Clare County Council’s heritage app.

Below Right: Rahan Church Chancel Arch after profiling by OffalyCounty Council’s 3D laser scanner.


and community development and so provideopportunities for more co-ordinated heritagemanagement at local level.

In doing this we need to build on the renewedfocus on heritage in our local communities.

As we weathered the economic crisis, we havebeen re-discovering the wealth of heritage on ourdoorsteps and its importance in maintaining theconnections between people and place whichunderpin strong and vibrant local communities.

Communities have been engaging with theirheritage in new and exciting ways, for example,through community archaeology initiatives, bydeveloping local heritage trails, in re-discoveringtraditional building skills, in local biodiversityinitiatives, and in the rapid growth of Heritage Weekwhich last year saw over 1,800 local heritage eventstaking place nationally.

We have begun to understand more fully themany ways in which heritage sustains andstrengthens our communities and its importance inunderpinning economic recovery. Our heritage isinstrumental in making Ireland an attractive place tolive, work and invest in. The economic importance ofheritage has been emphasised recently in theGovernment’s tourism policy, People, Place andPolicy – Growing Tourism to 2025 which states thatour heritage is an invaluable national asset whichsustains the tourism industry. It also envisages amuch greater role for local authorities in workingwith communities to promote tourism at local level.

Finally as we look to the future we must alsorecognise the need for greater investment in ourheritage. There is an ongoing need to invest in theprotection and management of our heritage as avaluable national resource, and we must provide thenecessary organisational infrastructure and fundingif we want to realise its full potential in communityand economic development in the years to come. n

This page & Opposite: County & City Heritage Plans highlight thestrategic importance of heritage and each plan outlines proposalsfor managing and promoting heritage at a county level.

Communityarchaeologyproject withstudents fromthe NationalUniversity ofIreland'sKilkennyCampusworking withKilkennyArchaeology ona dig atHeritageCouncil HQ,2012.

Childhood is changing, and lifestyles, urbanisationand commercialisation of children’s activities arechanging children’s experiences of their leisureand play time. Research shows that fewer childrenplay outdoors and those that do, use thecountryside, parks and beaches less frequently.Factors changing children’s play patterns includeparents’ anxieties about children's safety and thereduced availability of creative outdoor spaces. The importance of play and participation in culturaland artistic life is well recognised as fundamental tochildren’s health, development and well-being. Play and education are rights of the child under theUnited Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child(UNCRC). According to the United NationsCommittee on the Rights of the Child, play shouldinvolve children having both space and opportunityto play outdoors unaccompanied in a diverse andchallenging physical environment, opportunities toexperience, interact with and play in naturalenvironments and the animal world, andopportunities to explore, understand and shape thecultural and artistic heritage of their community(2013). The UNCRC also requires that children havea say in matters that affect them.


wild childRECONNECTING CHILDRENWITH THE OUTDOORS

The Heritage Council has long supportedoutdoor education for children especiallythrough its Heritage in Schoolsprogramme, operating since 1999. In2014 over 96,000 children benefited fromthe programme across Ireland. Thebenefits for children’s health andwellbeing from having greater access tothe outdoors is more widely recognisedtoday amongst health practitioners butnot enough support exists for teachersand schools to make this a reality for allchildren. The Heritage Council hopes thata report it recently commissioned by UCClaw department will help clarify thecurrent situation and outline a wayforward for those working across variousgovernment departments andorganisations with a remit for children’swelfare. The findings of the report arediscussed by its authors below.

A study conducted recently by University CollegeCork for the Heritage Council sought to further ourunderstanding of children’s experiences of theoutdoors by talking to children about theirexperiences. The study comprised a desk-basedreview of research, law and policy, and it hearddirectly from children in three different schoolsbased in rural, city and town environments. It soughtto provide the Heritage Council with an impressionof children’s views about the outdoors and theenvironment and how this relationship might beimproved.

The research found that children’s relationshipwith the natural environment has received littleattention in national law and policy. No explicitpolicy supports children’s engagement with theoutdoors, and although some elements of the Irishprimary school curriculum support children’saccess to the outdoors, the character and ethos ofindividual schools frequently determines the level ofcontact children have with the outdoor environmenteven where natural areas, such as school gardensand natural play areas, are available.

At the same time, it is clear that schools haveunmatched potential as places to nurture children’srelationship with nature, particularly where theiraccess is limited in their home environments.However, they must be supported and encouragedto do this, preferably in an integrated way where theoutdoors is seen as an integral part of the schoollife, rather than as a discrete subject (e.g. nature) tostudy at specific times.

Research shows that there are significantbenefits associated with children having contactwith the outdoors and the environment, including fortheir health and well-being. Play is central to thesebenefits and it enhances children’s development andtheir lives more generally. Risk, challenge andflexibility are some of the core components of playand these are best provided by the outdoorenvironment:

“At the seaside I always look for a rock pool, it’sfun because you don’t know what’s in there. Imight try and catch little fish, it was very hard, Ialmost fell in with the seaweed and my dad justcaught me.” (City school boy, 8/9 years)

The study also concluded that the changingnature of children’s lives is a major concern inIreland and that the child-nature connection isunder serious threat. Certain groups, includingchildren with disabilities, face particular challengesin this regard. The children that participated in theresearch made clear that all things being equal,they prefer to play outdoors rather than indoors.And they relish the freedom of exploring and playingin an unstructured manner although the location,weather and friends all help to determine whether

outdoor play is attractive. The barriers to children’sgreater use of the outdoors include school rules inrelation to break-time activities, participation insport, and the role played by gatekeepers (e.g.parents, teachers) whose attitudes stronglyinfluence children’s behaviour.

This study highlights the importance of theoutdoor environment and nature to children’s lives.It reassures that children want to play outdoors butthe opportunities for them to do so can be limited byadults’ attitudes and environmental factors. Thestudy recommends that greater emphasis beattached to children’s use of the outdoors and thenatural environment. Schools should be encouragedto educate children and young people about theirconnection to the natural world and to facilitate theiraccess to outdoor play and learning spaces. Publicand political awareness of the issue should bestimulated by identifying the benefits to children ofcontact with the outdoors.

Work should begin on the adoption of a nationalpolicy framework to guide all activity in this area.

More importantly, this study makes the case forlistening to children’s views and taking them intoaccount in decisions about their lives, in line withthe Convention on the Rights of the Child and thenational participation policy soon to be adopted bythe Department of Children and Youth Affairs. Adultsworking with and for children, including schools andthe Heritage Council, should place children at theheart of their decision-making. Children have aunique perspective on their lives and a valuable roleto play in ensuring that measures adopted on theirbehalf truly meet their needs. n


This research was undertaken by: UrsulaKilkelly, Helen Lynch, Angela O’Connell, AliceMoore, Sarah C Field and Ulli Falcini, UniversityCollege Cork.

One third of Irish people live in towns but over theyears towns have suffered from a policy vacuum,poor planning and external pressures. The historyof our governance and planning is one wherethematic policy has been trumped by the electoralcycle. In that context towns have slowly become a‘hidden-Ireland’ in policy terms. Unlike cities orrural areas, individual towns do not have either thepopulation numbers or the political cohesion toadvance their agenda or command attention. Thereis a need to give cohesion and focus to the agendathat towns individually, have not been able to bringto bear in national policy terms. If heritage buildingsin our town centres are allowed to continue todeteriorate, the socio-economic viability of theseareas will be undermined and could decay beyond acritical point from which recovery would beparticularly difficult.

Vibrant historic street-scapes appeal to peoplefor shopping, work and leisure and this is reflected


Community-led Village DesignStatements, landscape partnerships, core

funding for curatorial organisations,support for new initiatives and the

Heritage Towns Initiative all point to thebenefits to be gained by new approaches.

Isabell Smyth, Head of Communications, the Heritage Council & Colm Murray, Architecture Officer, the Heritage Council

Shaping a New Urban Policyfor Ireland’s Towns

All international research highlight thefinancial and jobs benefits that arise fromthe conservation and restoration of historicbuilding stock. Historic and vernacularbuildings are the principle assets of ourheritage towns. If we want heritage to keepdelivering we need to invest in it. This is notjust about money. We need the investment ofa new philosophy.

in the most successful thriving towns and urbanareas across Ireland. Research shows that investingin our built heritage delivers broad public benefits.

What measures can we take to ensure a future forIrish Towns?• The Heritage Council recommends that the

Department of the Environment, Community andLocal Government initiate consultation andresearch on the role of towns in Ireland’seconomic recovery, with a view to producing a‘white paper’ on urban policy.

• The Heritage Council proposes a Living TownTax Incentive Scheme to protect and enhanceheritage streetscapes and buildings. This is toencourage investment in protecting andenhancing heritage buildings. The Council isconcerned that, with the collapse of public fundsavailable for such investment in recent years,many older buildings in town centres, which areunder-used and in need of investment, willdecline further.

• The Heritage Council is recommending therevamp and expansion of the Living CitiesInitiative, which was introduced on a pilot basisin Budget 2013, and rename it a Living TownsInitiative. This would provide allowances againstincome tax for owner-occupiers and investorswith investments in excess of 2% of the building’svalue. Preliminary estimates suggest this wouldrepresent a gross Exchequer cost of €5.8 millionannually.

• Many older buildings in town centres are under-used and in need of investment, but the amountof public funds available for such investment hasfallen in recent years. For example, the grantscheme operated by the Heritage Council, whichhad provided over €8 million annually in grantsto a range of projects, including the built heritagea few years ago, was reduced to €3.8 million in2012 and was suspended altogether in 2013 dueto a lack of resources. In such circumstancesalternative supports for the built heritage need tobe provided.

• Support for new types of governance andstakeholder involvement in the management,use and appreciation of towns. The newparadigm in urban heritage management –Historic Urban Landscape – requires stakeholderownership and involvement. In order for this towork, State support for partnerships of this form

requires a new and different form of engagementwith the public than the State conventionallyprovides. The Heritage Council provides modelsin many of its modes of operation to facilitate andencourage community-led heritage initiatives.Community-led Village Design Statements,landscape partnerships, core funding forcuratorial organisations, support for newinitiatives (such as the Chambers of Arts,Heritage and Culture) and the Heritage TownsInitiative all point to the benefits to be gained bynew approaches.

Other fiscal incentive options for considerationinclude: • The cut-off limit for investment in restoration of

heritage properties that can retain VAT exemptstatus should be raised from 25% to 65% of theirvalue.

• The stamp duty on heritage buildings indesignated areas should be abolished.

• The Capital Gains Tax exemption that currentlyapplies to principal private residences should beextended to all heritage properties in definedareas such as Architectural Conservation Areas(ACAs).

• Re-introduce incentives for ‘Living over theShop’. n


Opposite: Dingle, Co. Kerry.

This page: The Heritage Council’s national Community-led VillageDesign Statement Programme and Toolkit provides an opportunityfor meaningful public participation in the Irish planning system.

This article is based on the findings of tworesearch reports carried out by the HeritageCouncil, The Economic Impact of Ireland's HistoricEnvironment (ECORYS UK) 2012 which wasfollowed in 2014 by An Assessment of PossibleFiscal Incentives in Relation to the Built Heritage inIreland’s Towns, Peter Bacon and Associates.

On February 26th, Isis released a video of its fightersransacking Mosul museum in Syria. It has also beenreported that they burned the city’s library andbulldozed the 3,300 year old archaeological site ofNimrud, once a capital of the region. Alongside thesepublic shows of destruction there is mounting evidencethat they are engaged in organised looting ofarchaeological sites and museums to fund their reignof terror. As Professor Amr al-Azm wrote in an openletter to the UN, they are “turning antiquities into gunspointed at Syria’s own people”.

The outcry over these events demonstrates thatdamage and looting of cultural property is no longeraccepted as inevitable in warfare, a shift in attitude duelargely to events in the twentieth century. The advent ofmodern weapons in World War II together with theunprecedented scale of that conflict resulted in theflattening of many of Europe’s historic cities. Thiscombat also saw large scale looting of culturalartefacts and the birth of military efforts to prevent theplunder, a story portrayed by the movie MonumentsMen (2014). Following these experiences, and with thesubsequent creation of the United Nations, there wasan appetite at international level to create anagreement that would protect both built heritage andartefacts during wartime.

The resultant 1954 UNESCO Convention for theProtection of Cultural Property in the Event of ArmedConflict has, to date, been introduced into law in 126countries, including Syria and Iraq, and by major

military powers such as Russia and the USA. Sixtyyears have elapsed since the Convention was drawn upand Ireland, despite being one of the originalsignatories in 1954, has not yet formally adopted it.Apart from Ireland only three other signatories havefailed to ratify; Andorra, Philippines and the UnitedKingdom.

With the end of the Cold War and the rise in ethnicand nationalist conflicts, a new threat to culturalheritage was seen to emerge in Europe. This was thedeliberate destruction of the heritage of oppositioncommunities, a process referred to as ‘culturalgenocide’. In the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s, heritagewas targeted by nationalists in an attempt to create auniform ethnic and religious identity. The destruction ofmosques by Serbs in Bosnia, Serbian churches byAlbanians in Kosovo, or the deliberate destruction ofthe historic bridge of Stari Most in Mostar by Croatswere all examples of attempts to eliminate the builtheritage with which particular groups identified.

It is a sense of a shared identity and culture thatlinks one generation to the next. In many societies thatdistinctiveness is expressed in buildings, art, andarchaeological artefacts. Until this February over onehundred and thirty generations of Mosul’s inhabitantshad lived and died alongside the statues of Nineveh.

These cultural assets also bear witness to ashared past where different ethnic and religiousgroups co-existed successfully, a story that does not suit the fundamentalist manifesto ofgroups like Isis.

Habib Afram, the president of the Syriac League ofLebanon was quoted in the Guardian following thebulldozing of Nimrud “They are not destroying ourpresent life, or only taking the villages, churches, andhomes, or erasing our future – they want to erase ourculture, past and civilisation,” (6.3.15).


Heritage in ConflictHow can we protect culturalproperty during war-time? Dr Cathy Daly

The preamble to the 1954 UNESCO Conventionstates that damage to cultural property belonging to anypeople whatsoever means damage to the culturalheritage of all mankind, since each people makes itscontribution to the culture of the world. Duringpeacetime, those countries that have passed the treatyinto law, are expected to prepare for the safeguardingof cultural property in emergencies. One of thesuggested measures is the creation of refuges forcollections away from potential fighting. Luckily manyof the smaller artefacts from Mosul’s museum had infact been moved for safe keeping in line with thesepractices during the American invasion of Iraq, andthus survived the Isis attack.

The Convention has its own symbol, a quartered‘Blue Shield’. It can be displayed on buildings andpersonnel to mark them as non-military targets. Incountries such as Holland and Austria you may spot itas mounted wall plaques, ironically some countries arenow wary of displaying the Blue Shield fearing it will beintentionally targeted. The staff at the Baghdadmuseum painted the symbol on the roof of the buildingduring the second Iraq war so it would be visible fromthe air, it was never shelled by the US forces.

Countries that have adopted the Conventionundertake to protect and safeguard cultural property intheir own territory and in the territory of another Statein times of war. In the 2011 Libyan conflict for example,the US military integrated an inventory of culturalproperty sites into ‘no-strike’ lists for their air force.

The intentional destruction of cultural propertywithout Imperative Military Necessity is nowconsidered a war crime in international law and,although rare, military leaders have beenprosecuted under the 1954 Convention.

Serbian General Pavle Strugar was convicted by theInternational Criminal Tribunal for the formerYugoslavia for the destruction or willful damage ofinstitutions dedicated to religion, charity and education,the arts and sciences, historic monuments and works ofart and science in the shelling of the Old Town ofDubrovnik, a World Heritage site. Strugar wassentenced to eight years in prison.

Perhaps the best known instance of cultural lossesduring conflict in Ireland is the Four Courts explosionof 1922. The destruction of documents being storedthere (parliament records, wills from the sixteenthcentury, parish registers, census returns) has left alarge gap in our knowledge about our own past, onethat anyone tracing their family history will be familiarwith. It seems fitting therefore that in this Decade ofCommemoration, the Irish Government is finallydrawing close to ratifying the Convention. In March ofthis year, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade,Charles Flanagan stated that his Department were atwork preparing a bill that would enable ratification ofthe Convention. Cultural heritage is not just ourhistory, it is the part of ourselves which we pass intothe future. With this move towards protecting culturalproperty in emergencies, the outlook for Ireland’sheritage just become a little brighter. n


Below: An ISIS militant uses a power tool to destroy a winged-bullAssyrian protective deity (lamassu) at the Ninevah Museum in Mosul, Iraq,26th February 2015.

Above: The Four Courts on fire during the civil war, 30th June 1922. Imageby National Library of Ireland.

Below: The Blue Shield on a museum roof must be large enough to beseen from high altitude. This symbol was painted on the roof of the IraqNational Museum in Baghdad prior to the 2003 invasion and was nevershelled by US forces. Photo courtesy of Dr John Malcolm Russel.

Left: All three tombs next to the shrine of Uwais al-Qurani andAmmar Bin Yasser in Raqqa Syria have been destroyed accordingto the UNITAR-UNOSAT report.

Cathy Daly holds a PhD in cultural heritage management anda MA in World Heritage Studies. She is a founding member ofthe Irish National Committee of the Blue Shield, the culturalequivalent of the Red Cross. All opinions expressed are theauthor's own. Contact the author: www.drcathydaly.com.

Twenty years ago Ireland was embarking upon ajourney of change for nature conservation.Wewere preparing to ratify the Convention on BiologicalDiversity, the world’s largest internationalagreement and about to introduce the first nationallegislation implementing the EU Habitats Directive.There was a frission of excitement with the creationof a newly established statutory body for heritage -the Heritage Council, overseen by a board of strong,independent personalities. It was a time of hope fornature conservation, a kind of bold new world; or atleast we hoped.

The Convention on Biological Diversity was aglobal cause for celebration as 194 countries signedup to take action to halt biodiversity loss. It copper-fastened cross-sectoral mainstreaming ofbiodiversity action and clearly articulated the ‘thinkglobally - act locally’ mantra. It meant thatbiodiversity, at a policy level, was the responsibilityof all, and not just a narrow sectoral interest. Theratification by Ireland of the Convention in 1996provided the context for much of the excellent workthat has been done by local communities around thecountry, ably assisted by the Community GrantsScheme from the Heritage Council, and the workdone by local authorities through the HeritageOfficer network.

With the implementation of the EU HabitatsDirective came, what I call - ‘technocratic


Brave New WorldReflections of aConservationistDr Liam Lysaght

conservation’ to Ireland; an approach guided bypriority setting, monitoring and evaluation, andreporting.

It is a more objective, science-led approach toconservation with clear objectives, supported bya strong legislative framework.

It has elevated nature conservation from a ‘back-room’ activity to placing it firmly at the core of publicpolicy. This is exactly what we hoped would happen20 years ago, but I’m not sure it has had the desiredeffect in terms of conservation.

Great strides have been made by some natureNGOs, such as Bat Conservation Ireland, Irish Whaleand Dolphin Group, and by BirdWatch Ireland inimproving knowledge of nature. Organised surveys,using both professional and voluntary recorders,provide much high quality data in an extremely costefficient manner. This has been improved further bythe establishment in 2007 of the NationalBiodiversity Data Centre. Thanks to the work of theData Centre, Ireland now has a biodiversityinformatics infrastructure equivalent to, or betterthan, most European countries.

For a country that sees itself as a global player ininformation and communication technology, it isonly fitting that this too applies to the field ofbioinformatics.

Yet, Ireland is continuing to experiencebiodiversity loss. My wish for the next 20 years isthat we can make better use of these scientific,technological, legislative and administrativeadvances to halt overall biodiversity loss in Ireland.Building the evidence-base is only one side of theequation; influencing decision-making and ensuringpeople have an appreciation of the true value ofbiodiversity and the services it provides to Irishsociety, is the other. I would like to see natureconservation become unfettered by the negativitythat has enveloped it, and a large national campaigninitiated to celebrate what is special about Ireland’snatural heritage.

I regret that, unlike my father, I neverexperienced a countryside of flower-rich meadowsand extensive wetlands, or was deafened by thesounds of corncrakes calling of a summer’s evening;my wish is that my grandchildren don’t have to growup in a countryside even less diverse than Iexperienced as a child. n

Dr Liam Lysaght is the Director of the NationalBiodiversity Centre (NBDC). Based at WaterfordInstitute of Technology, the centre wasestablished by the Heritage Council in 2007, it isfunded annually by the Heritage Council and theNational Parks & Wildlife Service.



The Discovery Programme will celebrate 25 yearsin existence in 2016 and like the Heritage Council,which is now in its 20th year, will have much tocelebrate, not least having established itself firmlyin the national and international archaeologicalresearch community. All sectors of Irish archaeologynorth and south - universities, national culturalinstitutions, other national agencies and bothcommercial and professional bodies havecontributed to the development of the DiscoveryProgramme’s research programmes. And theseprogrammes have made a significant difference toour understanding of Ireland’s landscape and itspast!

For over two decades, Discovery Programmeteams have conducted large-scale excavations andlandscape surveys, advanced new remote sensingtechnologies and delved into historical andtopographical sources. Many practitioners of Irisharchaeology today got their initial training orprogressed their careers working with theorganisation. As a result we now know a lot moreabout some of Ireland’s most important monumentsand landscapes: • Dún Aonghasa on Inis Mór is a Late Bronze fort

that was re-furbished in the ninth century AD.• The Hill of Tara is a prehistoric ceremonial

landscape that was the setting for theinauguration of the most powerful king in Irelandand the scale of its monuments reflect itsposition as the centre of a prehistoric society’sworld.

• Dublin and its hinterland was a busy economicregion in the late medieval period as it and othertowns, such as Drogheda, were trading hubs and

Celebrating research in Irish archaeology:

TheAchievements

of theDiscovery

ProgrammeDr Edel Bhreathnach,

CEO, The Discovery Programme


urban centres with markets and civil andecclesiastical administrations from courts tomendicant friaries. Their populations sufferedthe consequences of political and economicturmoil as well as disease and problems withfood and fuel supplies in times of war and badweather.

These are but a few anecdotes from the extensiveinformation gathered by Discovery Programmeresearchers and published in academic and popularbooks and many articles worldwide, and alsopreserved in our ever-growing archives.

Since its inception the Discovery Programme haspioneered the use of new technologies inarchaeology and landscape studies. These haveranged from geo-physical surveys to the use ofLiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) - a remotesensing technique used to study the earth’s surfaceand to detect archaeology in a landscape.

More recently, our technology unithas conducted 3D scanning projects onbuildings and monuments throughoutIreland, including scanning oghamstones and early medieval inscribedslabs and high crosses. As part of theEU project ‘3D Icons’, the DiscoveryProgramme has created 3D models ofmany well-known buildings and

monuments – the monasteries of Clonmacnoise andSkellig Michael, the Walls of Derry and thedecorated stones preserved in the Boyne Valleypassage tombs at Knowth and Newgrange.

The 3D Icons website - www.3dicons.ie, alongwith the Monastic Ireland website -www.monastic.ie, are two new resources producedby the Discovery Programme as part of its work withcommunities and schools. We will continue ourintense research on Irish archaeology usingdifferent approaches to the evidence –anthropological, scientific and technological – butour future lies in a strong partnership with thepublic. This partnership is best expressed in theDiscovery Programme’s themes for its work in thenext few years: Discovering the Ancient Landscapesand People of Ireland and Becoming Custodians of OurPast. Bígí linn inár bhfionntar tré thírdhreachannana hÉireann! n

Opposite: Surveyors for The Discovery Programme at Newgrange,Co. Meath.

Above: The Hill of Tara, Co. Meath.

Below : Archaeologists investigate the grounds around Tully HolyWell, Co. Laois.

Below Bottom: Inside the tomb at Newgrange, Co. Meath.

The Discovery Programme receives an annual core grantfrom the Heritage Council.


Founded in 1992, Irish Landmark Trust was set upin order to save historic Irish buildings at risk ofbeing lost through neglect, abandonment, orinappropriate use. By 1996 the case for theconservation of the small, vernacular building hadbeen clearly established and had evoked an ever-widening understanding and acceptance amongst allsections of the community.

At the same time, the Heritage Council had beenestablished as a central driving force inconservation, amongst other things, of thearchitectural heritage and as a source of fundingsupport. But key gaps remained. Still scarceresources meant that buildings that wereconstructed to serve greater creations, or to fulfillhistoric functions no longer required, had little hopeof survival. The simple idea that generated IrishLandmark was that they could be saved throughmaking them publicly accessible as holidayaccommodation. It was also clear that thesebuildings had the capacity to make a vitalcontribution to their local communities – throughnot only the direct benefit of employment andspending power of the guests who would stay inthem, but also through retaining a part of the localcultural history.

Conserving our heritage buildings

IrishLandmark

TrustMary O’Brien, CEO, Irish Landmark Trust

Above: Batty LangleyLodge, Co. Kildareafter conservation

works.

Left: WicklowLighthouse

after conservation

works.


The target buildings for Irish Landmark are awide and contrasting group – ranging fromcastles to cottages, the simple to thesophisticated; but what they all have in common is that they are of architectural andcultural significance.

Because of their building type, many are difficultto adapt, without significant intervention, forcontemporary everyday use. They are, however,perfectly suited to short-let holiday use: in fact thevery constraints which limit their use for permanentliving can be the attractions for those wishing toescape briefly to an authentic experience of Ireland’sbuilt heritage. This marriage – the conservation ofgood buildings and the creation of a new tourismproject – has proven to not alone be sustainable, butis playing a vital part in protecting our built heritageand supplying an added value tourist product.

Irish Landmark’s first project was the restorationof Wicklow Head Lighthouse. At approx. 95 feet highand a void interior, it presented some unique anddifficult challenges, but this proved a useful learningground for the future work of the organisation.

To date Irish Landmark has ensured the survivalof 25 architecturally important properties.

The use of these conserved properties as holidayhomes has made them accessible to a widespectrum of people and, in turn, is helping to embedawareness of architectural heritage in successivegenerations.

The last two decades have not always been easyand we have faced many challenges. If theexperiences of these years have taught us anything, it is that we must be capable of adaptingquickly to changing circumstances, while retainingour clarity of purpose. We can not forget the supportof our donors and funders, including the HeritageCouncil, without their support we would not be in aposition to continue our work of conserving andmaintaining some of Ireland’s most wonderfularchitectural gems. n

Salterbridge Gatelodge, Co. Waterford before and after conservation.

Merrion Mews, Dublin before and after conservation.

Irish Landmark Trust receives funding fromthe Heritage Council on an annual basis.


Gallery Heritage Council 20th AnniversarySome of the fantastic initiatives, programmes and grant-aided projects that we’ve been involved in over the years.

The conserved Ballina Weir -Tidy Towns Heritage AwardWinner 2012, the award issponsored by the HeritageCouncil. Shown here is the weirbefore and after restoration.

Children enjoying thebenefits of the outdoorswith Eanna Ní Lamhnathrough the Heritage inSchools Programme -

an initiative of theHeritage Council.


Every year the Heritage Council holdsa National Heritage Week PhotoCompetition, here are some of thewinners from 2010.

Elodie Leveque conserving a documentat the National Gallery of Ireland aspart of her internship through theHeritage Council's Conservation

Internship Programme.

CELEBRATING20 YEARS 1995-2015

Working for heritage | Working with communities



Over 100 community groups from all over thecountry being presented with the much-coveted Local Heritage Awards from theHeritage Council at a ceremony in KilkennyCastle, 2004.

The first Walled Towns Day, held as part ofHeritage Week in 2006, the day has since gonefrom strength to strength and is now held in 23towns annually all over Ireland.

Below: The staff of the Heritage Council (many of whom are still with us!)as they enjoy the official opening of their new home at the Bishop'sPalace, Kilkenny in 2008. Left: President Mary McAleese at the officialopening of the Heritage Council's new headquarters in 2008.


Just a selection ofsome of thewonderfulpublicationssupported throughthe HeritageCouncil's grantscheme.



Children enjoy a visit to the Casino in Marinoduring Heritage Week 2007.

Evan Duggan at the National BiodiversityCentre's annual Young Recorder's Event heldin Waterford, 2009.



Batty Langley Lodge, Co. Kildare - one of themany heritage buildings all over the countryconserved by the Irish Landmark Trust,which receives an annual grant from theHeritage Council.

Biodiversity Training Day 2009.

Enjoying National HeritageWeek 2005.


Minister Jimmy Deenihan with Chief ExecutiveMichael Starrett and Chairman, Conor Newmanat the ‘Your Place or Mine’ conference, 2012.

Youghal Medieval Festival 2011 - an initiativeof the Irish Walled Towns Network.



Yacht Racing in Dunlaoghaire - part ofNational Heritage Week 2012.


Just a selection of the manypublications the HeritageCouncil produces on Ireland'sdiverse heritage.





Local Heritage Awards 2006.

Fethard Walled Towns Day 2008.

Your Placeor MineConference,Royal IrishAcademy,Dublin,2012.

Cosan na Naomh, Co. Kerry - one of many ‘Pilgrim’s Paths’walking routes developed around the country.

Museum Awards 2009.


Events

Environmental Courts, Enforcement,Judicial Review & Appeals: Exploring theOptions for Ireland

Friday, June 19, 2015 2-6pm Brookfield Health Sciences Complex University CollegeCork.This conference will examine the potential for aspecialist environmental court in Ireland. The overallgoal is to consider appropriate institutionalmechanisms to provide effective oversight and toimprove the quality of environmental decision-making. The event is open to all and is free of charge, althoughadvance registration will be required. Further details atwww.ucc.ie/en/lawsite

The Irish Museums Association Annual Visit Saturday, 25 July 2015 One of Dublin's mostimportant squares, MerrionSquare is in the heart of theSouth Georgian Quarter andis flanked by many culturalinstitutions such as theGoethe-Institute, NGI, NMI,Arts Council, IAF, IAA. Thisvisit will focus on the work being carried out by theMerrion Square Innovation Network to promote theSquare as a cultural destination and a visit will beorganised to one of the Georgian houses flanking theSquare.The Museum Visits are free events extended to IMAmembers and guests courtesy of the host venues.Booking is essential and is allocated on a first come,first served basis. For more info visit:www.irishmuseums.org

Exploring Museum Collections NationwideThe National Gallery ofIreland has organised alecture series in June toexplore a diverse range ofcollections open to thepublic in Ireland. All thecollections have achievedFull Accreditation in the

Heritage Council’s Museum Standards Programme for

Ireland. For more information visitwww.nationalgallery.ieJune 7th Sunday at 3pm, Muckross House, Co Kerry,Archive, Traditional Farms, Patricia O’HareJune 9th Tuesday at 10.30am, 2016 Now in View:Refurbishing and Rehanging the NGI, Sean Rainbird,DirectorJune 14th Sunday at 3pm, Monaghan County Museum,Liam BradleyJune 16th Tuesday at 10.30, Farmleigh House andGardens OPW, Mary Heffernan, National HistoricPropertiesJune 21st Sunday at 3pm, Knock Museum, Co. Mayo,Grace MulqueenJune 23rd Tuesday at 10.30am, National PrintMuseum, Carla MarrinanJune 28th Sunday at 3pm, Donegal County Museum,Judith McCarthyJune 30th Tuesday at 10.30am, GAA Museum CrokePark, Joanne Clarke

Planning for Climate Change ConferenceThe 2nd London Annual Planning for Climate ChangeConference will once again take place at the Universityof London on the 25th June 2015.

It promises to be a great day, with up to 15 speakersand 100 delegates coming together to discuss a rangeof key issues relating to climate change adaptationstrategies, polices to mitigate against the negativeeffects of climate changes and also to look at a numberof innovative case studies that aim to promotesustainable communities and economies within thecontext of an increasingly changing climate. Cost toattend as a Delegate/Speaker is £240 plus VAT or if youare a Researcher/Student the Reduced Delegate/Speaker Fee is £120 plus VAT. Seewww.planforclimatechange.co.uk for furtherinformation.


Events

Sean Scully at the National Gallery of Ireland 9 May – 20 September 2015. Millennium Wing (rms 1-5). Admission free. Sean Scully at the NationalGallery of Ireland marksthe artist’s 70th birthday.This exhibition charts thetwo decades of the artist'swork, the 1980s and 1990sand juxtaposes paintingsfrom that period withworks, principally multi-part photographicsequences, made over thepast decade. The exhibition brings together a group ofmajor paintings on loan from Tate, Arts CouncilEngland, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Kerlin Gallery,as well as works on paper from a private collection.Curator: Sean Rainbird, Director, National Gallery ofIreland.

Twenty Seven Years of the work of IrishWoodturner Emmet KaneAt National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks

Craftsman or artist? Creatorof work or manipulator ofnature? Form over material,or material the master ofthe form? To walk amongEmmet Kane’s creations inthe first retrospectiveexhibition of his life and

work such questions may occur later, once you havefully gathered the sheer scale and diversity of his workin wood. The exhibition is designed to helpcommunicate to visitors the story and skill of Kane’sartistry and craft in a totally accessible andunderstandable way, through the objects themselves,images, graphics and short informative accompanyingtext. The work, produced over close to thirty years, willbe displayed on the second floor of the south wing ofthe Museum at Collins Barracks. Exhibition runs untilDecember 2015.

The 1916 Rising: Personalities andPerspectivesThe National Library of Ireland’sonline exhibition The 1916 Rising: Personalities andPerspectives draws almostexclusively upon the collectionsof the National Library, including the Library’s rich

holdings of books, newspapers, photographs,drawings, proclamations and, not least, manuscriptmaterial. In all, over 500 images have been selected forstudy and analysis. Through the medium ofcontemporary documents, The 1916 Rising:personalities and perspectives focuses upon those whoset the stage for the events of Easter Week 1916, theseven signatories of the proclamation, the othersexecuted in the aftermath of the Rising, the casualtiesand the survivors. Visit www.nli.ie/1916

Conservation Without Frontiers: HistoricBuildings of Armagh & Monaghan in Context25th -27th June 2015

For the first time, thejoint UlsterArchitectural HeritageSociety and IrishGeorgian Societysummer school willbring together students,enthusiasts and

practitioners to explore, discuss and debate issuesrelating to our shared Irish heritage in the context ofArmagh and Monaghan. A key theme of the event isconservation and regeneration for community benefitwhich will demonstrate the critical importance of builtheritage in maintaining the distinctive qualities of theregion and supporting the growth of tourism, economicdevelopment and prosperity. Leaders will include wellknown academics, architectural historians, architects,planners, conservation and heritage officers. Thesupport of both councils will also reinforce the positivedeveloping relationship between them and ourrespective organisations.Summer school director: Kevin V. Mulligan, author ofThe Buildings of Ireland: South Ulster.Visit www.igs.ie for booking and further information.

Seamus Heaney: The Hedge School ofGlanmore 18th April-30th August. AshfordCommunity Heritage Centre,Ashford, Co Wicklow.This is the inaugural exhibitionat Ashford Heritage Centre, itcelebrates the poet’s unique association with Glanmoreas home, retreat and place of inspiration and highlightsthe influence of the local Wicklow area in his work.A programme of events which will focus on the richnatural and cultural heritage of the local area whichprovided the backdrop to Heaney’s work. Events will

include workshops, talks and walks. As part of theexhibition, there will be a series of related activitiestaking place over the coming months, all are welcometo attend:Upcoming Talks:24th June: Donal Magner, Seamus Heaney's Approachto Trees and Woodlands.26th August: Patricia Butler, Wicklow Through theArtists Eye. An illustrated talk relating to areassurrounding Ashford which influenced the poet,together with a brief history of several local historicdemesnes and gardens (Killruddery, Kilmacurragh,Powerscourt, Mt. Usher).For more info visit: www.heritagecouncil.ie/events

Burren Wild Child Summer Camp 201510am-2pm from the 28th-30th July. Carron, Co. Clare.6-12 years olds (1st-6thclass only)Burren Wild ChildSummer Camp is back!What better place tolearn but out in theoutdoors! This will be afun and interactive 3

days for young children where they will learn to explorethe natural, cultural and built heritage of the Burren’shedgerows and pavements through games, scavengerhunts, treasure hunts, fossil finding, & much more!!The aim of this event is to get children enthused by theBurren, the magic it holds and to foster a sense ofpride and responsibility in this incredible landscape.The price is €30 per child, €50 for 2 children from thesame family, €65 for 3 children from the same family.If you are a Burrenbeo Trust family members it is €20per child, €40 for 2 children, €55 for 3 children. Thisincludes all the necessary materials. Each child has tocome with a snack, a packed lunch, a drink andwaterproofs. Children will be supervised on amaximum 10:1 ratio by Burrenbeo Trust staff. Spaceare limited so you have to book, please phone 091638096 or email [email protected]

BirdWatch Save Our Nature CampaignBirdWatch Ireland has launched a campaign calledSave Our Nature to defend the Birds and HabitatsDirectives. We are asking anyone who loves nature inIreland to sign up on our website and to share the linkwith family and friends. www.birdwatchireland.ie/Supportus/SaveourNature/tabid/1461/Default.aspx


Events

Ireland 2016 is the State Centenary Programme toremember 1916, to reflect on the Republic 100years on, and to re-imagine our future. It is a oncein a century invitation to people of all ages, athome and overseas, to participate in a diverserange of historical, cultural and artistic activities,all designed to facilitate reflection,commemoration, celebration, debate and analysis,and an active re-imagining of our future.

The Programme is built on seven strands:State Ceremonial, Historical Reflection, AnTeanga Bheo, Youth and Imagination, CulturalExpression, Community Participation and Globaland Diaspora.

Every local authority has appointed a specialco-ordinator and team for the CentenaryProgramme to support the widest possiblecommunity engagement. More than 100 meetingsare currently taking place in towns across thecountry at which the general public as well asrepresentatives from all sectors of the localcommunity including arts organisations, historyand heritage groups, youth organisations andeducation bodies are sharing ideas and inspirationfor imaginative and memorable local events.

Details of local authority meetings as well ascontact information for the local authority co-ordinators is available at www.ireland.ie/community

Keep up to date on programme developments bysigning up to the Ireland 2016 newsletter onwww.ireland.ie and follow us on Facebook andTwitter #ireland2016 #eire2016


Events

Play yourpart inMakingHistory!

The Heritage Council is planning anextensive community based programmewhich includes a special themed HeritageWeek in 2016, a grants programme forprojects commemorating 2016 and a rangeof programmes and events co-ordinated bycounty Heritage Officers.

Discover the past. Build the future.

22nd-30th August 2015

Coordinated by

Callsave1850 200 878 www.heritageweek.ie # heritageweek

Discover the past. Build the future.

22nd-30th August 2015

Coordinated by

Callsave1850 200 878 www.heritageweek.ie # heritageweek


Events

Event registration for National Heritage Week2015 is now open and this year we want toshine a light on Ireland’s Industrial andDesign Heritage. So if you would like toinclude your local heritage project in thisyear’s programme, please register it now forNational Heritage Week, 22-30 August 2015.

Last year over 400,000 people participated in1,800 events around the country includinghistorical walks and talks, workshops,archaeological digs, re-enactments,storytelling and more.

It is possible to continue to upload events forthe National Heritage Week’s online listingsright up until 22 August when the celebrationsbegin. All events are subject to approval.

Participants are encouraged to incorporate theindustrial heritage theme into their projectwhere possible.

Once approved your event will be uploaded tothe events section of www.heritageweek.ie. Ifyou cannot register online, we can send you aregistration form by post.

Full Steam Ahead!


Publications

Industrial Ireland1750-1930An ArchaeologyBy Colin Rynne

Throughout Ireland we cansee the often-derelictremains of our industrialpast: distilleries, mills,factories, railways andcanals. Ireland was thelocation of over 180 thriving

breweries, 93 railway companies and numerous otherindustries. By a leading authority on the subject, this isthe first comprehensive survey of Ireland’s industrialarchaeology, examining major industrial activities,their technology and important surviving sites, thebook is fully referenced and illustrated throughout. Sofrom the windmill at Blennerville, County Kerry, to theshipyards in Belfast, this is a thorough survey of thephysical expressions of Irish society in the eighteenthand nineteenth centuries.

ISBN: 9781848892453Price: €14.39. www.collinspress.ie

Man On The BridgeThe Photos of Arthur FieldsBy Arthur Fields, CiaránDeeney & David Clarke

Arthur Fields, the Dublin-born son of Ukrainianemigrants fleeing anti-Semitism, was a streetphotographer who stood onO’Connell Bridge for fifty

years taking photos. He unknowingly became theunofficial family photographer of a city. Arthur provideda vital service taking photos of couples on first dates,people up in Dublin for a day, happy parents withnewborn children, match-goers, and many more.These cherished photos form the basis of thiscollection. The photos bear witness to a changingcityscape, fashion, lifestyle, social habits and evencamera technology. In terms of subjects, Arthur alsotook photos of famous celebrities, African princes,street characters and even future stars, such as aseven-year-old George Harrison.


When the ClockStruck in 1916Close-Quarter Combat inthe Easter RisingBy Derek Molyneux & DarrenKelly

The Easter Rising of 1916 wasa seminal moment in Ireland’sturbulent history. For thecombatants it was a no-holds-barred clash: the professional

army of an empire against a highly motivated, well-drilled force of volunteers. What did the men andwomen who fought on the streets of Dublin endureduring those brutal days after the clock struck on 24April 1916? For them, the conflict was a mix of bloodyfighting and energy-sapping waiting, with meagresupplies of food and water, little chance to rest and theterror of imminent attacks.

The experiences recounted here include those of: 20-year-old Sean McLoughlin who went from Volunteer toCaptain to Commandant-General in five days: his coolhead under fire saved many of his comrades; VolunteerThomas Young’s mother, who acted as a scout, leadinga section through enemy-infested streets; the 2/7thSherwood Foresters NCO who died when the grenadehe threw at Clanwilliam House bounced off the walland exploded next to his head; 2nd Lieutenant GuyVickery Pinfield of the 8th Royal Hussars, who led thecharge on the main gate of Dublin Castle and becamethe first British officer to die in the Rising.

This account of the major engagements of Easter Week1916 takes us onto the shelled and bullet-riddenstreets of Dublin with the foot soldiers on both sides ofthe conflict, into the collapsing buildings and throughthe gunsmoke.

SBN: 9781848892132Price: €14.39. www.collinspress.ie

Ireland’sWild AtlanticWayClassic ImagesBy Giles Norman

The Wild AtlanticWay is abreathtaking coastalroute spanningseven of Ireland'scounties on its west


Publications

coast. Acclaimed photographer Giles Norman exploresthis beautiful Irish coastline, from the inviting beachesof West Cork to the rugged sea cliffs of Donegal. Inphotographs and concise narrative, he depicts thismagnificent 2,500km-long coastline and captures theessence of this unique place. Throughout the book, laidout in sections that coincide with the stages of the WildAtlantic Way, a window is opened for all to observe thebeauty of Ireland’s west coast, with dramatic images ofbeaches and rugged headlands intermingled withtraditional cottages, fragile flora and shadowed skies,and the wild remoteness of the windswept Aran Islands.These images capture the timeless splendour of Ireland.

Giles’ photographs of the Irish landscape evoke a purityof vision, largely stripped of manmade intrusion.Preferring to keep his pictures ‘real’, he shuns thespecial effects of modern photography. A shaft of lightbetween clouds, a breaking wave, the elegance of asingle flower, all his images showcase the best Irelandhas to offer. The Wild Atlantic Way inspires awe andadmiration and Giles’ photos have captured its majestyin remarkable black and white. What you see is whathe saw.


The Irish Hand Scribes and theirManuscripts from theEarliest TimesBy Timothy O'Neill

This is a revised andexpanded edition of whathas long been regarded asthe standard work on IrishManuscripts. The newbook incorporates high

quality digital images of the works of Irish scribesthrough the centuries. The extraordinary stories of thesurvival of these volumes provide a commentary on thecultural history of Ireland, its language, scholars andscribes.

The Irish Hand is arranged in two parts. Part Onepresents survey of the manuscript tradition, followedby essays on thirty-one of the great books of Ireland.The context, contents, and history of each manuscriptare given, accompanied by a full-page illustration.

Part Two surveys the work of the scribes from apractical perspective, examining script and lettering indetail. Extracts are given from fifty-two manuscripts,transliterated and translated, with a commentary on

the penwork. The Irish Hand covers 1,500 years of Irishscript and letter design from the sixth to the twenty-first century.

ISBN: 9781782050926Price: €39.00. www.corkuniversitypress.com

A City In Civil WarDublin 1921-1924By Pádraig Yeates

In the concluding volume ofPádraig Yeates’ criticallyacclaimed ‘Dublin at War’trilogy, the author turns hisattention to the Civil War. TheTruce that heralded the end ofthe War of Independence inJuly 1921 proved no more than

a prelude to renewed conflict on the capital’s streets asmany of the men who worked for Michael Collins in thefight against the British now turned their skills withdeadly effect on former comrades.

For some Dubliners, including many southernUnionists, British ex-servicemen and anti-Treatyrepublicans, the city became a hostile environmentwith the City Council and Dublin Metropolitan Policeabolished by the new Free State. Yet, life remained acycle of grinding poverty for the city’s slum dwellers.The main beneficiary of the chaos was the CatholicChurch, which tightened its grip on vital social serviceswith tragic consequences for thousands of themarginalised, while an embattled government was toopreoccupied with securing its grip on power to providefor its own citizens.

As in his previous work, the author uncovers unknownand neglected aspects of the Irish revolution in thecapital and their impact on the rest of the country.

ISBN: 9780717167265Price: €27.99. www.gillmacmillanbooks.ie

My First Book of IrishAnimalsBy Juanita Browne

My First Book of Irish Animalsis a beautiful picture bookwritten by Juanita Brownewhich introduces youngchildren to Ireland's wonderfulwildlife. There are lots ofpicture books about exotic


Publications

wildlife from around the world - sharks and bears, bigcats and snakes - but this is the first children’s picturebook to focus specifically on the Irish fauna. Filled withfascinating facts and illustrated by Aoife Quinn, a verytalented Irish artist, this book will really capture theimagination of young children.

ISBN 978-0955059414Price: €13.99. email: [email protected]

Barn OwlsIrelandTo share informationon BirdWatchIreland's research onthe much loved butnot often seen BarnOwl - BirdWatchIreland haveproduced a new 32-page booklet. The publication also

contains facts and information such as theirimportance in mythology, the adaptations which allowthem to hunt effectively at night, where they nest andwhat they eat. The main purpose of the booklet is toprovide practical conservation advice, which anyonecan carry out to help their local population and otherwildlife.

This booklet is available for download fromwww.birdwatchireland.ie free of charge. Or send aself-addressed envelope with a stamp for €1.60 toBirdWatch Ireland, Unit 20, Block D, Bullford BusinessCampus, Kilcoole, Greystones, Co. Wicklow.

Pocket IrishLegends28 classics to delightand entertainCompiled by Tony Potter

High kings, forbiddenromance and ancientmagic all feature in theserich and colourful myths.Packed with 28 classictales drawn from Ireland’s

ancient tradition of storytelling, these legends willdelight children of all ages – as they have forgenerations.

In this book you will find tales of beautiful princessesand handsome princes, brave kings, beautiful queens,

wicked stepmothers, greedy landlords, wily druids,practical saints, magic spears, singing harps,slithering snakes, fierce dragons, cruel enchantments,courageous deeds, mischievous fairies and cleverleprechauns.

Ireland’s rich and colourful history is reflected in thesemyths and legends which have been handed down fromgeneration to generation.

This popular pocket format will appeal to visitors toIreland. And for children in Ireland with names such asDeirdre, Aoife, Conor, Gráinne, Diarmuid, Brian, Maeve,Fionn and Oisin, the question ‘Where does my namecome from?’ is easily answered with a story.

Here are stories to be enjoyed by children and adultsalike – just like they have been for hundreds of years.

ISBN 9780717158997. Price: €4.99. www.gillmacmillanbooks.ie

ShackletonBy Endurance WeConquerBy Michael Smith

Ernest Shackleton is one ofhistory’s great explorers, atenacious and charismaticpersonality who became adominant figure in Antarcticdiscovery. His incredibleadventures on four expeditions

to the Antarctic have captivated generations. He was arestless adventurer from an Irish background withacclaimed leadership skills. But he was also a flawedcharacter whose chaotic private life, marked byromantic affairs, unfulfilled ambitions and failedbusiness ventures, contrasted with celebrity status asthe leading explorer. Persistent money problems lefthis men unpaid and his family with debts. This firstcomprehensive biography in a generation draws onextensive research of original diaries, letters and manyother publications. It brings a fresh perspective to theheroic age of Polar exploration which was dominatedby Shackleton’s complex, compelling and enduringlyfascinating story.

ISBN 9781848892446Price: €10.39. www.collinspress.ie

Crossword No.17 by Zoë Devlin


ACROSS

1 Ride an unused nag to this ancient fort on Inishmore (3,6)5 River and site of 1690 battle in Co Louth (5)7 Long ridge of post-glacial gravel (5)9 Homesteads or abodes (9)11 You can rosin the bow with these metal shackles! (5)12 Viking measurement from elbow to tip of middle finger (3)13 Poet, born 1865, co-founder of the Abbey Theatre (5)15 Short-necked diving bird of northern seas (3)16 Sign of assent (3)17 AKA Furze or Whin, spiny native shrub (5)19 Feature of monastic cities such as Glendalough (5)21 Flows from Ox Mountains to Killala Bay (3)22 Historic period such as Bronze, Victorian or Enlightenment (3)24 Native freshwater carnivorous mammal (5)25 ___ transit gloria mundi - thus passes the glory of the world (3)26 English writer, Quentin ___, or frosty and snappy? (5)27 Geographical region constituting a town or city (5,4)29 Traditional gathering with folk music and dancing (5)30 Extensive Stone Age monument in Mayo, ___ Fields (5)31 Did the monks often mill in this Co Louth Abbey? (9)

DOWN

1 First Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (8)2 Their flight to the Continent took place in 1607 (5)3 Manna from heaven .. windfall (7)4 And 21 Down. World Heritage site off Kerry coast (7,7)5 Our sixth National Park, 11,000 hectares in Co Mayo (9)6 Wooden pin or block built into wall (3)8 Tap this shrine and airport in the North-west (5)10 Framework holding window panes (4)14 With a cutting edge, could be battle, ice, pick or fireman’s (3)16 Passage grave from 3100 BC in the valley of 5 Across (9)18 12th c. Cistercian abbey near Thomastown (8)19 Small bird - could be Blue, Coal or Great? (3)20 Play or strum a lute on this dais (7)21 See 4 Down 22 Defence showing accused was elsewhere (5)23 Brian __ whose final battle was at Clontarf in 1014 (4)26 Plants which store water and live in dry places (5)28 Cereal grain used in black bread, whiskey and vodka (3)

To win a book voucher worth€50, please send yourcompleted grid, plus your nameand address to:HERITAGE OUTLOOKCrossword Competition,Attention: Gerard Croke,The Heritage Council,Church Lane, Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny.Closing Date: September 1st 2015

Scribble box

Heritage Council Staff


Cavan: Anne Marie WardCavan County Council, The Farnham Centre, FarnhamStreet, Cavan.Tel: 049 4378614Email: [email protected]

Cork City: Niamh TwomeyCork City Council, City Hall, Cork.Tel: 021 4924018Email: [email protected]

Cork County: Conor NelliganCork County Council, Floor 3,County Hall, Cork.Tel: 021 4285905Email: [email protected]

Clare: Congella McGuireClare County Council, New Road,Ennis, Co. Clare.Tel: 065 6846408Email: [email protected]

Donegal: Joe GallagherDonegal County Council, StationIsland, Lifford, Co. Donegal.Tel: 074 9172576Email: [email protected]

Dublin City: Chares DugginDublin City Council, Block 3 Floor 3,Civic Offices, Woodquay, Dublin 8.Tel: 01 2222856Email: [email protected]

Dublin South: Rosaleen DwyerSouth Dublin County Council,County Hall, Tallaght, Dublin 24.Tel: 01 4149222Email: [email protected]

Dun Laoghaire Rathdown: Tim CareyDun Laoghaire Rathdown CountyCouncil, County Hall, Marine road,Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.Tel: 01 2054868Email: [email protected]

Fingal: Gerry ClabbyFingal County Council, P.O box 174,County Hall, Swords, Co. Dublin.Tel: 01 8905697Email: [email protected]

Galway City: Jim HigginsGalway City Council, City Hall,College Road, Galway.Tel: 091 526574Email: [email protected]

Galway County: Marie MannionGalway County Council, ForwardPlanning Section, County Hall,Prospect Hill, Galway.Tel: 091 509000Email: [email protected]

Kerry: TJ O’MahonyÁras An Chontae, Tralee, Co. Kerry.Tel: 066 7183815Email: [email protected]

Kildare: Bridget LoughlinKildare County Council, Áras ChillDara, Devoy Park, Naas, Co. Kildare.Tel: 045980791Email: [email protected]

Kilkenny: Derbhala LedwidgeKilkenny County Council, John’sGreen House, John’s Green, Kilkenny.Tel: 056 7794925Email: [email protected]

Laois: Catherine CaseyLaois County Council, Áras anChontae, Portlaoise, Co. Laois.Tel: 057 8664129Email: [email protected]

Leitrim: Aoife MulcahyLeitrim County Council, Áras anChontae, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co.Leitrim.Tel (071) 9620005 Ext. 511 Email [email protected]

Limerick: Tom O’NeillForward Planning Section, LimerickCounty Council, County Hall,Dooradoyle, Limerick.Tel: 061 496350Email: [email protected]

Longford: Mairead Ni ChonghaileLongford County Council, LibraryHQ, Town Centre, Longford.Tel: 043 40731Email: [email protected]

Louth: Brendan McSherryLouth County Council, County Hall,Millennium Centre, Dundalk, Co. Louth.Tel: 042 9324109Email: [email protected]

Mayo: Deirdre Cunningham Mayo County Council, Áras anChontae, Castlebar, Co. Mayo.Tel: 094 9047684Email: [email protected]

Meath: Loreta GuinanMeath County Council, County hall,Navan, Co. Meath. Tel: 046 9097507Email: [email protected]

Monaghan: Shirley ClerkinMonaghan County Council, Counciloffices, The Glen, Co. Monaghan.Tel: 047 73722Email: [email protected]

Offaly: Amanda PedlowOffaly County Council, Áras anChontae, Charleville Road,Tullamore, Co. Offaly.Tel: 057 9346839Email: [email protected]

Roscommon: Nollaig FeeneyRoscommon County Council,Courthouse, Roscommon.Tel: 090 6637100Email: [email protected]

Sligo: Siobhán RyanSligo County Council, County Hall,Riverside, Sligo.Tel: 071 9111226Email: [email protected]

Tipperary: Roisin O’GradySouth Tipperary County Council,County Hall, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary.Tel: 052 6134650Email: [email protected]

Waterford: Bernadette GuestWaterford County Council, CivicOffices, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford. Tel: 058 20839Email: [email protected]

Wicklow: Deirdre BurnsWicklow County Council, CountyBuildings, Wicklow.Tel: 0404 20100Email: [email protected]

Michael StarrettChief ExecutiveIan DoyleHead of ConservationBeatrice KellyHead of Policy andResearchLiam ScottHead of BusinessServicesIsabell SmythHead ofCommunications and EducationPaula DrohanFinancial Controller

Alison HarveyPlanning andDevelopment OfficerColm MurrayArchitecture OfficerAnne BarcoePA to Chief Executiveand ChairpersonAmanda RyanGrants AdministratorGerard CrokeAdministratorMartina MaloneAdministratorChristena RyanAdministrator

Project Co-Ordinators

Liam MannixIrish Walled Towns NetworkNiamh DonnellanHeritage [email protected]

Anna MeenanREPS 4 Traditional FarmBuildings Grants Scheme Leslie-Ann HaydenMuseum StandardsProgramme for IrelandWildlife Officer: VacantMuseums and Archives:Vacant

Local Authority Heritage Officers

What is Heritage?Under the Heritage Act (1995),‘heritage’ is defined as includingthe following areas:

MonumentsArcheological ObjectsHeritage ObjectsArchitectural HeritageFlora and FaunaWildlife HabitatsLandscapesSeascapes and WrecksGeologyHeritage Gardens and ParksInland Waterways

Heritage Council staff can be contacted at: The Heritage Council, Church Lane, Kilkenny, Co Kilkenny.Tel. 056-7770777 Fax. 056-7770788 Email: [email protected] www.heritagecouncil.ie

Heritage in Schools AdministratorThe Heritage Council, Church Lane, Kilkenny

Email: [email protected] Tel: 056 7770777

If you have never used the scheme and would like to find out more,

go to our website at www.heritageinschools.ie

HERITAGE IN SCHOOLS SCHEMEIT S̓ ALL AROUND US, IT S̓ ALL ABOUT US.IRELAND’S LEADING OUTDOOR EDUCATION PROGRAMME FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN.

The Heritage in Schools Scheme is unique in Ireland and provides a panelof 176 diverse Heritage Specialists who work directly with children inprimary schools throughout the country. It is leading the way inpromoting outdoor education and encouraging children to engagedirectly with the natural and cultural heritage that surrounds them.

Reflections of Council Members

Documents

Transcript of Reflections of Council Members