Portlaoise has been selected as one of seven towns which will share a €1 million pool of funding through the Historic Towns Initiative 2018.
It has been confirmed that funding of €160,000 has been allocated for works at the Fort Protector, Church Avenue and Tower Hill.
Minister Josepha Madigan, T.D. and Michael Parsons, Chair of the Heritage Council announced this week that seven historic towns are to be awarded an aggregate of €1m in capital funding under the Historic Towns Initiative 2018.
This follows a competitive process inviting local authorities to propose projects for heritage-led regeneration in one historic town in their area.
The towns successful in this round of funding along with Portlaoise are: Youghal, Co. Cork, Kilmallock, Co. Limerick, Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo, Kells, Co. Meath, Castleblayney, Co. Monaghan and Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary.
Minister Madigan said: “I would like to congratulate the seven successful towns that will benefit from the Historic Towns Initiative 2018, which is funded by my Department and operated by the Heritage Council,” Minister Madigan said.
“These towns have come through a tough competitive process where all of the applications were of a very high standard. This funding will support the seven towns in their programmes of heritage-led regeneration and help them to build on their cultural heritage to drive investment in regeneration and renewal in their town,” she said.
Mr Parsons added: “It’s wonderful to be in a position to support such a range of projects in each province. The projects, taken together, give a flavour of the variety of heritage initiatives that can be undertaken to better present the historic narrative of our heritage townscapes.
“The Heritage Council is very grateful for the support of Minister Madigan, and I hope that the success of this year’s round of projects will inspire others to explore the heritage potential of their towns in future years,” he said.
Following from the public realm strategy for Portlaoise, and the setting up of a Town Team in 2017, Laois County Council submitted an application in February to the Heritage Council for heritage-led regeneration project for the town of Portlaoise.
Laois Heritage Officer Catherine Casey explained: “The proposals were for the conservation and presentation of Fort Protector walls and improvements to the fabric of the public realm around the Fort, on Church Avenue and Tower Hill, including repaving, undergrounding of wires, removal of street clutter and re-landscaping Fitzmaurice place to better show off the Fort walls and round bastion. We hope to open up part of the fort for public access and also roll out a community archaeology project”.
“These works will complement the other projects from the strategy that will be implemented this year, including the development of a cycleway along the River Triogue and public realm interventions at the historic laneways in the town.
“We received enthusiastic support for the proposals from across the community in Portlaoise, and were delighted to be awarded €160,000 by Minister Josepha Madigan and the Heritage Council yesterday. The project has to be complete by November this year, so we will be getting started very soon on this phase of the work,” Ms Casey said.
The tourism potential of the Fort Protector, the 16th Century fort in Portlaoise, has long been stressed.
The Portlaoise Public Realm plan for Portlaoise up to 2040 outlines proposals to highlight the significance of the Fort Protector area of the town.
Intact
Last year, a meeting of Laois County Council heard that 70% of the wall is still intact and some form of reconstruction may be able to bring it to life.
Ms Casey said the full fort can now be drawn on computer, allowing for a model reconstruction.
Brian Maher of GVA Bilfinger, the company behind the Portlaoise Public Realm plan outlined the potential of the Fort Protector area, which is situated behind the old Shaws building, at a public meeting.
The Fort Protector is an important cultural asset, he said. “We need to expose that and tell the story,” he said.
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