Creative Fingal: Caring for the county’s heritage properties

In national terms Fingal County Council is exceptional in being the custodian of a large portfolio of some 35 heritage properties. County Architect Fionnuala May tells Network Magazine why it is important that these buildings are maintained and developed and discusses the challenges involved in managing such a large portfolio.

The Council’s collection of heritage properties are hugely popular with the public. In 2019 about 150,000 visitors paid to visit Malahide Castle & Gardens while about 100,000 paid to visit Newbridge House & Farm. And even though COVID forced the temporary closure of many of their paid-for attractions, the fact that these flagship properties are set within regional parks means the number of visitors using the outdoor spaces during the pandemic has skyrocketed.

But where did this impressive portfolio come from? Some were inherited from Dublin County Council when Fingal was formed in 1994. A number of others, including the flagship properties of Malahide Castle, Newbridge House and Ardgillan Castle, were acquired by the Council at the instigation of the visionary, now retired, senior park superintendent, Michael Lynch.

“These are all regional parks that happened to come with heritage buildings,” says County Architect Fionnuala May. “Other properties, like Swords Castle, also came through acquisition. We also have a number in graveyards that we are responsible for and a lot of our libraries are also protected structures. From my perspective, as a conservation architect, it’s great to have such a wonderful necklace of heritage properties in the county.”

May stresses that a strong collaborative approach involving various departments within the County Council is required. The owned properties are looked after by its Economic Development Department, with which May and her staff work very closely, while the Operations Department is responsible for the upkeep of the parks.

The cost of maintaining and developing its portfolio of heritage properties is substantial. But May emphasises that this is a core part of the Council’s work, ranking equally with its many other important tasks, and this is acknowledged by the elected members of the Council when approving the necessary funds. The Council is the main provider of this funding. It obtains State aids, when it can, such as the substantial capital fund received from Failte Ireland for the major work at Malahide Castle.

Since 2012 Fingal has employed an experienced specialist operator to manage public access, events and catering at Malahide Castle, Newbridge House & Farm and the Casino Railway Museum. With the recent announcement that this company, Shannon Heritage, is effectively being disbanded, a new operator for those properties is now being sought. Other properties are either managed directly by the Council or have their own boards and staff.

“In managing these properties we are very conscious that what people want from a heritage property, and how they want to use them, can change over time,” May says. “But it is important that this change is managed and that we evaluate carefully what each new project will mean and how it will impact on the historic fabric of the estate. So we do take a disciplined approach– proposals are measured so that the heritage values of a place are maintained.”

There’s always a list of jobs and projects in the pipeline for each property which are prioritized. “It could be what will benefit the public most, or what will help one of our business partners, or what simply has to be done, like an urgent roof repair to protect the fabric of a building. We never get to the end of the list,” May says.

A lot of planning and co-ordination is required, too. “We’re renewing the roof over the Great Hall in Malahide Castle at the moment and as part of that we will redecorate the Great Hall itself and improve its environmental conditions . But we’re also in partnership with the National Gallery of Ireland in Malahide and we have paintings on loan from them and these have had to be put in storage. As part of the refresh of that room we will look at the collection of furniture to make it as interesting as it can be to the public. We may acquire one or two pieces or we may arrange pieces we already have differently, so if you came on a house tour last year you’ll have something new to see this year, because we do get a lot of repeat visitors.”

A conservation plan has just been commissioned for Ardgillan Castle, which is next on the list for a major revamp. “We will carry out some major repairs to that building and have ambitions to develop it further. The real attraction there is the landscape and the gardens. The reconstruction of the Victorian glass house in the Rose Garden that has just begun will be a real attraction for the public when it’s completed next year.”

Fingal County Council is constantly developing its standard of practice with regard to the heritage properties in its care but is always conscious that this is not something done in isolation from the people for whom it is held in care – the many visitors they attract both from within Fingal and further afield. “We always like to see our visitor numbers increase and we have high regard for public feedback on what they enjoy and what is really meaningful for them,” May says.

As well as the buildings, Fingal also has important collections of furniture and objects. “A lot of work goes into the curatorship of those, too, including building on our knowledge associated with those collections,” May says. The Council now intends to become accredited under the Heritage Council’s Museum Standards Programme for Ireland. “That’s a long, five-year programme, but it’s a sign of our intent and of just how seriously we take our responsibilities as curators of these properties,” May says.

With regard to future projects, May readily admits that although Shackleton’s Mill in Dublin 15 is a wonderful piece of industrial archaeology they are still not in a position to develop it for public access. “It will require large capital investment and we still need to figure out a model for that.” The Council also has responsibility Bremore Castle in Balbriggan, a “conjectural reconstruction” of a 14th Century tower house that was on the site. “Here, too, we’re currently looking at how we can bring the public into it and we have good plans for it. It is sited within a regional park and we think that will make it inviting to the public.

“We’re also engaged in the large ‘Our Balbriggan’ regeneration project. We’ve acquired some historic buildings within the town and taken out a long lease on the small RNLI boathouse under the railway viaduct. We’re going to be restoring and conserving that and hopefully it will be used as part of the Quay Street redevelopment.

“We’re always conscious of the power that these historic properties have to act as the hinges which can open the door to something else, they are very useful in regeneration. The public is so interested in heritage that it’s always a good access point.”