Meath receives €43,000 heritage fund to boost tourism and jobs

Five Meath projects will share €43,280 under two special grant schemes run by The Heritage Council.

An audio guide for a walking tour in Trim, the Colmcille 1500 illuminations and the Ledwidge Museum archive are among the projects to benefit.

Under the Community Heritage Grant Scheme, €34,180 has been allocated to community groups and not-for-profit organisations in Meath.

The Francis Ledwidge Museum and War Memorial Centre will receive €11,930 for its Francis Ledwidge Museum Archive Heritage Project, while Ardcath Clonalvey Heritage Society is allocated €3,700 to record all the remaining headstone details in Piercetown / Clonalvy graveyards.

Kells TypeTrail will receive €15,000 towards the conservation of 1860s Wharfedale Printing Press and St John's Old Cemetery Restoration Group is granted €3,550 for a survey of the fifteenth-century Belfry Tower in Nobber.

Meanwhile, under the Heritage Council’s Irish Walled Towns Network (IWTN), €9,100 is earmarked for interpretation initiatives, which will protect and preserve the history and heritage of Ireland’s walled towns.

Kells Local Heroes has been allocated €6,000 for its project ‘Colmcille 1500 Kells Illuminations’ which celebrates the 1500th anniversary of St Colmcille's birth with a colourful visual experience narrating the life, cultural and artistic legacy of St Colmcille.

In 2018, the IWTN provided funding for a conference about the standards achievable in Kell’s signage to start a conversation about interpreting Colmcille’s legacy.

The townspeople of Kells were forced to pay for the repairs to their walls in the 15th century. This angered them, and many residents decided to leave the town.

In addition, Meath County Council has received €3,100 for its project ‘From Trim Town to Newtown Trim, an Audio guide and Visual Interpretation’.

The funding will create an audio guide for a walk from Sheep Gate, Trim to Newtown Trim explaining the hidden history of the route from prehistory to the present linked.

In 2017, the Heritage Council, through the IWTN, provided funding for an interpretation and visitor management plan for Black Friary site in Trim.

Trim Castle is thought to be the largest Norman castle in Ireland. The Anglo-Norman de Lacey family founded Trim in the 12th century and Trim's stone walls enclosed an area of 23 hectares.

The heritage funding is aimed at boosting a post-Covid recovery, growing tourism, and enhancing community spirit by supporting local heritage projects.