A national monument () in Ireland is a structure or site, the preservation of which has been deemed to be of national importance and therefore worthy of state protection. If the land adjoining the monument is essential to protect it, this land may also be protected.
Equivalent monuments in Northern Ireland are listed within the Northern Ireland Sites and Monuments Record and are either in state care or included within the list of scheduled monuments. They are under the protection of the Department for Communities.
Legal framework for protection National monuments are managed under the auspices of the National Monuments Service, which is part of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.Homepage of the National Monuments Service The official status of national monument is conferred under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014.
Monuments had been protected under the Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882, an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. After the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, this framework was reformed by the National Monuments Act 1930. The list of national monuments has since been expanded. By 2010 there were nearly 1,000 monuments in state ownership or guardianship, although this represents only a small proportion of Ireland's recorded archaeological heritage. There are more than 126,000 known sites ['Recorded Monuments'] in Ireland. Each national monument is numbered (for example, the Rock of Cashel is National Monument number 128, Newgrange is number 147), and a numbered monument may represent a group of sites, as is the case at the Rock of Cashel.
A provision of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act 2004 allows for the destruction in whole or in part of a national monument by the Government of Ireland if such destruction is deemed to be in the "public interest". According to press reports, these provisions were included to facilitate road schemes, and in particular the destruction of Carrickmines Castle, a national monument, to build an intersection along the south-eastern section of the M50 motorway.
World Heritage Sites
Two national monuments are also recognised by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites: in County Meath and Skellig Michael in County Kerry.
List of monuments Province County Individual Monuments Connacht Galway 88 Munster Kerry 76 Munster Limerick 62 Munster Cork 58 Connacht Mayo 53 Leinster Meath 53 Munster Tipperary 48 Munster Clare 37 Leinster Kilkenny 33 Leinster Dublin 30 Connacht Sligo 24 Leinster Wicklow 24 Leinster Louth 23 Leinster Wexford 17 Ulster Donegal 16 Leinster Kildare 16 Connacht Roscommon 15 Leinster Westmeath 15 Leinster Carlow 14 Munster Waterford 14 Leinster Offaly 10 Leinster Laois 8 Ulster Cavan 7 Connacht Leitrim 7 Ulster Monaghan 7 Leinster Longford 6 Total Ireland 761 The following is an index to lists of National Monuments of Ireland, divided by province.
Connacht
List of national monuments in County Galway List of national monuments in County Leitrim List of national monuments in County Mayo List of national monuments in County Roscommon List of national monuments in County Sligo
Leinster
List of national monuments in County Carlow List of national monuments in County Dublin List of national monuments in County Kildare List of national monuments in County Kilkenny List of national monuments in County Laois List of national monuments in County Longford List of national monuments in County Louth List of national monuments in County Meath List of national monuments in County Offaly List of national monuments in County Westmeath List of national monuments in County Wexford List of national monuments in County Wicklow
Munster
List of national monuments in County Clare List of national monuments in County Cork List of national monuments in County Kerry List of national monuments in County Limerick List of national monuments in County Tipperary List of national monuments in County Waterford
Ulster
List of national monuments in County Cavan List of national monuments in County Donegal List of national monuments in County Monaghan
References
External links