Grants available to conserve traditional farm buildings across Donegal

Funding is available to farmers for the conservation of Donegal’s traditional farm buildings. 

The support is available under the Traditional Farm Buildings Grant Scheme administered by The Heritage Council in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.  

The Traditional Farm Buildings Grant Scheme aims to ensure that traditional farm buildings and other related structures that contribute to landscape character and are of heritage value are conserved for agricultural use.  

“Our traditional farm buildings lend character to our rural landscape and farmers play an important role in maintaining them and keeping them in use”, explained Joseph Gallagher, County Donegal Heritage Officer. 

 “The Traditional Farm Buildings Grant Scheme allows traditional farm buildings to retain their relevance to agricultural activities, helps to maintain aspects of our rural built heritage which are important to regional landscape character, and conveys rural ways of life and local history to visitors and locals alike.  The scheme strongly encourages and supports farmers to carry out at least some of the repairs themselves.  It also provides a means of employment in rural areas for local contractors and encourages local craftspeople to learn and apply best conservation practice.”

The grant is available for the conservation of traditional farm buildings, including roofs, walls, structural repairs, windows and doors.  Grants will also be available for other related structures such as historic yard surfaces and landscape features around the farmyard, walls and traditional farm gates.  To be eligible for the scheme, buildings and other related structures must have architectural or vernacular heritage character, make a contribution to their setting and not be overwhelmed by large-scale modern buildings. 

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The Traditional Farm Buildings Grant Scheme is open to farmers who are (i) active agri-environment scheme participants, including the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) or (ii) approved participants of the Organic Farming Scheme.  The applicant must be the owner of the building/other related structure for which funding is being sought or be acting with the permission of the owner.  The grant will cover up to 75% of the cost of the works, including the cost of supervision by a conservation consultant. 

The minimum grant will be €4,000, and the maximum will be €30,000.  The Traditional Farm Buildings Grant Scheme is highly competitive and the Heritage Council estimates that about 40 projects will be supported countrywide in 2026.   The grant scheme won the European Heritage Award in 2024 in recognition of its outstanding contribution to the preservation and enhancement of Ireland’s agricultural vernacular heritage.  

The closing date for receipt of applications to the grant scheme is 5pm on Monday, May 18. Farmers interested in applying to this year’s scheme are encouraged to attend the short information webinar at 12 noon on Friday, April 17.  Further details and application forms are available on The Heritage Council website and on (086) 025 9202.   

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme