Photographs of the impact land reclamation can have on a Bronze Age burial site were published in this newspaper last week when a megalithic dolmen, listed as a national monument, was damaged in Co Wicklow. The incident reflected the on-going destruction of an irreplaceable national heritage; the need for more assertive, protective legislation and the failure of successive governments to preserve a fast-disappearing inheritance.
Ring forts and earthworks are the monuments most at risk. A survey conducted 25 years ago in Co Wexford found that 70 per cent of these monuments had been destroyed. Ten years later, the Heritage Council estimated that one-third of all monuments, recorded during the previous 25 years, no longer existed. Sixty per cent of this vandalism related to agricultural activity and the process was said to be accelerating
Up until recently, there had not been a single successful prosecution for causing damage to a national monument. That is changing. Fines and suspended prison sentences have been imposed for particularly egregious offences. Last year, the Department of Agriculture adopted a carrot – rather than a stick – approach and introduced a grant system whereby farmers with ring forts or castle ruins on their land can qualify for yearly payments if they protect these monuments. This is a positive development.
Only a small group of monuments are in State ownership, out of an estimated 140,000 archaeological sites. Some 6,000 privately owned sites are of special importance and listed for “national protection” under the Register of Historic Monuments. This designation relies largely on local interest and the respect of individual landowners. It requires strengthening.
Interest in folklore and heritage is growing, along with an awareness that megalithic sites, ring forts and castles can contribute significantly to local development through income from tourism. Access to ancient sites has been a consistent problem. Property rights cannot be allowed to undermine the public interest in this way.