In the days following National Heritage Week 2006, Siobhán Ryan, Heritage Officer with Sligo County Council, explores the current heritage initiatives that are happening in the county. She looks at the development of Local Heritage Management through the establishment of the County Heritage Forum, the adoption and implementation of the County Sligo Heritage Plan 2002-2006, some of the heritage initiatives that have taken place and we look forward to the next five years and the preparation of the new County Sligo Heritage Plan 2007- 2011.
Heritage includes everything that we have inherited from our past and want to maintain for our future. If there was to be a heritage county in Ireland, you wouldn’t have to look further than Sligo. We have an exceptionally rich and diverse heritage, be it Carrowmore, Carrowkeel, Inishmurray, the rich variety of wildlife habitats that range from mountain top to the seashore, or our built heritage tradition - Sligo literally has it all. Heritage also encompasses, landscape, place names, local history, geology, so at a local level, heritage is what makes our county special.
Heritage is important to all people who live and work in our county. Heritage is of value in itself in that it is a non renewable resource. It provides us with the rich tapestry that is Sligo, it is what sets Sligo apart from other counties and provides it with a distinctiveness that is particularly captured in its landscape. Our heritage ultimately provides us with an exceptional quality of life, and if our heritage is of benefit to and valued by the people of Sligo, then this will also benefit those who take time to visit our county. Less obvious are the aesthetic, health, economic and social benefits of the heritage resource. Getting the heritage balance right is of benefit to tourism, but getting it right for the citizens of Sligo is even more important. A county bereft of its heritage would not be an attractive place to live.
Structures at County Level Faced with the broader cultural development of the county and the provision of cultural services to the citizens of Sligo, Sligo County Council has, since 2001, facilitated the establishment of heritage structures to provide for the management of heritage at local level.
In April 2001 a County Heritage Forum was established by Sligo County Council, which is supported in its work by Siobhán Ryan, Heritage Officer with Sligo County Council. The Forum guided the development of the first ever County Heritage Plan 2002-2006, which prioritises and undertakes action for heritage through concensus and partnership. The plan recognised that there are many other agencies, groups and individuals working to progress heritage in the county, but that there was a real opportunity to underpin and strengthen existing initiatives and to address other areas that were not or could not be attended to within existing frameworks.
The aim of the Sligo Heritage Plan 2002-2006 is to secure benefits for the heritage of County Sligo and to increase awareness, appreciation and enjoyment of it for all. This vision has guided the work of the County Sligo Heritage Forum in overseeing the delivery of the County Sligo Heritage Plan 2002-2006 over the last five years. The Heritage Forum has articulated that heritage should be seen as a positive and integral part of Sligo and its development as a county.
The County Sligo Heritage Forum, chaired by Cllr.Patsy Barry, has 17 members representing local government, development agencies, farming sector, government agencies, community sector and heritage groups. Over the last five years the Heritage Plan has concentrated on the specific themes of heritage information, local authority heritage management, raising awareness and best practice. The implementation of the Plan is primarily supported by the Heritage Fourm, Sligo County Council and the Heritage Council.
The Heritage Plan has focused on acquiring knowledge. In 2002, there was little information directly available on the heritage resource of the county, whether it was built, natural or cultural heritage. Or perhaps the information existed but was dispersed and needed to be collated into a useable form. Through the Plan the Forum has overseen the compilation of natural heritage publications and sources for the county; an audit of geological heritage sites in partnership with the Geological Survey of Ireland; a thatch survey; an inventory of artefacts held in the National Museum of Ireland; a heritage education audit; preparatory work towards the preparation of a biodiversity action plan for Sligo and many other data gathering initiatives.
In the area of Local Authority heritage management, some of the work undertaken has included the development of biodiversity guidelines for local authorities in partnership with Kildare County Council and the Heritage Council; a conservation plan for Sligo Gaol; lime-stone wall building and hedgerow management workshops for Local Authority staff; the commissioning of a development plan for Sligo County Museum; the adoption of Records of Protected Structures (RPS) and Architectural Conservation Areas (ACA’s) by Sligo Local Authorities.
Raising awareness of Sligo’s heritage has been integral to the delivery of the Heritage Plan over the last five years and has been delivered through a variety of initiatives which have included, the Sligo Field Fences and Seashore projects, which were school heritage and IT programmes run in conjunction with Sligo Education Centre; hosting of exhibitions relating to built and natural heritage; a Field Monument Advisor programme - the first of its kind in Ireland; heritage seminars relating to archaeology and development, conservation plans and graveyard conservation; publication of Heritage Matters and the Monuments of Sligo poster.
Mechanisms to support best practice in heritage management have included, museum management and caring for collections courses for museums and heritage centres throughout the county, a conservation plan for Carrowkeel, the development of village design statements with the communities of Ballisodare, Grange, Easkey and Collooney, provision of a community heritage award scheme to provide support for community involvement in managing the county’s heritage and as a mechanism to promote best practice.
2006 represents the fifth and final year of implementation of the current County Sligo Heritage Plan. Projects currently in hand include the continued roll out of the Field Monument Advisor programme, an audit of archaeological sources, a lowland grassland survey, a conservation plan for Inishmurray and the delivery of Local Authority biodiversity training.
The County Heritage Forum is now drafting the new five year Heritage Plan 2007-2011 for the county. Many organisations and individuals have contributed to that process already and their involvement is valued and hugely appreciated. The Heritage Forum will consider the draft plan at the end of August and the next step will be the consideration of the draft plan by the Council during September and October. Heritage Officer, Siobhán Ryan added that ‘at that point the draft plan will go on public display during October and we would encourage everyone to look at the actions outlined in the plan and we would welcome all feedback on it. It is a heritage plan for the county, it is a response to local issues and priorities, so we need to get it right for Sligo’. Significant progress has been made, in developing local heritage management, but a lot has also been learned in the past five years as to how a heritage plan can be effectively implemented. ‘For a Heritage Plan to work everyone has to be involved in its delivery, a key theme emerging in the new plan is the promotion of partnerships and participation. Ultimately, we need to be informed and aware of our heritage, while all the time looking to the future at the opportunities and possibilities that present themselves to create a new heritage for our county’ said Sligo Heritage Officer, Siobhán Ryan
Thatched buildings are perhaps one of the most evocative heritage images in the Irish countryside today. They are perhaps the greatest physical expression of what is distinctive and traditional to an area in terms of buildings, which were crafted using local materials that were applied using the skill of the thatcher. In many parts of Ireland, this has led to the development of a particular thatch style in an area. During 2003, Sligo County Council, in partnership with the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, conducted a survey of thatched buildings in County Sligo. The survey was undertaken by Nicholas Prins and Jamie Wood.
From the survey we have learned that there are 40 intact original thatched roofs in the county (7 of which are abandoned/derelict), 21 of which are owner occupied, surprisingly the survey also found that there are 15 new thatched buildings. The distribution of the thatched roofs in the County is also interesting in that more than 80% occur within 3 kms of the coast. The survey provided an opportunity for the owners to have their queries addressed and to receive information relating to grants and support available to maintain thatch roofs. The survey also contributed to twenty of the thatched buildings surveyed being placed in the Record of Protected Structures, within the County Development Plan.
Siobhán Ryan, Heritage Officer with Sligo County Council said that ‘The project demonstrates the supportive role that the Heritage Plan can have for the shaping and inclusion of heritage policy in the County Development Plan. It is about knowing the heritage resource, and putting in appropriate policies to ensure its conservation and protection into the future. Essentially its about being proactive in managing heritage locally’.
County Sligo Heritage Office, Sligo County Council, County Hall, Riverside,Sligo.
Tel: 071-9111 226/255
Fax: 071-91 41119
Email: heritage@sligococo.ie
A Community Heritage Grant Scheme was established by Sligo County Council in 2005, this has seen a fund of E20,000 per annum being made available by the Council to support and encourage community initiatives in caring for heritage at local level. Projects that received funding support during 2005 included, the publication of a Local History booklet by Easkey Heritage and Genealogy Society; provision of a way-marked trail to Killaspugbrone Church by Killaspugbrone Preservation Project; Memorial recording and conservation by Rathbarron Church of Ireland and the publication of a booklet on the history of Dollys Cottage by the Strandhill Guild of the ICA. Siobhán Ryan, Heritage Officer with Sligo County Council said that ‘communities are seeking support to undertake high quality heritage projects within the county, and the Council would like to promote and foster the valuable work undertaken throughout the county and hope that more communities will apply to the grant scheme in future for financial support. The Council sees the scheme as a catalyst to develop community involvement and management of heritage’.