Get involved in Kildare with The Heritage Council’s Adopt a Monument Scheme

Community groups in Kildare are being encouraged to apply to join The Heritage Council's Adopt a Monument scheme which is all about empowering local communities to become involved in the care and conservation of a much-loved local monument. The Adopt a Monument scheme offers communities expertise, mentoring and support to help them to care for their local heritage.

Dunmanoge Church and Graveyard in Kildare was ‘adopted’ by the Castledermot Local History Group in 2022 and they have been working with conservation experts, Kildare County Council Heritage Office and the Community Monuments Fund to carry out vital conservation works on the site.

This historic graveyard and church ruins in Dunmanoge have ancient origins. An early monastic site was apparently founded here by Finnian of Clonard on land granted by the King of Leinster. There is evidence in the form of crop marks, finds of medieval pottery and historical records that suggest that the church continued in use as a parish church for a village beside the site in later medieval times. The village has long since disappeared but the graveyard remained in use up to recent times, with many local families having a connection to it.

Since the scheme first began in 2016, 30 groups across Ireland have ‘adopted’ monuments in their locality ranging from ring forts to 19th century industrial buildings to medieval churches as well as a Gaelic castle.

All over Ireland there is an incredible variety of heritage sites, including ancient tombs, stone circles, early monasteries, castles, churches and graveyards, landed estates, mines, kilns, mills, traditional houses and battlefields. The Adopt a Monument Scheme takes a very broad view of heritage and is open to applications from enthusiastic community groups all over Ireland to apply to the scheme to adopt a site that is important to them.

The aim is that the chosen monument will serve as a focal point for heritage-related, educational and recreational activities and will encourage greater appreciation and understanding of local heritage.

The Heritage Council is now calling for interested groups to apply for the scheme. The closing date for applications March 21, 2025. Further information about the scheme and the application process can be found here: www.heritagecouncil.ie/projects

Speaking in support of the scheme Virginia Teehan, Chief Executive of the Heritage Council, at the Heritage Council, said: “The Adopt a Monument Scheme is a wonderful way of ensuring our monuments remain an integral part of a community. Maintaining them and caring for them requires much-needed expertise and resources which is exactly what the scheme provides. We can already see the positive effect the scheme has had on the areas where a monument was adopted, and the pride of place and increased civic value brought about the efforts of our dedicated community groups is very satisfying to see.”