2020 News and Updates from Cork County Council Heritage, Commemorations and Creative Ireland Offices *Added on 08/01/20* Cork County Council Community Fund Scheme 2020 Cork County Council is committed to supporting local communities with financial assistance available through the Municipal District Community Fund Scheme which is administered by the County Council's 8 Municipal Districts. Guidelines are available here. The scheme is open for applications on Monday January 6th 2020 on YourCouncil. Applications will close at 4pm, Friday 14th February. Applications are open to the following schemes through this initiative: 1. Capital Fund Scheme - for community groups, sporting and local organisations in County Cork who wish to undertake infrastructural projects costing over €20,000 that will improve the range or quality of community-based facilities within their area e.g. community halls, sporting facilities, etc. 2. Community Contract - for Tidy Towns groups who work with Cork County Council on local works and projects, agreed with the Municipal District Officer and local Area Engineer that enhance the area in which the group is active. For the Community Contract it is strongly recommended that you contact your Area Engineer and Municipal District Officer to discuss your proposals before you apply. 3. Amenity Fund Scheme - for community groups, sporting and local organisations in County Cork who wish to undertake projects or purchase equipment that directly benefits communities and meets particular needs. Projects being applied for under this scheme must cost less than €20,000. For more information visit the relevant section of Cork County Council’s website by clicking here *Added on 09/01/20* 2020 Farming for Nature Ambassador Awards Now Open for Nominations Your chance to show your appreciation for those who actively care for nature on their land! Do you know of any farmer or farm family who you feel would make a great Ambassador for Farming for Nature? If so, we would love to hear from you! The Farming for Nature Awards 2020 nomination process is open now until 31st March 2020. We are looking for nominations of farmers and farm families who are doing great things for nature on their land while farming in an economically and socially progressive way. Farmers who are proud of what they do and why they do it, and who are happy to share their story with others. We will be contacting our network of ecologists, rangers, heritage officers and others to nominate their farming heroes. For more information visit https://www.farmingfornature.ie/awards/faqs *Added on 13/01/20* Over €1.85m in Funding for Irish Culture Globally The Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan TD, has recently announced over €1.85m in funding by Culture Ireland for the promotion of Irish arts globally during 2020. A total of €875,800 is directed to enable 150 Irish artists and arts organisations to present projects, covering circus, dance, film, literature, music, opera, theatre and the visual arts in 43 countries and build on Ireland's strong global reputation for creativity. Also included in the awards is a total of €980,000 annual funding for the promotion of Irish arts through partner organisations such as Literature Ireland, First Music Contact and Irish Film Institute International and Ireland's cultural centres in Paris and New York who work with Culture Ireland to present ongoing programmes of Irish artists abroad. Announcing the awards Minister Madigan said "Working towards our aim to double Ireland’s global cultural footprint under Global Ireland 2025, my Department is focused through Culture Ireland on supporting our artists to present their work to audiences worldwide. The talent of Irish artists is endorsed by their continued selection to present on the world’s finest stages from Australia across Asia and Europe to the US and South America. The bodies being funded in 2020 will continue to make great impact showcasing Irish bands in key marketplaces, screening Irish film worldwide and supporting the translation of the work of Irish writers so Irish literature can be read more widely." The full list of supported projects is available to see on www.cultureireland.ie, which include, from Cork, Presentation by Cork Printmakers of 12 Irish artists at London Art Fair, England, 21 – 26 January 2020 and a US premiere of song cycles by Deirdre Gribbin presenting a West Cork Chamber Music Festival commission at the Lincoln Center in New York on the 6th of April 2020. *Added on 13/01/20* MA in Local History (School of History U.C.C.) Applications now Open Applications are now being accepted for admittance to the MA in Local History degree programme beginning in September 2020. Applicants must have an honours degree in History or a cognate subject, or its equivalent. Candidates with relevant experience in local history study (e.g. membership of a local history society and/or a heritage group, publications, etc.) are also invited to apply. Such candidates are subject to the approval of the College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences. The part-time MA Degree in Local History is offered by coursework and assessment and runs for two years (part-time) from the date of first registration for the programme. Coursework consists of a taught component of weekly evening lectures (Wednesday 6.30 - 8.30 pm) in Year I. Evaluation is by a 5,000-word essay and continuous assessment, to be completed by the end of the second semester, Year 1 (c. May 2021). A dissertation of 25,000-30,000 words on an approved topic to be submitted by the end of year 2. Lectures are specially tailored to provide a practical guide to the writing of Irish local history, indicating the main sources, their location and how best they might be exploited. Lectures will cover the introduction to sources and archives, approaches to Local History, reading the landscape, maps, census and parish records, Valuation Office records, Estate Records, sources for urban history, oral history and folklore, historiography, landscape and material history, gender and history, labour history, military and political history, cultural history, economic history, demographics, religion and much more. Applications are made through the Postgraduate Application Centre (PAC) in Galway. Further details and application forms are available from http://www.pac.ie/ . NOTE: There is no age barrier and a degree is not necessary in cases where evidence can be provided of an applicant’s interest in local history, e.g., if an applicant is a member of a local history society or has publications on local history topics. For further information please email Dr. Donal Ó Drisceoil, (e-mail [email protected]) or Maeve Barry (e-mail [email protected]). *Added on 14/01/20* Open Call | LHQ Gallery, Library Headquarters, Carrigrohane Road, Cork Cork County Council is seeking proposals from artists and collectives working or living in Ireland for its LHQ Exhibition Space 2020/2021. LHQ exhibitions will be limited to one month per artist/collective. This is an opportunity to exhibit your work in a community space with the option of putting your work up for sale. There is no artist fee to exhibit. For further information please click the link: LHQ Open Call Further Information – and note that the closing date for receipt of proposals is Friday 21st February at 5pm *Added on 15/01/20* Culture 2025 National Policy Framework Minister Madigan TD, has published Ireland’s first national cultural policy framework, Culture 2025 – A National Cultural Policy Framework to 2025. It is an overarching framework policy for all aspects of Irelands culture including our natural, cultural and built heritage. To find out more about this policy go to https://www.chg.gov.ie/app/uploads/2020/01/culture-2025.pdf *Added on 15/01/20* GLAS Grants for Traditional Farmers The Heritage Council, in partnership with the Dept. of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, have opened the 2020 GLAS Traditional Farm Buildings grant scheme, open to GLAS participants only, for applications for the conservation and repair of traditional farm buildings and related structures for farmers. Deadline for completed applications (hard copy only) is 5pm Tuesday 18th February. Further details at http://www.heritagecouncil.ie/projects/traditional-farm-buildings-grant-scheme *Added on 15/01/20* New Historical Records available Online New Historical Birth, Marriage & Death records are now available online with all civil marriage records from 1845 to 1944, birth register records for 1919 and death register records for 1969 available online to members of the public. Over 15.5 million register records are now available to the public to view and research online at www.irishgenealogy.ie *Added on 15/01/20* New Draft National Policy on Architecture - Have Your Say The public is invited to comment on the public consultation phase of a new draft National Policy on Architecture. It’s a great opportunity for people to contribute their ideas to create the conditions for a high quality, low carbon and more resilient built environment for future generations and to ensure that our built heritage lives long into the future. To find out more go to https://www.chg.gov.ie/heritage/built- heritage/architectural-policy/. The consultation phase deadline has been extended to 13th March 2020. *Added on 28/01/20* New All-Ireland Pollinator Plan 2021 to 2025 - Have Your Say The National Biodiversity Data Centre are preparing a new All-Ireland Pollinator Plan for 2021-2025 and they need your ideas and suggestions – however big, small or radical – to help fight the decline of Ireland’s important pollinators. To survive and thrive our bees need your help. To find out more about this exciting opportunity go to https://pollinators.ie/news/ *Added on 31/01/20* Heritage on the Edge A new platform has gone live on Google Arts & Culture titled ‘Heritage on the Edge’ exploring how cultural heritage sites are being protected against the effects of climate change.