Magnificent seven battle for
world heritage honour
By - Paul Melia
IT'S our own magnificent seven.
The Government has nominated seven sites across Ireland,
including the Burren in Co. Clare and the "historic" city
of Dublin, to be added to the list of world heritage
sites.
The Department of the Environment confirmed yesterday
that the nominations were sent to UNESCO last week to
begin the process of adding them to the list of areas
deemed to be of "outstanding universal value".
Ireland already has three sites on the list - the Giant's
Causeway in Co. Antrim, which was inducted in 1986; Bru
na Boinne (the Newgrange complex) in Co. Meath (1993);
and Skellig Michael in Co. Kerry (1996).
The latest nominated sites also include the Ceide Fields
and North West Mayo Boglands; Western Stone Forts;
Monastic City of Clonmacnoise and its Cultural Landscape;
Early Medieval Monastic Sites; and the Royal Sites of
Ireland, which include Cashel, Dun Ailinne, Hill of
Uisneach, Rathcroghan and Tara.
World heritage sites are defined as being of "cultural
and/or natural significance which is so exceptional as to
transcend national boundaries and to be of common
importance for present and future generations of all
humanity", according to UNESCO.
There are 900 properties on the list, including the
Alhambra in Spain, Red Square in Russia and Acropolis in
Greece.
Literary
Management plans for the sites have to be completed
before UNESCO will consider adding them to the list, a
process which could take 18 months, a spokesman for
Environment Minister John Gormley said.
"This list has been the result of extensive
consultation", he said. "We have some very interesting
and innovative sites including literary and Georgian
Dublin, which amalgamates two of the key elements which
make our capital so special, but a lot more work needs to
be carried out at these sites".
In its submission on Dublin, the Government says it was
the most important city, after London, of the British
Empire in the Georgian period (1714-1830), much of which
survives today. And three of Ireland's four Nobel
laureates for literature - WB Yeats (1923), George
Bernard Shaw (1925) and Samuel Beckett (1969) - were from
Dublin.
The Burren is an "outstanding example" of the use of a
very challenging environment over 6,000 years, while the
Ceide Fields in Mayo are the "most extensive Stone Age
monument in the world".
Clonmacnoise is heralded as an "unparalleled example of
an early medieval insular monastic city", while six early
medieval sites, including Glendalough and Kells, are
described as being principal examples of "centres of
Celtic learning, teaching and enlightenment".
The Royal Sites of Ireland, which includes the Hill of
Tara, has also been added to the list. The Western Stone
Forts - seven on Aran, including Dun Aonghusa, and others
in Clare and Kerry - are also nominated.
© The Irish Independent, 14th. April 2010.
Related Articles:
Minister Gormley announces Ireland's new World Heritage
Tentative List.
Minister Gormley publishes Ireland's draft World Heritage
Tentative List.
Draft Tentative List 2009 - Short
Description of Properties (pdf, 3,301kb).
Outgoing
MEP questions delay of proposed sites - for Ireland's
UNESCO Tentative List.
Tara Landscape for UNESCO Tentative list.
Ireland's
World Heritage - Review of Tentative List.
