An Irish Georgian Society submission to the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (attached) highlights a one-third reduction in the Department’s Built Heritage Investment Scheme (BHIS) from 2017 levels.

Launched in 2016, the BHIS aims “to leverage private capital for investment in… small-scale conservation projects”, and to “support employment… in the repair of the historic built environment”[1].

The Irish Georgian Society highlights how funding was inexplicably reduced from €3.5m in 2017 to €2m in 2018 in spite of the recognised benefits of public grant aid in generating investment in conservation projects and consequent jobs creation[2].

It notes how an adequately resourced grants scheme is consistent with commitments made by the State under the Granada Convention for the protection of the architectural heritage of Europe which it ratified in 1997, as well as national policy commitments such as those set out in Ireland 2040: National Planning Framework.

The Irish Georgian Society also questions the inconsistent manner in which grants are allocated both to local authorities and to individual projects. They note that some local authorities receive substantially more funding per protected structure than others, and that the average size of grants awarded can vary substantially from one county to another.

In this regard they show that Leitrim received €155.63 per protected structure whilst Cork County received only €16.99, and that average grants in Galway City amounted to €13,400 whilst those in Galway County were €4,167.

The Irish Georgian Society has called on the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to reinstate funding for the BHIS to the 2017 level at the very least and recommends a review of the scheme so as to ensure consistency in the allocation of funding to local authorities and the awarding of grants for conservation projects.

Contact: Donough Cahill, Executive Director IGS
Email: dcahill@igs.ie
Tel. 01 679 8675

[1] Built heritage Investment Scheme 2017 - Guidance Circular, 2017, DAHRRGA

[2] Economic Evaluation of the Historic Environment Ireland, 2011, Ecorys

Download submission (pdf) on funding for and the structure of the Built Heritage Investment Scheme (BHIS).

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Exhibiting Art in Georgian Ireland exhibition is now closed. 

Thank you to our invigilators, sponsors and staff for making it such an enjoyable few weeks.

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'Exhibiting Art in Georgian Ireland' is temporarily closed today (23 July 2018)

We expect to re-open the exhibition as normal tomorrow (10am-5pm)

 

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The Irish Georgian Society Review is richly illustrated with content on decorative arts, conservation, current affairs and Irish heritage issues. Published annually in October, it is distributed among our 2,500+ members across Ireland, the UK and USA. Taking out an advertisement in the IGS Review is an opportunity to promote your business to an interested target audience.

The Irish Georgian Society Review focuses on specialist topics relating to the work of the Irish Georgian Society, as well as including illustrated articles on architecture and the decorative arts, commissioned from academics and conservation professionals. The magazine is elegantly designed and you can read past issues of the IGS Review online (via this link) to get an idea of content and format.

The IGS Review is made available at various IGS events throughout the year (2018), such as our annual seminars, study days and the Dublin Horse Show, and all year round in our bookshop at the City Assembly House on South William Street.

Download our 2018/19 advertising rates here and advert specifications here.

Contact Zoë Coleman (zoe.coleman@igs.ie) for more details before Thursday 24th August.

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The Knight of Glin Exhibition Room will close at 4.00pm on Saturday 7 July to facilitate a musical concert. 

The exhibition will reopen from 10am to 5pm on Sunday 8 July.

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The Knight of Glin Exhibition Room will close at 3.00pm tomorrow (Thursday 21 June) to facilitate a musical concert. The exhibition will reopen from 10am to 5pm on Friday 22 June.

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