The Butler Gallery is among buildings to benefit from the Community Monuments Fund in 2023.
Eight projects funded across Carlow and Kilkenny include Butler Gallery, Duiske Abbey and Carlow Town Wall.
Today I am delighted to announce that 140 national monuments across Ireland will benefit from a total of €8 million under this year’s Community Monuments Fund (CMF). A total investment of €412,217.48 has been awarded to projects in Carlow and Kilkenny, including €100,000 for the Butler Gallery in Kilkenny city; €64,292.10 for Duiske Abbey in Graiguenamanagh; and €10,855 for St. Finian’s Church in Myshall.
At €8 million, today’s Community Monuments Fund allocation is our largest ever, and I’m delighted to see this unprecedented level of support delivered for the protection of Ireland’s archaeological heritage.
When we started the Community Monuments Fund in 2020, we wanted to help Local Authorities, communities, and custodians to identify and protect local heritage sites and monuments. From an initial €1.4 million investment, rising to €8 million for 2023, in the lifetime of this fund we’ve supported an incredible 330 heritage projects with a total €11.3 million in funding, and I’m glad to say a significant amount of that has been allocated to projects in Carlow Kilkenny.
This year is no exception, with a total of eight projects across both counties receiving funding. Some of these sites - like the Butler Gallery and Duiske Abbey - are already really important local attractions, and others – like the Carlow Town Wall – can now explore that potential with funding for access and interpretation, in this case to help locate the line of the wall through a geophysical survey.
Ireland’s archaeological heritage is rich, diverse, and in many cases completely unique, but it’s also extremely vulnerable, and we have a collective responsibility to care for it. The Community Monuments Fund supports the local community groups who do such fine work in caring for and promoting their local heritage, and at the same time we’re supporting thousands of hours of employment in traditional skills and professional heritage services.
I want to thank our Local Authorities for their key role in supporting our National Monuments Service in administering the scheme and we look forward to delivering more wonderful heritage projects in 2023 that we can all be proud of.