Heritage Council’s Community Heritage Grant Scheme is now Open for Applications

The Heritage Council is now accepting applications from voluntary or community groups and not for profit non-governmental organisations in Cork for its Community Heritage Grant Scheme 2025.

In 2024, the scheme funded the West Cork Oral Heritage Group to develop an online resource to make its recordings available to the public, YMC Ireland and St Fin Barre’s Church in Cork city both received funding to undertake repair and restoration works in their respective historic buildings, while groups in Fermoy and Crosshaven also received funding to preserve historic structures.

 A broad range of project types are eligible for funding under the scheme including:

• Conservation works to collections, objects or places, including natural heritage projects e.g. control of invasive species or habitat restoration works; conservation works to buildings, including churches; stabilisation works to ruined structures;

• Surveys, reports, plans, and audits to inform the future management of buildings and monuments, habitats, collections, or objects.

• Accessibility projects that make heritage activities more accessible for people with disabilities e.g. building ramps, automatic doors, handrails, tactile interpretation

• Projects that help people engage more with their heritage e.g. interactive maps, videos, virtual exhibitions, podcasts, websites

• Purchase of specialised equipment e.g archival boxing for vulnerable documents, monitoring equipment for humidity or light, interpretation/multimedia equipment, specialised software

• Projects that address the heritage of minority groups e.g an oral history project documenting Traveller heritage

• Training in traditional skills and crafts e.g. workshops on skills such as roofing, thatch, dry stone walling etc.

• Citizen science projects on environmental conservation

The minimum grant that can be requested through the scheme is €500. The maximum is €25,000.

The variety of applicants who successfully secured funding in 2024 demonstrates the positive impact the scheme has across the heritage spectrum. A full list of projects funded last year is available from below:

https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/content/images/2024_Community_-Grants_Offer.pdf

A full overview of eligibility criteria and other relevant details are available from the Heritage Council’s website below:

https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/funding/community-heritage-grant-scheme-2

The closing date for applications is Friday, 14th of March 2025 at 11pm. Applications must be made via the Heritage Council’s online grants management system. Funded projects must be completed by 14^th of November 2025.