Posted online: Sep 13th, 2011

Inishowen’s communties must work together with state bodies to protect our sites of historical interest, that’s the message from one of the country’s top politicians.
Minister of State Brian Hayes, who has a special responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW), was speaking to local councillor Peter McLaughlin last week.
Cllr McLaughlin said the Minister had committed to visiting the area in order to assess how to move forward with OPW-manged sites, such as An Grianan of Aileach.
The Buncrana councillor said: “The Minister explained how his empahsis is on working with and getting assistance from local communities regarding these sites.
“He said he would be looking to take direction from the local communities.”
He added: “Amongst other sites, we talked about Grianan and it’s rich historical significance. I got him to commit himself to coming up and taking a look at it.”
Cllr McLaughlin said he would now be talking to the West Inishowen Historical Society and other local groups to discuss ideas on how to move forward.
“Grianan is something I think is under-utilised, it’s importance cannot be underestimated,” he explained.
“We all know what we have here but sometimes it felt like the OPW weren’t pulling their weight when it came to the site. However it is in their interest to work with us in order to help protect it.
“Local committees should now start putting forward ideas to enable us to maximise the potential of this magnificent site.”
Cllr McLaughlin said he loved taking people up to visit the ancient ring fort and said Minister Hayes shared his enthusiasm once he heard some of the tales about it.
“I am delighted he committed to coming up here to visit the site. Once I told him about it being marked on the oldest known map of the world he got very excited!”
There was widespread outrage in the area in 2007 after the Grianan site was partially closed as it underwent repair by the OPW. Many locals were also upset by the quality of the restoration work itself.
Cllr McLaughlin said he hoped this latest commitment for Minister Hayes “would prevent a repeat of that scenario.”