The Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Mr Malcolm Noonan, TD, today announced the award of grants for a wide range of archaeological heritage projects under the Department’s 2022 Community Monuments Fund including €85k for Saint Audoen’s Church in Dublin 8. Building on the impact of the scheme last year under which 139 awards were granted to an amount of just under €4.2 million, this year 128 projects are being supported with an overall investment of €6 million.
Green Party TD for Dublin South Central Patrick Costello, said:
“Our archaeological monuments provide a sense of place to our city. This funding from the Community Monuments Fund for one of Dublin 8’s hidden gems in Saint Audoen’s Church will allow for essential repairs and capital works for the conservation and repair will ensure the preservation of this archaeologically significant building for generations to come.”
“I’m delighted my Green Colleague, Minister Malcolm Noonan has allocated €85,000 from the Community Monuments Fund grant to Saint Audoen’s Church. His Department’s collaboration with Dublin City Council, the Archaeologists, Conservation Officers, Heritage Officers and planning and administrative staff and partnership with communities – showcases their valuable role in protecting and promoting Ireland’s heritage. On foot of this weeks’ celebration of World Heritage Day, it is really fitting that such support is shown for our archaeological heritage in Dublin 8.”
The core objective of the Community Monuments Fund is to support the conservation, maintenance, protection and promotion of local monuments and historic sites. It contains a number of different measures aimed at enabling conservation works to be carried out on archaeological monuments which are deemed to be significant and in need of urgent support, encouraging access to archaeological monuments and improving their presentation and also building resilience in archaeological monuments to enable them to withstand the effects of climate change.
Under three Streams the Community Monuments Fund supports a broad range of measures aimed at protecting and promoting archaeological monuments, including emergency conservation repair works at monuments, masonry repair, the development of Conservation Management Plans, access infrastructure and installation of interpretation signage, and social media projects aimed at disseminating knowledge of Ireland’s archaeological heritage.
Speaking today, Minister Noonan said:
“I am delighted to announce the Community Monuments Fund awards for 2022. The increased funding we are announcing today of €6 million to 128 projects will help protect our wonderful archaeological heritage and make it more accessible to the many who cherish it.
These awards help us to deliver on various commitments under Heritage Ireland 2030, the new national heritage plan launched earlier this year. It will provide further supports for communities and custodians and the heritage sector, for archaeologists, conservation architects, stone masons, and other professional trades.
These projects will also help build resilience against extreme weather and mitigate the impacts of climate change, a priority action embedded in our Climate Adaptation Plan.
Minister Noonan added:
“I want to commend our National Monuments Service for their huge effort in managing the scheme and the Local Authorities for their incredible support in administering applications. I am particularly happy that we are helping to meet the ambition of local communities across Ireland in protecting their archaeological heritage.”