Sir, – The points made by Alfred Smyth are worth judicious consideration (Opinion Analysis, July 15th). It is unfortunate that his focus is on Monasterboice, which has not benefited yet from the conservation study commissioned by the National Monuments Service, the OPW and Louth County Council that specifically references the need for completely new signage, among a host of other recommendations for the conservation and presentation of the site.
Currently the OPW has responsibility for the day-to-day running of monuments in State ownership, which includes their maintenance and the provision of interpretative and guiding services at 65 sites. However, there is no professional archaeological staff attached to this built heritage section, and similarly Bord Fáilte has not sought to have archaeological expertise on its staff since the retirement of Dr Peter Harbison.
If those functions (and appropriate budget) relating to the management and interpretation of such sites were brought into the Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht, professional expertise would be available to inform interpretation. With present high hopes of our heritage as a driver for tourism, it seems short-sighted at the very least not to have an archaeologist on the staff of either Bord Fáilte or Tourism Ireland.
There is a golden opportunity for every region in the country to benefit from new and exciting information about our past that has come to light as a result of the thousands of excavations carried out over the past decade. At some small cost, archaeologists (who as a profession have lost up to 80 per cent of the workforce as measured in 2007) could be employed to translate this data into accessible, entertaining knowledge which could be the genesis of local and vibrant tourism heritage offerings.
The kind of signage advocated by Dr Smyth at Monasterboice, which is both entertaining and informative, is well within the capacity of many of our unemployed archaeologists. Accuracy never has to be sacrificed at the expense of accessibility and an interested and supportive public deserve no less than full, accurate, accessible and engaging information at the many major monuments throughout the country. A number of heritage apps are already available, and a lot of innovative work is being done by the private sector. A relative modest investment by the State would be money well spent. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – It is both easy and popular to criticise the OPW, but it has an impossible task that I doubt any special conservation body could do better at present.
I suspect about six citizens out of 10 think of themselves as knowledgable about the environment, and no two of those would agree on what should be done. Should a site be made safe to visit with regard to railings or fences? They have been criticised at the Skelligs for not having railings yet other experts say railings are not consistent with the ancient site.Should access be facilitated for cars and coaches, which implies a car park and toilets? Should remedial work be carried out on buildings to make them secure, or would this spoil the ambience? Should there be a visitors’ centre to explain the site, or is this intrusive and divert trade from a local shop or pub? If you erect helpful signs, who will maintain them and remove the inevitable graffiti?
Think also of the huge numbers of sites (their website cites over 750, with 65 serviced with guides). There can hardly be a square kilometre of Ireland that has no Stone Age site, Iron Age fort, early Christian site, medieval ruin, priory, abbey, monastery or holy well, Norman castle, battle site, something which Henry VIII “dissolved” or Cromwell knocked down, or large country house or other curiosity which must be preserved at all costs (always other people’s costs).
If you look around you will find places where the OPW deserves credit. – Yours, etc,