MONAGHAN, INNISKEEN AND DONAGH PROJECTS TO BENEFIT FROM HERITAGE FUNDING

The Heritage Council has announced funding for conservation and promotion of historic sites in Monaghan Town, Donagh and Inniskeen. Monaghan Tidy Towns will receive €6,225 to survey the condition of both the 17th lock and adjacent lock-keeper’s house on the Ulster Canal and Greenway with a view to discerning how best to preserve and protect it from further deterioration.

The Ulster Canal Greenway is almost 190 km in length with greenway routes following the line of the Ulster Canal and other disused railway routes. The built heritage of the Ulster Canal features many iconic and beautiful structures, buildings and locks. The lockhouse at Rooskey is a magnificent building in danger of dereliction.

The Donagh Group of Parishes is being allocated €4,123 for a project that will build awareness of significant heritage sites in Donagh, Tyholland and Errigal Truagh. Inniskeen Enterprise Development Group gets €2,591 to undertake a survey and interpretation of the Motte and Bailey Castle at Inniskeen together with the site of the former abbey. The results will inform tourism and promotional material relating to the village.

In all, 137 projects are being assisted by the Heritage Council under its Community Heritage Grant Scheme which will help to conserve and restore built, cultural and natural heritage throughout the country. “Work on these projects can begin immediately which will see hundreds of local communities enriched through initiatives, from making previously unseen works of art available to the public, to equipping local communities with skills needed to protect biodiversity, to making landmarks of national significance…