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HOW DO WE DEFINE HERITAGE SIOBHAN?
Heritage includes everything that we have
inherited from our past and want to maintain for
our future. If there was to be a heritage county
in Ireland, you wouldn’t have to look further
than Sligo. We have an exceptionally rich and
diverse heritage, be it Carrowmore, Carrowkeel,
Inishmurray, the rich variety of wildlife
habitats that range from mountain top to the
seashore, or our built heritage tradition –
Sligo literally has it all. Heritage also
encompasses, landscape, place names, local
history, geology, so at a local level, heritage
is what makes our county special.
SLIGO’S HERITAGE IS OBVIOUSLY IMPORTANT?
Yes, it is important to all people who live and
work in the county. Heritage is of value in
itself in that it is a non renewable resource.
It was valued in the past and will continue to
be valued by the wider community today for the
following reasons. It provides us with the rich
tapestry that is Sligo, it is what sets Sligo
apart from other counties and provides it with a
distinctiveness that is particularly captured in
its landscape. Our heritage ultimately provides
us with an exceptional quality of life, and if
our environment is of benefit to and valued by
the people of Sligo, then this will also benefit
those who take time to visit our county. Less
obvious are the aesthetic, health, economic and
social benefits of the heritage resource.
Getting the heritage balance right is of benefit
to tourism, but getting it right for the
citizens of Sligo is even more important.
WHEN WAS THE SLIGO HERITAGE OFFICE
ESTABLISHED?
In 1999, Sligo County Council in partnership
with the Heritage Council was one of the first
Local Authorities in Ireland to pilot the
employment of a Heritage Officer. There are now
26 Heritage Officers in place across Ireland,
each responding to the particular heritage needs
within their counties. The Heritage Office is
based at County Hall, Riverside and its work
includes the development and implementation of
the County Heritage Plan 2002-2006, and
supporting the County Heritage Forum in the
implementation of the plan.
WE HAVE HEARD OF THE COUNTY HERITAGE FORUM
– WHAT IS IT?
While it is recognised that there are many state
agencies with a remit for heritage within the
county, Sligo Local Authorities were aware that
there was a significant heritage role to be
developed and facilitated at county level. The
Heritage Forum was established in April 2001 to
oversee and advise on the preparation and
implementation of the County Sligo Heritage
Plan. The membership of the Heritage Forum has
been drawn from the following sectors:
- Local Government
- Local Development
- State Agencies
- Landowners/Farming Organisations
- Community and Voluntary Sector
- County Sligo Heritage Organisations
The Forum, which has 17
members, operates on the basis of real and
meaningful partnership for the benefit of
heritage. In 2002 the Government published the
first ever National Heritage Plan and National
Biodiversity Plan and both recognise the key
role Local Authorities can play in heritage
management at local level and in turning
National heritage policy into action on the
ground.
WHAT IS BEING DONE AT
COUNTY LEVEL FOR HERITAGE?
The County Heritage Plan is the mechanism
through which coordinated action for Sligo’s
heritage takes place at county level. It is an
action plan, and a wide range of actions from
the current heritage plan (2002-2006) have
already been implemented. In fact through the
Heritage Forum, local groups and agencies, over
90% of the key actions have been addressed. The
Heritage Plan has focussed on collection of
heritage information, working with Sligo Local
Authorities in their management of heritage,
raising awareness and promoting best practice.
The current Heritage Plan is in its final year
of implementation and work is currently underway
to consult widely on what heritage issues are to
be included in the next Plan (2007-2011).
Some of the projects undertaken, or in progress,
have been the establishment of a Field Monument
Advisor, provision of training opportunities for
communities in relation to graveyards and museum
collections, conservation plans for Carrowkeel
and Inishmurray, village design statements for
Ballisodare, Grange, Collooney and Easkey,
Inventories of thatched buildings, geological
heritage sites, industrial heritage sites,
archaeological objects held in museum
collections, natural heritage publications and
an award winning schools heritage and IT
programme.
WHAT KEY HERITAGE CHALLENGES FACE US?
Placing heritage at the heart of public life is
one of the key challenges, but of equal
importance is engaging with individuals and
communities, so that the citizens of Sligo are
involved in their heritage. If we as the wider
Sligo community know and value our heritage,
then we can take steps towards caring for that
resource.
We also need to address our understanding of
what constitutes heritage, we readily identify
heritage as being a historic house or
archaeological sites, but less so wildlife
habitats, plants and animals. Interestingly at a
recent public consultation programme undertaken
as part of the drafting of the new County
Heritage Plan 2007-2011, landscape and its
protection was the primary issue raised. It is
evident that the people of Sligo consider
landscape very much part of their heritage and
are concerned that it is particularly vulnerable
at a time of unprecedented change.
HERITAGE AND DEVELOPMENT, NEVER THE TWAIN
SHALL MEET?
Achieving a balance between heritage and
development will always be a challenge as it is
increasingly accepted that you cannot or it may
not be appropriate to retain everything. That
challenge can be met through developing heritage
inventories at county level, so that the
heritage resource is known. There is still a lot
of ground to be covered in this area, but
progress is being made.
Timing of appropriate heritage advice in
planning developments is crucial to allow for
the proper scoping of a project ahead of
detailed plans and implementation. Time spent
scoping a project properly will ultimately same
time and money. Increasingly it is not a
situation of never the twain shall meet, but
rather what opportunities are being presented
for heritage, whether through direct
conservation, mitigation, or indirect benefits.
WHAT OTHER SERVICES DOES THE HERITAGE
OFFICE PROVIDE?
About half of the work undertaken by the
Heritage Office relates to the County Heritage
Forum and delivery of the County Sligo Heritage
Plan. This represents the offices input to
policy formulation and programme planning at a
county level.
A key role is undertaken in contributing to
heritage policy formulation within development
plans and providing professional heritage input
where heritage issues arise at preplanning,
special projects or senior management level
within the Local Authority. In addition, the
Heritage Office provides an ongoing heritage
advisory role to all Local Authority staff,
elected members and members of the public.
The Heritage Office also administers a series of
heritage grant schemes on behalf of the Local
Authority and continues to liaise with other
heritage agencies nationally in seeking future
benefits and opportunities for Sligo’s heritage.
AND THE FUTURE FOR SLIGO’S HERITAGE?
The outlook is good, but Sligo has such a wealth
of heritage that it would be easy to become
complacent about it, the decline of the
corncrake is perhaps an evocative example of how
easily an aspect of our heritage can be lost.
Ultimately, we need to be informed and aware of
our heritage, while all the time looking to the
future at the opportunities and possibilities
that present themselves to create a new heritage
for our county.
Contact the Sligo Heritage Office:
Heritage Office, Sligo County Council,
Riverside, Sligo.
Telephone: (071) 9111255
Email:
heritage@sligococo.ie
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