Pictured is Dromtarriff Medieval Church on Tuesday 17th January 2023 which had Conservation works carried out by Cork County Council recently. Photo by Sean Jefferies Photography.
The remains of a medieval church and graveyard in the North Cork village of Dromtarriffe have been uncovered and restored with the support of Cork County Council’s Community Monument Fund.
The ancient Parish Church was in use as a place of worship up until July 1651 when it was burned by Cromwellian Soldiers. Tragically twenty-four people lost their lives in the fire, evidence of which is still visible in the shattered stonework today.
The ruins of this important medieval church stand in the centre of an ancient graveyard that was in very poor repair, with the walls of the building were concealed by layers of undergrowth. Following two years of careful conservation works overseen by Cork County Council’s Kanturk Mallow Municipal District, the remaining structures have been uncovered and restored, safeguarding this important historic structure into the future.
Dromtarriff Medieval Church on Tuesday 17th January 2023 which had Conservation works carried out by Cork County Council. Photo by Sean Jefferies Photography.
North Cork Fine Gael Councillor John Paul O’Shea congratulated all those involved in the project,
“The works on Dromtarriffe Church were carried out by an excellent team overseen by the Council’s Heritage Unit including Sheen Stonework Ltd., Archaeologist Eamon Cotter and experienced conservation engineers David Kelly and Partnership. I would like to commend the entire team who worked so diligently to safeguard this historic site, securing its future for the benefit of the local community, visitors to the area and history enthusiasts even further afield.”
Chief Executive of Cork County Council, Tim Lucey highlighted the value of the scheme,
“The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage Community Monuments Fund (CMF) has been in operation for three years and in this time has funded many conservation and maintenance projects to protect and promote archaeological monuments across the county. I would encourage communities who wish to carry out works to conserve, maintain and safeguard local monuments and historic sites such as Dromtarriffe to consider an application to this year’s fund.”
Details of the 2023 Community Monuments Fund are available on Cork County Council’s website at www.corkcoco.ie
The closing date for submissions to this year’s fund is the 31st of January 2023.
Pictured are Billy Dennehy, Area Engineer, Cork County Council, Diane Finucane, Staff Officer, Municipal Districts Operations & Rural Development Cork County Council, Ann Carey, Archeologist with National Monuments Service, Clare Barr, Municipal District Officer, Cork County Council and Mary Sleeman, Archeologist with Cork County Council reviewing the Conservation works at Dromtarriff medieval church carried out by Cork County Council. Photo by Sean Jefferies Photography.
Further Information:
The 2023 Community Monuments Fund was launched in November 2021 by Malcolm Noonan, Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform. €6 million will be invested in this year’s Community Monuments Fund helping owners and custodians of archaeological monuments (see www.archaeology.ie) to safeguard them into the future. It is administered through the Local Authority.
The Community Monuments Fund was first established as part of the 2020 July Jobs Stimulus with an investment of €1.15 million supporting 71 projects. This significant increase in funding for the scheme reflects the positive impact of the Fund over the last 3 years. It is estimated that the funding for 2023 will support approximately 120 projects nationwide.
The core aims of the Community Monuments Fund are to conserve, maintain, protect and promote local monuments and historic sites. Funding is available to allow conservation works to be carried out on monuments which are deemed to be significant and in need of urgent support. The aim is to encourage access to monuments and improve their presentation and also build their resilience to enable them to withstand the effects of climate change. The fund supports essential repairs and capital conservation and access works at archaeological monuments and also the development of Conservation Management Plans to identify any measures that may be needed to conserve monuments. Grants are also available to enhance public access infrastructure and interpretation at archaeological monuments.
