Heritage Officers

Local Authority Heritage Officers

Local Authority Heritage Officers play a key role in promoting heritage awareness, developing policy and providing advice and information on local as well as national heritage issues.

Local Authority Heritage Officers play a key role in promoting heritage awareness, developing policy and providing advice and information on local as well as national heritage issues.

County Heritage Officers are employed by Local Authorities in partnership with the Heritage Council under the auspices of the Heritage Officer Programme, which was initiated in 1999. The programme celebrated 20 years in 2019. As of 1st September 2021, there is now a Heritage Officer employed in each Local Authority.

Heritage Officers manage the heritage function within a county in a strategic and co-ordinated manner. They adopted an integrated approach to heritage which envelopes all aspects of heritage within the overall heritage service. They aim to promote enhanced levels of understanding, conservation and preservation by improving the status and perception of heritage in their local area. Heritage objectives are identified and priorities in Local Heritage Plans that are formally adopted by Local Authorities.

The Heritage Officer function is extremely broad and carried out in the context of individual local authority preferences. Some of the principal areas addressed by Heritage Officers include

  • Local Heritage Plans
  • Advice and Information for Local Authority Staff
  • Heritage Appraisal
  • Data Collection
  • Liaison
  • Public Relations
  • Public Consultation
  • Strategies, Policies and Projects

Benefits of having a Heritage Officer

  • County Heritage Officers play a key role in promoting awareness, knowledge and pride in local heritage.
  • They provide advice, guidance and information on various aspects of Irish heritage and heritage best practice.
  • As part of their work, officers collect data and undertake research on various aspects of the local heritage.
  • They play a key role in developing policies and priorities for the identification, protection, conservation and enhancement of Ireland’s heritage.
  • They support the integration and inclusion of heritage policy across all sectors, officers also prepare and implement actions of their county’s Heritage and Biodiversity Plans.

City and County Heritage Plans

The Heritage Council supports the creation and implementation of a Heritage Plan in each local authority area. Download the Guidelines for Local Authority Heritage Plans below. 

Each year The Heritage Council provides grant assistance to Local Authorities for projects that support the implementation of their County Heritage Plans.

View a selection of the projects funded in 2023 in the publication "Opening the Door to Ireland's Heritage" below.

Training and Development

The Heritage Council provides technical, developmental, professional and training support, in addition to financial subsidisation, in respect of all Heritage Officers appointed to Local Authorities. (Year One: 75% / Year Two: 50% /Year Three+: 25%.) The non-financial support is primarily delivered through the Heritage Officer Training and Development Programme. The Heritage Council endeavors to maintain the standard and quality of the Heritage Training and Development Programme at all times. Direct training has been provided in relation to County Heritage Plans, Heritage Appraisal, Conservation Plans, Facilitation and Planning Legislation.

Local Authority Heritage Officer Contact Details

Local Authority Heritage Officer Telephone Email
Carlow County Council Dr Eoin Sullivan 059 9129705 esullivan@carlowcoco.ie
Cavan County Council Anne Marie Curley 049 437 8300 amcurley@cavancoco.ie
Clare County Council Congella McGuire 065 6846457 cmcguire@clarecoco.ie
Cork City Council Niamh Twomey 021 492 4018 niamh_twomey@corkcity.ie
Cork County Council Conor Nelligan 021 428 5905 conor.nelligan@corkcoco.ie
Donegal County Council Dr. Joe Gallagher 074 917 2576 j.gallagher@donegalcoco.ie
Dublin City Council Charles Duggan 01 222 2856 heritage@dublincity.ie charles.duggan@dublincity.ie
Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council Deirdre Black 01 2054700 dblack@dlrcoco.ie
Fingal County Council Christine Baker 01-890 5691 christine.baker@fingal.ie
Galway City Council Dr. Jim Higgins 091 526 574 jim.higgins@galwaycity.ie
Galway County Council Marie Mannion 091 509 198 mmannion@galwaycoco.ie
Kerry County Council Victoria McCarthy 066 7183582 VMcCarthy@kerrycoco.ie
Kildare County Council Recruitment underway
Kilkenny County Council Regina Fitzpatrick 056 779 4923 regina.fitzpatrick@kilkennycoco.ie / https://www.facebook.com/kilkenny.heritage/ www.kilkennyheritage.ie
Laois County Council Thomas Carolan 057 8664129 tcarolan@laoiscoco.ie
Leitrim County Council Sarah Malone 071 9620005 smalone@leitrimcoco.ie
Limerick County Council Tom O'Neill 061 557229 heritage@limerick.ie
Longford County Council Mairead Ní Chonghaile 043 334 0731 / 334 1124 heritage@longfordcoco.ie or mnichonghaile@longfordcoco.ie
Louth County Council Brendan McSherry 042 9392969 heritage@louthcoco.ie brendan.mcsherry@louthcoco.ie
Mayo County Council Dr Deirdre Cunningham 094 906 4092 dcunningham@mayococo.ie
Meath County Council Dr. Loreto Guinan 046 909 7507 / 909 7500 heritage@meathcoco.ie lguinan@meathcoco.ie
Monaghan County Council Kara Ward 047 73722 kara.ward@monaghancoco.ie shclerkin@monaghancoco.ie
Offaly County Council Amanda Pedlow 086 8530350 heritage@offalycoco.ie
Roscommon County Council Nollaig Feeney 090 663 7100 / 663 7135 nollaig.feeney@roscommoncoco.ie
Sligo County Council Siobhán Ryan 071 911 4482 / 9111 111 sryan@sligococo.ie
South Dublin County Council Dr. Rosaleen Dwyer 01 414 9222 / 414 9000 rdwyer@sdublincoco.ie
Tipperary County Council Roisin O'Grady 076 106 6213 roisin.ogrady@tipperarycoco.ie
Waterford County Council Bernadette Guest 051 849 668 bguest@waterfordcouncil.ie
Westmeath County Council Melanie McQuade 044 9332098/087 6074496 melanie.mcquade@westmeathcoco.ie
Wexford County Council Colm Moriarty 053-9196137 colm.moriarty@wexfordcoco.ie
Wicklow County Council Deirdre Burns 0404 20100 / 20191 dburns@wicklowcoco.ie

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