Over €194,000 awarded to built heritage projects in Kilkenny

A sum of over €194,000 has been awarded to built heritage projects in Kilkenny.

Funded projects include thatching and roof repairs, historic glass conservation, and joinery, according to Minister of State Malcolm Noonan who announced the funding this morning.

Some of the projects include St Lachtain's Church in Freshford (€13,600 for wall repairs), St Johns Church, John
Street in Kilkenny (€9,500 for external wall repairs), and €11,000 for historic machinery repair at the Deerpark Mills, Deerpark in Mullinavat. The Old Fever Hospital in Clintstown, Killinney Mill House in Kells, and Ballybur Castle and Coach House also will benefit.

“It gives me great pleasure to announce this significant investment in our national built heritage, and also to see the variety and scope of the projects which will be funded in my home city of Kilkenny. Built heritage has always been a priority for me, both in terms of preserving the integrity of our vernacular buildings, and preserving the skills and crafts required for this conservation work. The Built Heritage Investment Scheme is hugely impactful in this regard, because it allows so many owners and custodians of historic and protected structures to complete necessary works to maintain these structures and safeguard them for the benefit of future generations," said Minister of State Noonan.

“The €4.5 million allocated for 2023 represents a 12.5% increase on last year’s funding, underlining this Government’s continuing commitment to protect and preserve our built environment, in line with the goals set out in Heritage Ireland 2030, the new national heritage plan, which I launched last year. The funding allocated locally to projects in Kilkenny represents an increase of over 20% on last year. I have always been keen to stress the importance of supporting our communities in their efforts to repair, preserve and restore our built heritage, and that increase – I believe – reflects the growing local interest in this scheme.

“These schemes also deliver thousands of hours of professional craft skills, many of which are based in rural communities. I feel strongly that there is scope to develop more traditional skills training and I'm encouraged by the uptake in apprenticeships in this regard.”

The BHIS is one of two built heritage funding schemes run by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in association with the 31 Local Authorities. The scheme assists owners of heritage structures – including those on the local authorities’ Record of Protected Structures and those in Architectural Conservation Areas – to meet their obligations to care for their properties by providing match-funded grants of up to €15,000 for standard projects (not involving thatch).

The scheme is not limited to private dwellings; it also provides assistance to a wide range of other important heritage structures.

Also included under this year’s scheme is funding of €500,000 for conservation repairs to eligible historic thatched structures. Grants of up to €20,000 for thatched structures are available through the scheme.