Cash boost for historic Ballyshannon
Donegal's oldest town will receive €250,000 to support work with the owners of seven buildings
Ballyshannon has been included in a €1.75m in funding for 13 Historic Towns under Historic Towns Initiative with the Heritage Council
The capital funding will help to provide jobs through heritage-led regeneration and will aid the rebuilding of local economies with heritage as a focal point.
This announcement follows the launch last week by Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform Malcolm Noonan TD of Heritage Ireland 2030, the new national heritage plan, which will strengthen the management and protection of the built, cultural, and natural heritage and provide support to those responsible for caring for that heritage.
Dr Bláithín Gallagher, a member of the Green Party's executive committee and constituency spokesperson welcomed the news.
"Ballyshannon will receive €250,000 to support work with the owners of seven buildings on the Mall and on Main Street to conserve the historic built environment.
"This will facilitate sustainable heritage-led regeneration, reinforce civic pride, and promote the tourism potential of Ballyshannon’s historic core.
"As well as preserving our heritage, such funding brings people back into attractive streetscapes."
She also welcomed the €40,000 awarded to the Sligo County Council for a heritage-led regeneration plan in Ballymote, Co Sligo.
"Our heritage is so important to us, it is part of our identity, it makes us who we are. It links us to our past, grounds us in the present and shapes our future.”
The Historic Towns Initiative is a joint initiative between the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Heritage Council and this year’s scheme follows on from highly successful projects during 2018 - 2021. A new aspect of the HTI this year is a call for proposals that encourage the specific re-use of historic buildings.