Funding of up to €25,000 available for Laois heritage projects

Committee members, from left: Teddy Fennelly, Sean Murray, Michael Parsons, Louise Fennelly, Alan Phelan and Catherine Casey at the Portlaoise Plane official return on Sunday 12th September 2021. Pict

placeholder image — Committee members, from left: Teddy Fennelly, Sean Murray, Michael Parsons, Louise Fennelly, Alan Phelan and Catherine Casey at the Portlaoise Plane official return on Sunday 12th September 2021. Pict

The Heritage Council is now accepting applications

Funding of up to €25,000 is being made available for heritage projects in Laois.

The Heritage Council is now accepting applications from community groups and not for profit non-governmental organisations in Laois for its Community Heritage Grant Scheme 2024.

A broad range of project types are eligible for funding under the scheme including conservation works to collections, objects or places, including natural heritage projects such as the control of invasive species or habitat restoration works; conservation works to buildings, including churches; stabilisation works to ruined structures; Surveys, reports, plans, and audits to inform the future management of buildings and monuments, habitats, collections, or objects.

Accessibility projects that make heritage activities more accessible for people with disabilities such as building ramps, automatic doors, handrails and tactile interpretation.

Projects that help people engage more with their heritage such as interactive maps, videos, virtual exhibitions, podcasts and websites.

The purchase of specialised equipment such as archival boxing for vulnerable documents, monitoring equipment for humidity or light, interpretation/multimedia equipment and specialised software.

Projects that address the heritage of minority groups such as an oral history project documenting Traveller heritage and training in traditional skills and crafts such as workshops on skills such as roofing, thatch, dry stone walling etc are also included.

Citizen science projects on environmental conservation are also eligible.

Last year, four Laois-based projects were funded through the scheme – the Donaghmore Workhouse Virtual Accessibility Tour, the Abbeyleix Bog Project, the Conservation and Digitisation of Col Fitzmaurice Commemoration Society Archive and the Clough Tidy Towns Graveyard mapping of Clough and Bordwell.

Pictured above: High Nelly Cottage in Clough close to the graveyard mapping site

The minimum grant that can be requested through the scheme is €500. The maximum is €25,000.

The closing date for applications is Monday, March 25, 2024 at 5pm. Applications must be made via the Heritage Council’s online grants management system. Funded projects must be completed by November 15, 2024. All relevant information is available from the Heritage Council’s website.

The Heritage Council will host a Zoom information webinar on the scheme at 12 noon on March 4, 2024 with general application advice followed by a question and answers session. The event will be recorded and available on our website for viewing afterwards. Registration details are available on the Heritage Council’s website.