The National Monuments Service is establishing a Brú na Bóinne Community Heritage Forum with the appointment of Ms Mona O’Rourke as lead facilitator for the project. The forum will enable the community to be more involved in making decisions about the management, presentation, interpretation and conservation of the site and will help them become stewards of this World Heritage property.
Setting up a Community Heritage Forum is one of the key actions of the Brú na Bóinne Management Plan and aligns with the upcoming Strategy for World Heritage in Ireland. This national strategy, which follows United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) principles, determines that communities should be centrally involved in World Heritage.
Michael MacDonagh, Chief Archaeologist at the National Monuments Service explained, “The Brú na Bóinne Community Heritage Forum will be a place where people can share their opinions and ideas and hear updates on management plans, research proposals and protection measures.
“On this International Day for Monuments and Sites which celebrates World Heritage, we affirm our commitment to working with the community which is so closely connected with Brú na Bóinne, which was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List almost 30 years ago.”
Newly appointed Brú na Bóinne Community Heritage Facilitator, O’Rourke is currently holding a series of face-to-face sessions on World Heritage processes for interested members of the community and the first meeting of the forum is expected to be held in June.
On her appointment, O’Rourke said, “I am honoured to take up this new role at Brú na Bóinne and am really looking forward to meeting as many people as possible from the local communities. I will be establishing a Community Forum with an agenda that will fully reflect their ideas and priorities.”
As well as working with the local communities, Rourke will liaise with the National Monuments Service, the Office of Public Works, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, and the Meath and Louth County Councils.
Rourke is a heritage professional, experienced in research, conservation and management of cultural heritage and is particularly interested in working with communities to manage cultural heritage. She was previously involved in a project that analysed ways to protect and manage Brú na Bóinne.
(Source: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage)
