Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 29 January 2014
108. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which his Department works in unison with the authorities in Northern Ireland in the promotion of heritage sites of Irish culture; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4508/14]
View answerThe promotion and marketing of the island of Ireland as a tourist designation is primarily a matter for Tourism Ireland, which, as all-island body, works in strategic partnership with Fáilte Ireland and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and with other industry partners to expand Ireland’s valuable tourism market and to highlight the unique qualities of Ireland’s national heritage abroad.
My own Department’s remit includes Waterways Ireland and An Foras Teanga (encompassing Foras na Gaeilge and Tha Boord o Ulstèr Scotch -the Ulster-Scots Agency) which both have a key role in promoting tourism and cultural diversity, understanding and development throughout the island of Ireland. My Department also works on a range of issues across the area of built heritage, arts and culture and the natural heritage with public agencies in Northern Ireland where opportunities for co-operation arise.
My Department provides core funding for the Heritage Council, which supports a range of initiatives, including National Heritage Week that in 2013 included events from Counties Antrim and Down. The Irish Walled Towns Network includes, as a founder member, Derry City which celebrated the 400th anniversary of the laying out of the ground on which Derry’s walls were built in 2013. In October 2013 I attended the 23rd European Walled Towns Symposium in the Guild Hall in Derry where I had a dialogue about our shared objectives with regard to the promotion of heritage with the Minister for the Environment in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Through the Irish Walled Town Network, the Heritage Council has funded medieval festivals and other activities that highlight the importance of the walls as a community and heritage resource. Since 2007, €103,500 has been awarded by the Heritage Council through the Irish Walled Towns Network to Derry City Council for medieval festivals and other activities that highlight the importance of the walls as a community and tourist resource. €6,500 was provided by the Heritage Council in 2013 for Derry’s walled town festival.
The Museum Standards Programme of Ireland, which sets out to raise standards of curatorship across Irish museums and galleries, includes, as one of its participants, the Museum of Free Derry. Many of the museums in the programme also participate in cross border initiatives under their own auspices such as Donegal County Museum, Cavan County Museum and Monaghan Museum. Furthermore, Heritage Officers in border counties often undertake projects in co-operation with their northern colleagues and there is on-going co-operation and collaboration between Local Authority planners in the border counties on heritage issues. My Department funds Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann which held its largest and flagship annual event in Derry in 2013 to celebrate the Derry Londonderry UK City of Culture.
In September 2013, I hosted a World Heritage Seminar, designed to consider the interest of local authorities and community groups in pursuing full nomination of World Heritage Status for the sites on the Tentative List and to clarify all the elements involved in applying for and retaining such status. The seminar was attended by representatives of Armagh District Council in connection with the possibility of including Eamhain Mhacha / Navan Fort in the Royal sites of Ireland nomination. Arising from the seminar, my Department has established contacts with the local authorities and communities involved with a view to further advancing that process.
