Over €430,000 for Archaeological Heritage Projects in Cork County

St Mary's Collegiate Church, Youghal

Seven important archaeological conservation projects in Cork County are set to receive over €430,000 from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage under the 2023 Community Monuments Fund.

The fund was established in 2020 to conserve, maintain, protect and promote local archaeological monuments and historic sites and is administered locally by Cork County Council’s Heritage Unit. 

The Community Monuments Fund has a number of funding streams aimed at enabling conservation works to be carried out on archaeological monuments which are deemed to be significant and in need of urgent support, encouraging access to monuments and improve their presentation and also to build resilience in monuments to enable them to withstand the effects of climate change. 140 projects at archaeological sites across the country will benefit from an investment of €8 million for 2023.

The successful County Cork projects include four archaeological sites owned by Cork County Council:

•    Conservation works at Bandon Town Wall will receive €100,000

•    Conservation works at St. Mary’s Collegiate Church in Youghal will receive €100,000

•    Conservation works at Kilgullane Church and Graveyard, in the Fermoy Municipal District, will receive €93,771,33, and,

•    A Conservation Plan for Kilcorney Church and Graveyard in the Kanturk-Mallow Municipal District will receive €13,222

Three further important archaeological sites in the county will also receive funding: 

•    Conservation works at the Castleview Mills Complex near Clonakilty, will receive €100,000

•    An Archaeological Impact will be undertaken in respect of Baltimore Ringfort in West Cork, to the sum of €1,500, and 

•    The Round Tower in Cloyne will benefit from a Conservation Management Plan to the sum of €23,370.

Welcoming these allocations, Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr. Danny Collins, said, 

 

The County of Cork has a wealth of archaeological heritage, over 19,000 such sites and monuments. The Community Monuments Fund provides valuable supports to ensure that this heritage is preserved and protected for future generations.

Speaking of the allocations, Chief Executive of Cork County Council, Tim Lucey added,

The range of projects being supported this year is a very welcome investment in the county’s archaeological heritage, which includes churches and mill complexes, town defences and ringforts. There is also a great geographical spread, from Bandon to Youghal and from Baltimore to Kilgullane. The funding allocated this year is an increase of over €200,000 received under the same scheme in 2022, highlighting the growing benefit of this scheme for archaeological heritage in the county.