The Council’s Community Monuments Fund to support conservation, maintenance, protection and promotion of archaeological monuments is open for applications for grant funding until 12th April, 2021.
Deputy Malcolm Noonan, T.D, Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, has launched the 2021 Community Monuments Fund which will invest €2 million in the protection and promotion of archaeological heritage. The €2 million allocation is an increase of 75% on last year’s funding.
The grants available under the Community Monuments Fund (CMF) can help custodians and owners of archaeological monuments to safeguard them into the future for the benefit of local communities and the public.
“Kilkenny County Council is delighted to be working with the National Monuments Service again this year on the Community Monuments Fund”, according to the Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council, Cllr. Andrew McGuinness. “Last year essential conservation work was carried out on the City Walls in Irishtown and at the Medieval Mile Museum. None of this vital work would have been possible without the Community Monuments Fund.”
The aim of the Community Monuments Fund is to support the conservation, maintenance, protection and promotion of archaeological monuments. Funding is available for:
- conservation works to monuments which are significant and in need of urgent support,
- works to improve access to and presentation of monuments,
- building resilience in monuments to enable them to withstand the effects of climate change.
Funding is available in three streams:
Stream 1: essential repairs and conservation works at archaeological monuments.
Stream 2: development of Conservation Management Plans/Reports for archaeological monuments
Stream 3: enhancement of access infrastructure and interpretation at archaeological monuments, including development of online interpretative material.
Applications by private owners or community groups for funding under the CMF must be made to Kilkenny County Council by 12th April.
In 2020, 71 heritage projects were funded to the value of €1.15 million. It is anticipated that the 2021 programme being run by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage’s National Monuments Service will support more than 120 projects across the country.
Minister of State with responsibility for Heritage, Deputy Malcolm Noonan, T.D. said “We have a responsibility towards our heritage and to those who care for it. When we established the Community Monuments Fund in 2020, we did so with the objective of supporting the heritage sector and providing an effective way of assisting Local Authorities and custodians in protecting Ireland’s remarkable yet vulnerable archaeological heritage.
With the excellent partnership between Local Authorities and our National Monuments Service, the 2020 Fund supported an extraordinary level of community engagement and public participation in heritage. It provided traditional skills opportunities and strengthened the role of heritage in communities across the country, highlighting the role of heritage in providing a strong sense of place and well-being. We are very pleased to be able to grow the fund significantly this year and hope to support over 120 projects which will provide a local economic boost with thousands of hours of employment for stone masons, conservation architects, archaeologists and others, in sustainable job opportunities in the care of our heritage.”
Full details, conditions and application forms are available from the Heritage Office, Kilkenny County Council, email heritage@kilkennycoco.ie. The closing date for applications by private owners or community groups is 12th April 2021.
To download the application form click here
To read the guidelines and criteria click here
