Monuments grant could help preserve medieval church

INDEPENDENT Cllr Paul Hayes has called on Cork County Council to apply for the Community Monuments Fund on behalf of a medieval church and graveyard at Rathbarry.

‘This grant would cover 100% of the preservation costs, would ensure that the necessary works be carried out at the earliest possible time, and be done without any cost to the Council,’ he stated at a meeting of the West Cork Municipal District.

The councillor said a local community group, Castlefreke our Woods Our Walks, are very keen to preserve the heritage of the area.

‘There is an ancient medieval church in Rathbarry and an old Church of Ireland graveyard going back to the 1700s but access to those graves is restricted to relatives.’

He said some excavation works were carried out in the early 2000s but the church and graveyard are being affected by adverse weather conditions. A conservation report was done some time ago and it was suggested that the project would be put forward for funding under the Community Monuments Fund.

Cllr Karen Coakley (Ind) seconded the motion saying she has been in contact with the group and she urged the Council to give the project full support. ‘Time is of the essence,’ she said.

‘The restoration needs to be carried out asap.’

Municipal district officer Jacqueline Mansfield outlined the various funding streams for protected structures and archaeological monuments. There is the Community Monuments Fund, the Built Heritage Investment Scheme, and the Historic Structures Fund – all of which have an application form link online.

She said the Community Monuments Fund has three streams of funding, all of which offer up to 100% of eligible costs. The scheme, which has been operating annually since its establishment in 2020, has seen an investment of over €911,000 for 17 different archaeological sites in Cork county, said Jacqueline Mansfield.

‘The fund is for conservation works to be carried out on archaeological monuments which are deemed to be significant and in need of support,’ she added. ‘It aims to build resilience in monuments and to improve their presentation.’