The Pearse Museum at St Enda's in Rathfarnham, Co Dublin, and Lucan Demense have emerged as the largest beneficiaries of the 2005 Built Heritage grants announced by Minister for Environment Dick Roche at the weekend.
St Enda's is to receive €1.75 million while Lucan Demesne is to receive €1.25 million. Formerly a school run by Pádraig Pearse, St Enda's is now a museum with a nature study room showing attractive displays of Irish flora and fauna and an audio-visual show.
Lucan Demesne is the embryonic Liffey Valley Park being developed by Fingal, South Dublin and Kildare county councils. The money will go towards a study on the development of the park and the building of two weirs on the Liffey. Castletown House, Co Kildare, is set to receive €1.1 million. Some €900,000 is to be spend on restoration work on historic lodges and Chesterfield Avenue in the Phoenix Park. A spokesman for the Minister said he believed most of the money would go towards the Chesterfield Avenue approach to Farmleigh House.
About €800,000 is to go towards the excavation of walls found at the Viking site at Woodstown, on the Suir estuary in Co Waterford.
Garnish Island in Co Cork is to receive €538,000 for the restoration of a number of buildings while Fota Island will get €350,000.
Russborough House in Blessington, Co Wicklow, where the funding grants were announced on Saturday night, is to receive €400,000. The Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin will receive €250,000. Emo Court in Co Laois is to receive €100,000.
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