Funding of €240k awarded to safeguard World Heritage throughout the country
- Published on: 18 August 2025
- Last updated on: 18 August 2025
Pilot World Heritage Strategic Investment Fund to invest €240,000 to conserve, maintain, protect and promote World Heritage in Ireland
Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne TD, and Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan TD, have today announced that three World Heritage Tentative List sites and one World Heritage Property will be awarded just under €240,000 in funding under the 2025 Pilot World Heritage Strategic Investment Fund.
These grants help owners and custodians of structures located within World Heritage Properties and Tentative List sites to safeguard them for future generations, while improving their accessibility for communities and the public. The core aims of the pilot fund are:
- To enhance, protect and conserve attributes of Outstanding Universal Value in World Heritage Properties
- To enhance, protect and conserve attributes of potential Outstanding Universal Value in World Heritage Tentative List Sites.
The Pilot World Heritage Strategic Investment Fund supports a range of initiatives to conserve, maintain, protect and promote archaeological and built heritage within World Heritage Properties and Tentative List Sites in Ireland. The awards granted as part of this pilot fund include:
- €125,000 for the Transatlantic Cable Ensemble, Valentia, Co. Kerry
- €87,000 for The Royal Sites of Ireland
- €22,000 for The Passage Tomb Landscape of Sligo
- €3,500 for Brú na Bóinne, Co. Meath
Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne, TD, said:
“The award of these grants recognises the important work carried out by the custodians of these internationally significant structures and will assist in their ongoing protection and presentation.”
Speaking today, Minister of State O’Sullivan said:
“This new initiative not only preserves our rich heritage, but also delivers on actions within the recently launched Strategy for World Heritage in Ireland 2025-2035 to empower local communities.”
“This pilot fund helps to improve the interpretation and presentation of structures, enhance accessibility, and enable the protection and conservation of structures in need of urgent support, including building resilience to withstand the effects of climate change.”
“I wish all of the award recipients, including the many spearheaded by local communities, the best of luck in rolling out their projects.”
ENDS
Notes for Editors
The World Heritage Strategic Investment Fund has two streams:
- Stream A: grants of up to €25,000 to improve access infrastructure, interpretation projects and the presentation of structures (including virtually and/or online).
- Stream B: grants of up to €100,000 for the protection and conservation of structures including essential repairs, conservation advice, the preparation of a Conservation Management Plan and detailed specifications of works.+
World Heritage sites can apply for funding under both streams up to a total amount of €125,000.
To be eligible, structures must be:
- included in the Record of Monuments and Places (RMP) under the National Monuments Act 1930 (as amended); or
- identified in the Sites and Monuments Record; or
- included in the Record of Protected Structures (RPS) of each Local Authority; or
- eligible for or proposed for inclusion in the RPS but not yet formally approved for inclusion; or,
- within Architectural Conservation Areas
In addition, eligible structures must meet one or more of the following qualifying conditions:
- they are included within the proposed boundaries of a site on the Tentative List as potential attributes of OUV*;
- they are included within the boundaries of an Irish World Heritage Property as attributes of Outstanding Universal Value.
- they are included within a proposed or actual buffer zone around a World Heritage Property or Tentative List Site and are considered as protecting or contributing to the Outstanding Universal Value.
Structures in the ownership/custodianship of the Minister or of the OPW are not included in the scheme.
Ireland’s World Heritage Properties:
- Brú na Bóinne inscribed on the World Heritage list in 1993
- Sceilg Mhichíl inscribed on the World Heritage list in 1996
Ireland’s Tentative List of World Heritage Properties:
- The Passage Tomb Landscape of County Sligo
- Transatlantic Cable Ensemble: Valentia, County Kerry-Heart’s Content, Newfoundland and Labrador (a serial transnational nomination with Canada)
- The Royal Sites of Ireland: Dún Ailinne, County Kildare; Hill of Uisneach, County Westmeath; Rock of Cashel, County Tipperary; Rathcroghan County Roscommon; and Tara County Meath (a potential serial transnational nomination to include Emain Macha/Navan Fort, County Armagh)
- The Historic Astronomical Observatories of Ireland: Birr Castle and Demesne, Offaly and Dunsink Observatory, Dublin (a potential serial transnational nomination to include Armagh Planetarium and Observatory, County Armagh)
*OUV or Outstanding Universal Value means the natural or cultural significance of a site that is so exceptional that it deserves to be recognised as part of the humanity’s common heritage.