Cork mill and churches will benefit from €7.4m monuments fund
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The ambitious restoration of a 19th-century mill in West Cork is one of over 100 projects which are set to benefit from a €7.4m fund to protect, preserve, and promote archaeological monuments across the country.
The work at Castleview Mills, a rare example of a working mill, is in line for a €100,000 grant from the Community Monuments Fund.
The fund will allocate grants to 140 projects nationwide to help owners and custodians of archaeological monuments to safeguard them into the future, with almost €600,000 allocated to 11 projects in Cork county alone, including €100,000 for the Castleview Mills project; €100,000 for St Mary's Collegiate Church in Youghal; and €82,397 for conservation works at Kilgullane Church near Fermoy.
St Fin Barre’s Cathedral in Cork City is in line for a €100,000 grant, while St Anne’s, Shandon, and St Peter’s Church have been allocated €30,000 each.
Other big grants include €100,000 each for Limerick’s Galbally Church and Ballynoe Tower House, and just under €100,000 for Killagh Priory in Kerry. Loughloher Castle in Tipperary is set for €116,861 and Purcell’s Castle is in line for a €100,000 grant.
The Community Monuments Fund can support conservation works on monuments that are deemed to be significant and in need of urgent support, it can fund essential repairs, and the development of public access infrastructure and interpretation facilities at the monuments.
It also aims to encourage access to monuments and improve their presentation and also to build their resilience to help them withstand the effects of climate change.
But the fund will also create thousands of hours of employment for specialist craftspeople and traditional skills practitioners.
Minister of state Malcolm Noonan said since the fund's inception in 2020, it has become a lifeline for the protection of Ireland’s irreplaceable archaeological heritage by revitalising hundreds of historic monuments across the country.
“Through this, it is enabling valuable investment in the wider heritage sector, creating thousands of hours of employment for specialist craftspeople and traditional skills practitioners, as well as supporting the achievement of national commitments under Heritage Ireland 2030 and the Climate Adaptation Plan for Built and Archaeological Heritage,” he said.
Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien also welcomed the Community Monuments Fund announcement.
“It will help to ensure that heritage projects across the country will progress, ensuring the protection of our archaeological heritage as a community asset to be made more accessible to the public,” he said.
“Through this fund, we have been able to support local authorities and custodians in protecting our outstanding yet sensitive and vulnerable archaeological heritage.”