Valentia cable links bolstered by Newfoundland visit

A Kerry delegation led by the Mayor of Kerry, Cllr. Jim Finucane completed a successful four-day visit to Newfoundland, Canada to progress the joint transatlantic cable World Heritage bid between Valentia and Heart’s Content.

The group which included representatives of Kerry County Council, the Valentia community, Valentia Transatlantic Cable Foundation and Ireland’s Chief Archaeologist, Michael MacDonagh, held a series of meetings with their counterparts in Heart’s Content Cable Station and at Government Buildings in St. John’s.

Valentia was placed on Ireland’s World Heritage Tentative List in July 2022, the first stage in the long journey towards UNESCO world heritage designation, and last September a Newfoundland Labrador Government delegation visited Valentia to sign a memorandum of understanding with Kerry County Council. The laying of the undersea telegraph cable across the Atlantic Ocean from Valentia to Newfoundland initially in 1858 and permanently from 1866 was of global significance and of “outstanding universal value.” It was a technological feat that changed the world. What before that took 10 days to send a message by ship (one way) from Europe to North America could now be done electronically in a matter of minutes. It is described as the engineering equivalent of putting a man on the Moon for its time.

Both cable stations were eventually closed in 1966 but, unlike Valentia, the Hearts Content Station was retained completely intact by the Provincial Government and retains all its original equip- ment and has sufficient surplus in its stores to refit the Valentia Station.

The permanent loan of equipment to Valentia was among the topics under discussion during meetings with Minister Steve Crocker on behalf of the Newfoundland-Labrador Government. There was a series of meetings around the next phases in the UNESCO process which will include further community engagement, the appointment of local co-ordinators and nomination teams in both Valentia and Hearts Content and a UNESCO expert to oversee the joint application.

Heart’s Content like Valentia is a coastal community very dependent on the marine and tourism which has suffered from population decline and aging demographic in recent years. There were also discussions around wider economic co-operation and development, culture and education initiatives and student exchanges.

The delegation was warmly welcomed by the local community of Heart’s Content with the local Council hosting a reception in their honour.

Speaking at the conclusion of the visit, Cllr. Finucane said that “Kerry County Council’s involvement in the project has, from the outset, been in a supporting role to the Valentia Island Development Company and local community. It is motivated by the desire to conserve and highlight this unique heritage but also to leverage the funding, job creation, wider economic and social benefits for Valentia and the county at large that the UNESCO brand can attract. Heart’s Content has similar challenges and aspirations. Working together as partners and with both Governments, I am confident we can achieve our goals.”