A national monument in the Republic of 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 termed scheduled monuments and come under the protection of the Department for Communities.
National monuments are managed under the auspices of the National Monuments Service, which is part of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.[1] [2] [3] The official status of national monument is conferred under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014.[4]
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.[5] 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.[6] There are more than 126,000 known sites ['Recorded Monuments'] in Ireland.[7] Each national monument is numbered (for example, the Rock of Cashel is National Monument number 128, Newgrange is number 147),[8] 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".[9] 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.
See main article: List of World Heritage Sites in the Republic of Ireland. Two national monuments are also recognised by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites: Irish: [[Brú na Bóinne]] in County Meath and Skellig Michael in County Kerry.
| Province | County | Individual Monuments | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=right | Connacht | align=right | 88 | ||
| align=right | Munster | Kerry | align=right | 76 | |
| align=right | Munster | Limerick | align=right | 62 | |
| align=right | Munster | Cork | align=right | 58 | |
| align=right | Connacht | Mayo | align=right | 53 | |
| align=right | Leinster | Meath | align=right | 53 | |
| align=right | Munster | Tipperary | align=right | 48 | |
| align=right | Munster | Clare | align=right | 37 | |
| align=right | Leinster | Kilkenny | align=right | 33 | |
| align=right | Leinster | Dublin | align=right | 30 | |
| align=right | Connacht | Sligo | align=right | 24 | |
| align=right | Leinster | Wicklow | align=right | 24 | |
| align=right | Leinster | Louth | align=right | 23 | |
| align=right | Leinster | Wexford | align=right | 17 | |
| align=right | Ulster | Donegal | align=right | 16 | |
| align=right | Leinster | Kildare | align=right | 16 | |
| align=right | Connacht | Roscommon | align=right | 15 | |
| align=right | Leinster | Westmeath | align=right | 15 | |
| align=right | Leinster | Carlow | align=right | 14 | |
| align=right | Munster | Waterford | align=right | 14 | |
| align=right | Leinster | Offaly | align=right | 10 | |
| align=right | Leinster | Laois | align=right | 8 | |
| align=right | Ulster | Cavan | align=right | 7 | |
| align=right | Connacht | Leitrim | align=right | 7 | |
| align=right | Ulster | Monaghan | align=right | 7 | |
| align=right | Leinster | Longford | align=right | 6 | |
| align=right | Total | Republic of Ireland | align=right | 761 |
See main article: List of national monuments in Connacht.
See main article: List of national monuments in Leinster.
See main article: List of national monuments in Munster.
See main article: List of national monuments in Ulster.