Mayo archaeological monuments receive funding of over €170,000
Inishkea Cross Slab on Inishkea South has received funding of over €20,000. Photo credit: Anthony Hickey / Mayo. Me
Five Mayo projects, aimed at protecting archaeological monuments, have benefitted from €177,000 being allocated to them.
Minister of State Alan Dillon has said over €7.4 million will be awarded to 140 projects nationwide through the 2024 Community Monuments Fund The initiative was first established in 2020 and it aims to conserve, protect, maintain and promote historic sites and local monuments.
The funding is being ringfenced so that conservation work can be undertaken on significant monuments that require urgent support and protection.
The five projects to receive funding include Talach Blast Furnace (€97,214), Ardnaree Augustinian Abbey (€30,000), Inishkea Cross Slab, Inishkea South (€20,340), Turlough Graveyard (€15,005) and Carrowleckeen Church (Knockatemple Church) - (€15,000).
Minister Dillon has thanked Mayo County Council and particularly heritage officer Deirdre Cunningham and her team for their assistance and cooperation with the National Monuments Service administering the Community Monuments Fund.
"I would also like to acknowledge the private owners as custodians of much of our archaeological heritage and I am delighted that they are able to avail of this funding," he added.
In relation to Talach Blast Furnace it has been proposed that 2024 conservation works strengthen and secure unstable and loose stonework, while the resetting of fallen masonry and flagstones from the floor and roof of the casting house and blowing house are also a priority.
Additional planned repair work includes the resetting of top lintels and voussoirs.
Works to be carried out at Ardnaree Augustinian Abbey includes emergency structural repairs and resetting to collapsed sections of the abbey walls, while at Turlough Graveyard the proposed construction is focused on a section of roadside boundary wall in the Turlough church and round tower national monument area.
Meanwhile, at Carrowleckeen Church the funding has been allocated to continue conservation works, which began last year, on preserving the early medieval church at Knockatemple, near Ballyvary.
