Edward Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Tidy Towns has written to the Minister of State as well.

Third is a bigger issue in many respects, although all these issues are important. I wish to bring the Minister of State’s attention to this fact and history. The Baltinglass area has nine hillforts. It has by far the highest density of hillforts in the entire country. A lot of research work was done by professors and archaeologists from UCC. Dr. James O'Driscoll, Dr. Alan Hawkes and Professor O'Brien have been involved and a book has been published. They did further digs recently. They initially described the area as the hillfort capital of Ireland. They have now described it as probably the archeological capital of Ireland. I raised this in the Dáil a few weeks back and emphasised the importance of it. I bring it to the Minister of State’s attention to say this is such an important feature in this country. It is underdeveloped. Some digs have been done, but much of the land is in private ownership. I am working behind the scenes to see if can we get public access to these facilities and this amazing historic landscape, and I ask the Minister of State to take it on board and see what he can do to help develop this and bring it to a wider audience through the mediums of education, tourism, etc.

I got an email from Dr. O'Driscoll on 16 June addressing a research paper he did. He attached the paper, which he published late last year. He said it was the fifth highest trending archeology paper in the world in May 2024, which shows the reach of his and others' work and the global interest in the landscape. This is potentially a huge project that could be developed over the next number of years, and I ask that the Minister of State do everything in his power to help that project move along. I am working with Wicklow County Council and other bodies, including the OPW, to try to move it along. I ask for the Minister of State’s support. If his colleagues have any knowledge of it, I certainly would be glad to hear them speak during the private session. The Minister of State may not feel confident in discussing it.