Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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The Commissioners of Public Works have previously been in discussions with Clare County Council and members of the local community regarding vandalism at Clare Abbey and the desecration of graves at the site. I had the opportunity to meet with the Council and the local community along with my officials from the OPW at Clare Abbey in December 2020.

Following my visit the discussions took take place on the installation of CCTV and floodlighting. Both were considered but neither were deemed appropriate. The issues surrounding the CCTV are the power supply, cabling, archaeology as well as who would be responsible for supervising and curating the system. While wires-free options were also considered, there are a number of logistical issues associated with them, not least, compliance with GDPR legislation, which would need to be overcome. Floodlights would cause light pollution and can also be an attractor to antisocial behaviour.

The Commissioners have hired a local caretaker and he is calling daily to monitor the site. A passive visitor counter has also been placed on the site to track visitor movements, and there has been ongoing engagement with An Garda Síochána in relation to the security of the site. I understand the Commissioners of Public Works are not aware of any current vandalism at Clare Abbey or desecration of graves.

In recent years there have been increases in reports of damage to archaeological monuments. The OPW and the National Monuments Service of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage have, in recent times, taken proactive measures to negate this trend. Some of the damage is caused by visitor behaviour and a general lack of awareness of the significance of the monuments.

Following discussion with colleagues in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, an online joint awareness campaign about protecting archaeological and built heritage was developed and run throughout July and August 2021. The aim was to address information gaps and lack of understanding of the impact certain behaviour is having to both archaeological monuments in State care and monuments in private ownership. The focus of the campaign was to raise awareness of the value, importance and uniqueness of Ireland’s archaeological heritage together with conveying the key messages for visitor behaviour at archaeological monuments.

The primary audience for this campaign was young people (18-30 years old) who may be unaware of the damage they may be causing to a site, either above or below ground. This was primarily a digital and social media campaign including three animated videos but also included a leaflet setting out the key issues that was distributed to stakeholders across the country.