Heritage Council (Ireland)

The Heritage Council (Irish: An Comhairle Oidhreachta) is an organisation created by the Irish government to "engage, educate and advocate to develop a wider understanding of the vital contribution that our heritage makes to our social, environmental and economic well-being."^[1]

The Heritage Council was established under the Heritage Act of 1995.^[1]

The Council's purview includes monuments, archaeological objects, heritage objects such as art and industrial works, documents and genealogical records, architectural heritage, flora, fauna, wildlife habitats, landscapes, seascapes, wrecks, geology, heritage gardens, parks and inland waterways.^[2]

The Heritage Council organizes the annual Heritage Week in Ireland.^[3] It also has a grants scheme.^[4]

In 2005, the Heritage Council formed the Irish Walled Towns Network (IWTN).^[5] The role of the IWTN is to help the walled towns of Ireland become better places in which to live, work and visit. The network does this through providing grants for medieval town wall repairs, secondly, by providing grants for community festivals and heritage interpretation, thirdly, training community groups on how best to use their place's heritage and finally, by coordinating research and publishing advisory documents. In 2013, the IWTN's education programme won the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Award. The 29 member towns of the network are: Athenry, Athlone, Athy, Bandon, Buttevant, Carlingford, Carrickfergus, Carrick-on-Suir, Cashel, Castledermot, Clonmel, Cork City, Derry, Drogheda, Dublin City, Fethard, Galway City, Kells, Kildare Town, Kilkenny City, Kilmallock, Limerick City, Loughrea, New Ross, Rindoon, Trim, Waterford, Wexford Town and Youghal.