Killaghtee Old Church and Cross has been selected for Heritage Council’s Adopt a Monument Scheme

Five monuments across Ireland including the Killaghtee Old Church and Cross near Dunkineely has been selected for Heritage Council’s Adopt a Monument Scheme.

The old church at Killaghtee is thought to date from the 12th Century but the Killaghtee cross is much older, dating back to around 650AD.

Dunkineely Community Ltd wish to preserve the cross (which has deteriorated over recent decades) and work with stakeholders to conserve and maintain the site for future generations.

The five sites are to benefit from specialist expertise and mentoring include a ringfort, motte, churches and graveyards in Donegal, Cork, Kildare, Kerry, and Monaghan

Five monuments in locations across Ireland have been selected for inclusion in the Adopt a Monument Scheme 2022. The scheme offers communities expertise, mentoring and support to help them to care for their local heritage. Following a call for applications in September 2021, more than 40 community groups applied to adopt a monument in their locality. The five sites were chosen following a selection process that also involved the National Monuments Service, the Discovery Programme, a community archaeologist, and Abarta Heritage.

The sites included in this year’s scheme are an early medieval church and cross at Killaghtee in Co Donegal, which overlooks the Atlantic; a ringfort in Baltimore, West Cork, which is perched above Church Strand Bay; Dunmanogue Church and Graveyard in Kildare; St James’ Church in Dingle, Co Kerry (home to the Other Voices Music Festival), and an Anglo-Norman motte castle in the heart of Inniskeen, Co Monaghan.

Working in partnership with communities and State bodies, the Adopt a Monument Scheme helps to ensure the sustainable future of the adopted monuments. It also offers communities a way of promoting pride in place and pride in Ireland’s past, as well as opportunities to develop and understand the story of a locality, to work collaboratively, to get active, participate in community development and to boost tourism, business, and employment opportunities.

Speaking about the sites chosen, Chief Executive of the Heritage Council, Virginia Teehan said: “We received more than 40 applications from energized community groups across Ireland. Each of the sites is unique and represents important aspects of Ireland’s heritage. We are really looking forward to working with the communities to uncover the stories of their sites.” 

The Adopt a Monument Scheme is an initiative of The Heritage Council and is managed by Abarta Heritage. Support in surveying and investigation work for several sites will be provided by the Discovery Programme, which is the State’s archaeological research institute.