Laois groups urged to adopt a monument
Mural at Old St Peter's Church in Portlaoise, which was 'adopted' by Portlaoise Tidy Towns
COMMUNITY groups in Laois are being encouraged to join the Heritage Council’s Adopt a Monument scheme, which helps people to become involved in the care and conservation of a much-loved local monument.
The scheme offers communities expertise, mentoring and support to help them care for their local heritage.
Old St Peter’s Church in Portlaoise was ‘adopted’ by Portlaoise Tidy Towns in 2017 and they completed a successful graveyard conservation project, with funding and support from Laois County Council and the Heritage Council.
The Tidy Towns committee received an award from the Heritage Council in 2022, in recognition of their tremendous conservation work at the graveyard in the heart of the town. The committee invited Patricia Lodge, wife of the late Cllr Jerry Lodge to accept the award on their behalf, in memory of Jerry’s pivotal role in getting the conservation project started.
The church is one of the oldest buildings in the town and dates back to the middle of the 16th century. Interesting characters interred in the historic church graveyard include the notorious highwayman Jeremiah Grant, known as Grant the Robber and Bartholomew Mosse, the visionary founder of Dublin’s Rotunda Hospital.
Since the scheme began in 2016, 30 groups across Ireland have ‘adopted’ monuments in their locality, ranging from ring forts to 19th century industrial buildings and medieval churches, as well as a Gaelic castle.
An incredible variety of heritage sites nationwide range from ancient tombs, stone circles, early monasteries, castles, churches and graveyards to landed estates, mines, kilns, mills, traditional houses and battlefields.
The Adopt a Monument Scheme takes a very broad view of heritage and is open to applications from enthusiastic community groups to adopt a site that is important to them.
The aim is that the chosen monument will serve as a focal point for heritage-related, educational and recreational activities and will encourage greater appreciation and understanding of local heritage.
Heritage Council chief executive Virginia Teehan described the scheme as “a wonderful way of ensuring our monuments remain an integral part of a community”.
She said: “Maintaining them and caring for them requires much-needed expertise and resources, which is exactly what the scheme provides.
"We can already see the positive effect the scheme has had on the areas where a monument was adopted, and the pride of place and increased civic value brought about the efforts of our dedicated community groups is very satisfying to see.”
The Heritage Council is calling for interested groups to apply for the scheme before the closing date of 21 March. Further information about the scheme and the application process is available at https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/projects/aam
