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Heritage Council (Ireland)

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The Heritage Council
Formation10 April 1995; 29 years ago (1995-04-10)
TypeQuango
PurposeCultural and Historic preservation
HeadquartersChurch Lane, Kilkenny, R95 X264
CEO
Virginia Teehan
Revenue (2022)
€13.54m
Websitewww.heritagecouncil.ie
Conserved medieval town walls of Clonmel, Co. Tipperary which were granted funding by the Heritage Council.

The Heritage Council (Irish: An Comhairle Oidhreachta) is an organisation created by the Irish government to "engage, educate and advocate to develop a wider understanding of the vital contribution that our heritage makes to our social, environmental and economic well-being."[1][2]

The Heritage Council was established under the Heritage Act 1995.[1]

Its current CEO is Virginia Teehan.[3]

The Council's purview includes monuments, archaeological objects, heritage objects such as art and industrial works, documents and genealogical records, architectural heritage, flora, fauna, wildlife habitats, landscapes, seascapes, wrecks, geology, heritage gardens, parks and inland waterways.[4]

The Heritage Council organizes the annual Heritage Week in Ireland.[5] It also has a grants scheme.[6]

Initiatives

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Irish Walled Towns Network

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In 2005, the Heritage Council formed the Irish Walled Towns Network (IWTN).[7] The role of the IWTN is to help the walled towns of Ireland become better places in which to live, work and visit. The network does this through providing grants for medieval town wall repairs, secondly, by providing grants for community festivals and heritage interpretation, thirdly, training community groups on how best to use their place's heritage and finally, by coordinating research and publishing advisory documents. In 2013, the IWTN's education programme won the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Award.[8]

Museum Standards Programme for Ireland

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The Heritage Council established the Museums Standards Programme for Ireland (MSPI) in 2007, to benchmark and promote professional standards in the care of collections and to recognise through accreditation the achievement of those standards within the Irish museum sector.[9] As of 2020, 43 museums have been fully accredited through the MSPI programme.[10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "About us". Web site. The Heritage Council. February 2012. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  2. ^ "Annual Report 2022" (PDF). heritagecouncil.ie. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  3. ^ "Announcing the Appointment of the Heritage Council's New Chief Executive". Irish Heritage Council, 22 December 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2020
  4. ^ Woodworth, Paddy (9 August 2012). "Political courage required to save Heritage Council". The Irish Times. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  5. ^ Heritage Week, Ireland.
  6. ^ Heritage Council Grants Scheme Archived 2010-11-27 at the Wayback Machine, Meath County Council, Ireland.
  7. ^ Michael Starrett, "Blueprint for revitalising Irish towns", Irish Times, October 2015
  8. ^ "Irish Walled Towns Network Educational Programme". European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  9. ^ "Museums Standards Programme for Ireland". Web site. The Heritage Council. February 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  10. ^ "Accreditation awarded to 11 Irish Museums seen as boost to Post-Covid recovery". Irish Heritage Council, 03 February 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2021
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