Shared Island Heritage Networks Programme

The Shared Island Heritage Networks Programme will establish, for the first time, an all-island heritage network, bringing together Heritage Officers from Ireland’s 31 local authorities and staff with heritage-related roles from the 11 local authorities in Northern Ireland.

The programme aims to strengthen collaboration, knowledge-sharing and peer support among local authority heritage professionals across the island, while facilitating access to specialist expertise, shared learning and examples of good practice for local authorities facing similar challenges.

Through regular networking and training opportunities, the programme will support professional exchange and relationship-building. It will also provide funding for collaborative all-island projects, host an annual all-island conference for heritage professionals, and develop a publicly accessible digital repository for local authority heritage material.

The Shared Island Heritage Networks Programme builds on the long-established Heritage Officer Network in local authorities across Ireland, and forms part of the Heritage Council’s wider programme of Shared Island initiatives, which also includes the Shared Island GLAM Programme.

The Shared Island Heritage Networks Programme is currently in its establishment phase and is being developed through ongoing engagement with stakeholders.

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Further information on each of the five Shared Island Heritage Networks programme strands is provided below:

All-Island Conference:

The Heritage Council will host an annual all-island heritage conference for heritage professionals, bringing together local authority heritage professionals and senior management from across Ireland and Northern Ireland for a day of connection-building, knowledge exchange and discussion on heritage delivery at local level.

The inaugural conference, ‘Shared Island: Building Connections, Exchanging Knowledge’, takes place at Monaghan Peace Campus on 2 September 2026, bringing together more than 150 delegates from across Ireland and Northern Ireland.

To find out more about the conference, including details of the agenda and speakers, please click the link below for the conference booklet.

Collaborative Funding Scheme:

The programme includes an annual funding scheme to support collaborative heritage projects. The scheme’s purpose is to encourage collaboration between local authorities on an all-island basis and generate shared learning. Projects must involve at least one local authority from each jurisdiction, and should be meaningful to communities, grounded in place and delivered in a collaborative way. Applications for the pilot funding round closed in May 2026 and project development by the successful applicants is currently underway. Applications for the next funding round will open 2027.

In 2026, three pilot projects were awarded as follows, bringing together local authorities from Ireland and Northern Ireland to deliver local projects, centred on a shared home place theme.

• Our Thatch Inheritance: Fermanagh and Omagh District Council and Donegal County Council.

A response to the well-documented thatching skills deficit and the decline of historic thatch across the island. The project establishes a joint working group to support and promote traditional thatching skills in the northwest and explores the possibility of integrating live thatching projects into training, demonstration and visitor programmes. It supports the construction of an outdoor training rig for the community-run Donegal Thatching School and work with partners to trial public engagement and training events at open-air museum venues in counties Tyrone, Fermanagh and Donegal.

• Mo Áit is Do Áit/My Place and Your Place: Mid Ulster District Council and Monaghan County Council.

A celebration of the shared placename heritage of Monaghan and Mid Ulster, focusing on the minor placenames and field names that preserve deep connections between people, landscape, language and memory. Building on the Monaghan Field Names Project, it extends the work into the Clogher Valley, Ballinascreen and Slaughtneil areas of Mid Ulster, training communities in oral history, placename recording and digitisation.

• The Mummers Join: Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council and Leitrim County Council.

A shared exploration of the living tradition of mumming, rooted in rural life, seasonal celebration and community performance in both council areas. Building on the earlier Heritage Council funded Mummers’ Join project in Leitrim, communities will take part in hands-on engagement with traditional skills including mask-making, storytelling, music and performance, working with local groups such as the Armagh Rhymers and strengthening connections across the border.

All-Island Heritage Professionals Network:

The all-island heritage network will bring together Heritage Officers from Ireland and staff with heritage-related roles in Northern Ireland local authorities. Through networking and training opportunities, it will support collaboration, professional exchange and peer learning. The detailed operation of the network, including meeting formats, frequency and content, will be designed collaboratively with local authority heritage professionals.

This programme strand is currently in development. Further details will be announced in due course.

Digital Repository for Local Authority Heritage Material:

A digital repository will collate heritage materials created by local authorities in Ireland and Northern Ireland in a multimedia online database. Hosted on the Heritage Council website, the database will provide a searchable online catalogue of reports, surveys, maps and other resources, making them publicly accessible for everyone’s benefit.

This programme strand is currently in development. Further details will be announced in due course.

Programme development

While the programme’s core strands have been established, the Heritage Council will work collaboratively with local authority heritage professionals and other key stakeholders to shape how the all-island heritage network will operate in practice. Consultation during this phase will focus on informing key aspects of the network’s operation, including meeting formats, frequency, content and other practical considerations.

This approach will help ensure that the network reflects the needs, priorities and experience of those who will participate in it and build a strong foundation for its long-term success.

Initial engagement with local authorities and other key stakeholders across both jurisdictions is currently underway and details of forthcoming engagement opportunities will be shared with relevant stakeholders in due course.