Let’s keep heritage alive

Local community groups are being urged to apply for a free programme to help them protect and celebrate their local heritage.

The call for applications for the fifth year of Heritage Keepers opened on Tuesday and is open to community groups and primary schools across Ireland in both urban and rural locations.

Successful applicants will learn to develop a local plan to protect and celebrate their heritage through a series of interactive workshops. Once the workshops are complete, groups can apply for funding and receive ongoing mentoring from the Heritage Keepers team to bring their plans to life.

Heritage Keepers helps participants to delve into their built, cultural and natural heritage, providing funding to allow them take positive local action.

The programme will this year have an increased number of places for both community groups and schools. Last year, 75 groups took part in the programme and of the more than 200 groups and schools that have taken part in the programme since it was launched in 2022, some 90% have gone on to complete their funded action.

Some past actions include exhibitions, heritage trails, tree planting, podcast creation, booklets, wildlife ponds, oral history projects and ‘place celebration’ days. Funding for fieldtrips is also provided, allowing participants to visit local heritage sites in person rather than just learning about them online.

Heritage Keepers Co-ordinator Mary Dillon said: “We are delighted to be opening the call for the fifth year of the successful Heritage Keepers programme. Learning more about our places and their needs is the first step to building community stewardship, where communities and individuals feel empowered to take action locally to bring about real and meaningful change and action.

“While our programme is open to both primary schools and community groups, this year we would love to see an increased uptake in the number of applications from community groups. We are incredibly proud and grateful to all our previous Heritage Keepers participants who have shown an inspiring amount of pride in their place and have proved to be wonderful stewards of their community. We are very excited to meet this year’s groups and hear all about their plans to protect and celebrate their local heritage.”

Heritage Keepers is an initiative of Burrenbeo Trust, which is a landscape charity. Heritage Keepers is funded by The Sunflower Charitable Foundation through Community Foundation Ireland.

The Sunflower Charitable Foundation CEO Samantha Briody said: “The Sunflower Charitable Foundation is proud to support the Heritage Keepers programme, aimed at creating ‘pride in place’ and connection for local communities. We particularly welcome the ‘whole’ community approach as well as the focus on natural, cultural and built heritage.”

The closing date for applications is 30 September with the latest round of the programme starting in the autumn and running until the spring. Applications can be made at heritagekeepers.ie.

Cobh case study

More than 20 volunteers got involved in a Cobh Tidy Towns Heritage Keepers project aimed at raising awareness about Cobh Harbour’s Martello Towers.

Prior to the project, there was no information readily available in Cobh on the towers. The group used the Heritage Keepers funding to produce information panel displays about the towers that were erected in Cobh.

They also produced leaflets about the towers which were available at Cobh Heritage Centre and Cobh Tourist Information Centre as well as venues used by local people including sports clubs and pubs.

Laura Morrison of Cobh Tidy Towns said: “Based partially on our field trips, plus additional research, we produced public display and leaflets that give information, maps and stories about the five Martello Towers of Cork Harbour.

“We presented these resources at a launch evening held at Cobh Heritage Centre; the evening also featured a talk from a local historian, and some excerpts of poems and songs that reference the towers. The event was exceptionally well attended and well-received, with an audience of around 90 people. The boards and leaflets will now be made available in various locations in Cobh for both locals and visitors, and content will be adapted for school lesson plans.”