Investment of over €430,000 has been set out for seven key archaeological conservation projects in County Cork.

Funding was pledged from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage under the 2023 Community Monuments Fund, which was established in 2020 to conserve, maintain, protect and promote local archaeological monuments and historic sites

The Community Monuments Fund has a number of funding streams aimed at enabling conservation works to be carried out on archaeological monuments which are deemed to be significant and in need of urgent support, encouraging access to monuments and improve their presentation and also to build resilience in monuments to enable them to withstand the effects of climate change. Approximately 140 projects at archaeological sites across the country will benefit from an investment of €8 million for 2023.

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This investment will support conservation works at Bandon Town Wall, St. Mary's Collegiate Church in Youghal and Kilgullane Church and Graveyard, in the Fermoy Municipal District.

Welcoming these allocations, Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr. Danny Collins, said: "The County of Cork has a wealth of archaeological heritage, over 19,000 such sites and monuments. The Community Monuments Fund provides valuable supports to ensure that this heritage is preserved and protected for future generations."

Chief Executive of Cork County Council, Tim Lucey added: "The range of projects being supported this year is a very welcome investment in the county's archaeological heritage, which includes churches and mill complexes, town defences and ringforts. There is also a great geographical spread, from Bandon to Youghal and from Baltimore to Kilgullane. The funding allocated this year is an increase of over €200,000 received under the same scheme in 2022, highlighting the growing benefit of this scheme for archaeological heritage in the county."