Two Donegal sites among historic monuments to benefit from expertise and mentoring

Five monuments across Ireland have been selected for inclusion in the Heritage Council’s Adopt a Monument Scheme 2024, including two from Donegal.

These include an early medieval church and cross that overlook Lough Foyle at Cooley, near Moville and a 19th-century summerhouse set in a dramatic mountainous landscape on the shore of Lough Altan. The scheme offers communities expertise, mentoring and support to help them to care for their local heritage.

Cooley cross and graveyard a significant early church site that overlooks Lough Foyle, on a hill above Moville, this is the site of an important early cross, the ruins of an ancient church and a stone tomb structure known as ‘the Skull House’. The graveyard contains a number of interesting grave markers. Moville Tidy Towns is keen to ensure the long-term preservation of this site and promote it as a local attraction.

Altan Farm Summerhouse, Dunlewey, is a two-storey summer house built in a dramatic mountainous location on the shore of Lough Altan in the mid-nineteenth century and a popular destination for walkers. Cairde na hEaragaile want to conserve these ruins as an important local landmark and promote the important stories of it and its surrounding landscape.

The other three sites included in this year’s scheme are a ringfort at Rathbeagh, which stands above the River Nore in north Co Kilkenny; the historic church and graveyard at Bailieborough, Co Cavan, and the impressive ruins of the medieval Court Abbey in Lavagh, Co Sligo.

Working in partnership with communities and State bodies, the Adopt a Monument Scheme helps to ensure the sustainable future of the adopted monuments. It also offers communities a way of promoting pride in place and pride in Ireland’s past, as well as opportunities to develop and understand the story of a locality, to work collaboratively, to get active, participate in community development and to boost tourism, business and employment opportunities.

Following a call for applications in October 2023, a large number of community groups applied to adopt a monument in their locality. The five sites were chosen following a selection process that also involved the National Monuments Service, The Heritage Council, The Discovery Programme, a community archaeologist and Abarta Heritage.

Speaking about the sites chosen, Chief Executive of the Heritage Council, Virginia Teehan said: "As custodians of our nation's heritage, we recognise that this Scheme is not merely about safeguarding our historic monuments; it's about safeguarding our collective memory, our identity, and our stories, and the active involvement of local communities is paramount.

"We aim to empower these individuals, providing them with the resources and support they need to make a tangible difference. The impact of caring for our local monuments transcends mere restoration; it fosters a profound sense of pride within communities, transforming sometimes forgotten spaces into vibrant ones, and presents an opportunity to educate through community engagement.”