Newgrange tops heritage site poll
The 5,000-year-old burial chamber, famed for lighting up with extraordinary precision at dawn on the shortest day of each year, was named the nation’s favourite heritage site, heritage structure and most important historical site.
The Co Meath landmark was voted number one in a survey of 600 adults carried out by Ecclesiastical Insurance, an insurance company specialising in insuring churches, castles and other historical properties.
It found that 75% of people believe heritage sites to be critically important to Irish tourism and they’ve been voting with their feet this past year as the numbers visiting the sites has increased.
Just 29% said they rarely or never visited a heritage site or property compared to 39% when the same survey was carried out a year ago, and 32% said they made at least five visits a year compared to 25% this time last year.
That could be due to the increase in recession-inspired staycations — which could also explain the nation’s favourite type of heritage destination.
Proving we can still dream of riches even if we can’t aspire to them, more than 30% put castles top of their list while 14% opted for manors and estate homes.
By contrast, just 7% were most keen on cathedrals and churches while monastic sites and ancient forts were the top choice for 11% each.
We still have a soft spot for natural wonders, however, with Kerry being voted the most scenic county in Ireland and the Burren being considered most deserving of UNESCO world heritage site status.
Most people (73%) believe not enough is being done to promote Irish heritage sites as tourism destinations and 43.5% feel children are not being brought to them often enough or educated sufficiently about them.
We have our secret guilt about this issue as those questioned in the survey admitted embarrassment about not having themselves visited some of the best-known sites in the country.
Most embarrassment came from failure to ever set foot on the Hill of Tara, followed by the Rock of Cashel, Newgrange, the Burren and the Giant’s Causeway.
Clonmacnoise, the Ceide Fields, the Blarney Stone, Kilmainham Gaol and Dublin Castle were also on the list of places people were ashamed to say they’d never visited.
lNational Heritage Week, organised by the Heritage Council, is running all this week to Sunday, with events centred around many of the country’s well-known and lesser known cultural and heritage treasures. See heritageweek.ie.
1. Newgrange, Co Meath.
2. The Burren, Co Clare.
3. Glendalough, Co Wicklow.
4. Cliffs of Moher, Co Clare.
5. Hill of Tara, Meath.
6. Clonmacnoise, Co Offaly.
7. Giants Causeway, Co Antrim.
8. Rock of Cashel, Co Tipperary.
9. Wicklow Mountains, Co Wicklow.
10. Phoenix Park, Co Dublin.
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