The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
NEITHER of the two Clare applications to be included on the tentative list for UNESCO World Heriage Site status have been successful.
Of six applications made by Ireland, three were successful, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage announced today, but the Cultural Landscape of the Burren Uplands in County Clare and County Galway and Iniscealtra on Lough Derg did not make the cut. Inclusion on the tentative list is the penultimate step before world heritage site status is conferred.
However, the Department stated, “The Cultural Landscape of the Burren Uplands, County Clare offers significant potential to be a future World Heritage property. Considerable work had been done to date on the Tentative List application but additional work on defining its outstanding universal value (OUV) is still required along with consideration of how any potential World Heritage property might be managed and operated.”
“The Cultural Landscape of the Burren Uplands will not therefore be added to the new Tentative List at this stage but the Department is committed to supporting Clare and Galway County Councils to develop this application further and submit a revised joint application for evaluation to the Department by October 2024.
Regarding Iniscealtra (Holy Island), it was concluded that “notwithstanding its significant heritage value, it had not sufficiently demonstrated potential OUV and, accordingly, will not be added to the Tentative List.
The Tentative List is an inventory of natural and cultural heritage sites that may have potential to demonstrate Outstanding Universal Value and therefore considered suitable for nomination to the World Heritage List.
It is a pre-condition for nomination that a site must be on the Tentative List for at least one year before work can formally begin on a nomination dossier. It is important to note that the nomination process does not necessarily result in the inscription of a site on the World Heritage List.
A site can be inscribed on the World Heritage List only if the World Heritage Committee determines it is of Outstanding Universal Value for all of humanity.
Six applications were received by the June 2021 deadline and the exhaustive and expert evaluation process over the last 11 months has concluded that three applications should be included on the new Tentative List for Ireland with details being sent to UNESCO Paris.
They are: The Passage Tomb Landscape of County Sligo
Transatlantic Cable Ensemble: Valentia-Heart’s Content, County Kerry (a serial transnational nomination with Canada)
Royal Sites of Ireland: Dún Ailinne County Kildare; Hill of Uisneach, County Westmeath; Rock of Cashel, County Tipperary; Rathcroghan County Roscommon and Tara County Meath; (potential for a serial transboundary nomination to include Emain Macha/Navan Fort, County Armagh).
