Restoration works commence on historic Kilkenny building

Restoration works have commenced on Clomantagh Church near Freshford after funding (€85,000) was recently made available under the 2022 Community Monuments Fund.

The core objective of the Community Monuments Fund is to support the conservation, maintenance, protection and promotion of local monuments and historic sites.

It contains a number of different measures aimed at enabling conservation works to be carried out on archaeological monuments which are deemed to be significant and in need of urgent support, encouraging access to archaeological monuments and improving their presentation and also building resilience in archaeological monuments to enable them to withstand the effects of climate change. 

PICTURES: Graig' Festival of Books 2022 - Kilkenny Live

Pictures by Harry Reid

It's exciting to see the scaffolding wrap around the belfry of the beautiful 13th century Clomantagh church Co. #Kilkenny as work funded by our Community Monuments Fund gets underway. #CMF2022 @NationalMons @DeptHousingIRL @DarraghOBrienTD @KilkennyNotices pic.twitter.com/hsSNhY1kUq

— Malcolm Noonan T.D. (@noonan_malcolm) August 23, 2022

Grangefertagh Church & Graveyard and Dunkitt Church in South Kilkenny will also benefit from restoration works under the scheme.

Concerns about the the structural integrity of Clomantagh Church and Grangefertagh Church had been raised last year by North Kilkenny councillors, with Cllr Mary Hilda Cavanagh stating at the time that they were facing the risk of 'imminent collapse'. 

PICTURES: Ukrainian community celebrates Independence Day in Kilkenny

As well as protecting the buildings, the funding will mean work for local archaeologists, conservation architects, stone masons and other trades.