Grant Aided Projects in Cork City
Scroll down to view examples of recent grant aided projects in Cork city
Record of Protected Structures (RPS) Publication
Project Aim
The aim of this project was to provide information on the record of protected structures in Cork City and to produce a guideline to explain and illustrate the reasons and rationale behind designating protected buildings.
Project Details and Results
A desk top study was undertaken to review the existing information on protected structures. This information was collated into a short user friendly publication. Topics covered included:
• Definition of a Protected Structure, curtilage, Record of Protected Structures etc
• Works and Planning – Myths and facts on works that can be done, obligations on owners, planning procedures etc
• Advice and Assistance – Financial assistance, insurance, principles of good conservation and best practice
• Protected Structures in Cork – Examples in Cork City that are protected under categories such as historical, cultural, social and artistic etc
This publication was widely distributed and is also be available on the Cork City Council website.
Bat Box at the Lough Project
Project Aim
This project aims to enhance roosting availability for bats around The Lough and to raise public awareness of the importance of this site for bats in Cork City.
Project Details and Results
The project involved the following elements:
• Siting, erection & monitoring of 15 Schwegler bat boxes on trees around The Lough.
The work for this project was carried out by the voluntary not for profit Cork County Bat Group. They have also undertaken to monitor and manage the bat boxes and to undertake public awareness events at The Lough including bat detector walks for the Lifelong Learning Festival, Biodiversity Week and Heritage Week.
Cork Heritage Open Day 2008
Project Aim
The aim of this project was to raise awareness of Cork City’s built heritage and history by allowing members of the public fee access to 36 buildings in the Cork City region. These are buildings that would either charge a fee or else not be open to the public.
Project Details and Results
This project has been run very successfully during Heritage Week over the last 4 years. It started off as an event for Cork City European Capital of Culture but due to its enormous popularity is was decided to continue running the event. Over the last 4 years nearly 15,000 visits have been made to the various buildings participating in the event.
In 2008 the event highlighted Cork's hugh cultural and religious diversity reflected in the number of churches in the city. In addition a feature was made of Cork City's historic plaques, a small but often overlooked part of the Heritage of the city. A number of new buildings agreed to participate this year including the Cork City Circuit Courthouse, Beamish and Crawford Brewery, Maud Cotter house and studio, Skiddy's Almshouse and the old Pavilion Cinema now a nightclub. 2008 also saw the return of buildings such as Elizabeth Fort, Blackrock Castle and the Civic Trust House, Pope's Quay.
A detailed “Cork Heritage Open Day 2008” brochure was designed and produced. This booklet gave information on every building open on the day, a map and suggested walking routes for the visitors to the building. Posters were also produced and hung in local libraries, credit unions and other public places.
The dedicated Cork Heritage Open Day website Cork City
www.corkheritageopenday.ie was updated to advertise the event and this page was linked to the Failte Ireland website and other organisations from the Heritage Forum.
A series of adverts were placed in local publications such as Cork Independent and Whazon. In addition radio adverts appeared in 96 FM in the week leading up to the day. A series of press releases were also issued in relation to Cork Heritage Open Day.
Feedback from the public and the buildings owners alike has been very positive. The numbers attending the event was greatly increased with an estimated increase of 10% on average in all the buildings.
Discover Cork School’s History Project – City Edition
Project Aim
The aim of this project was to encourage students at both primary and post primary level to become familiar with local heritage and history and to learn its value in their lives through participating in either an individual or group heritage project.
Project Details and Results
This project has been run in Cork City for many years on a voluntary basis. In more recent times the project was co-funded by the Cork Civic Trust, Cork City Council and the Heritage Council as an action of the Cork City Heritage Plan (2007-2012). In Media sponsorship for this project was obtained through the Evening Echo and some of the prizes are sponsored by Iarnrod Eireann.
The project runs from September to March every year. Every school in the Cork City area is contacted by post and a follow up call to encourage as many schools as possible to participate in the project. A series of articles and photos are run in the Evening Echo to publicise the event. The closing date for submissions of application forms is the end of September with training workshops in mid to late November. School visits take place in mid January and the project must be submitted by the school in late February. A working group from the Heritage Forum and interested and appropriate individuals are part of the judging panel. The prize giving event takes place in March where all the participating schools and pupils are invited to attend the awards in the City Hall.
The 2007/2008 project was very successful with 834 students participating and 305 projects being submitted from all across the city. A series of facilitated workshops for students and teachers were carried out and a number of school visits were made by the project coordinator to assist students and teachers in compiling their projects.
Over 3000 pupils, teachers and parents attended the prizegiving at the Millennium Hall in Cork City which was presided over by the then Lord Mayor Cll Dónal Counihan.
The project was also re-branded to the Cork City Heritage Project in 2008 and it is hoped to extend the scope and breadth of the project to include new topics such as natural heritage and a wider variety of cultural heritage projects.