Kildare Heritage Sites Awarded €150,000 Under Historic Structures Fund

Thursday, 31 March 2022 14:15

By Caoimhe Harney

The sites include St David's Castle, Naas; The Four Pots, Grand Canal; and Abbeylands House.

Kildare heritage sites St David's Castle, Naas, the Four Pots, Grand Canal and Abbeylands House have been awarded €150,000 in funding to conserve notable historic structures under the Historic Structures Fund 2022.

The sites have been awarded funding for diverse reasons including full restoration on windows and internal shutter boxes and panelling , reinstatement of internal staircases, missing balustrades and handrail and structural repair of window heads and reveals to openings.

A total of €4m was awarded nationwide through the Historic Structures Fund (HSF), administered by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in partnership with the 31 Local Authorities.

The announcement follows that of €4m in funding under the Department’s other built heritage grant scheme, the Built Heritage Investment Scheme, earlier this month.

Kildare County has said in addition to supporting owners and custodians of historic and protected structures to safeguard and maintain their properties, the funding will also provide a welcome boost to conservation professionals and tradespeople.

It will include specialist heritage roles such as thatching and stone work.

It follows the introduction of the Historic Shopfront Stream last year, and the HSF has again made funding available for a range of shopfronts including bars and pubs which operate in buildings of historical significance

Through grants of between €15,000 and €200,000, the HSF assists owners of heritage structures – including those on the local authorities’ Record of Protected Structures and those in Architectural Conservation Areas – to meet their obligations to care for their properties.

The scheme provides assistance to a wide range of heritage structures – this year’s HSF includes awards to historic bridges, castles, churches, mills, libraries, shopfronts, and an old forge, as well as to private houses.