About Us
The Irish Landmark Trust Limited saves heritage buildings that are abandoned
or at risk throughout the whole of Ireland. The Trust undertakes their conservation,
restoration and maintenance by converting them to domestic use suitable for
short-term (e.g. holiday) lettings.
We are a charitable trust incorporated as a not-for-profit company in the
Republic of Ireland and, separately, in Northern Ireland.
Our buildings are varied, from lighthouses, to gatelodges, to tower houses, to school houses, to mews, which - because of their individuality, even eccentricity - are unsuitable as permanent residences. But often in remote and delightful parts of the country, they are ideal retreats for those seeking a short stay in fascinating and sensitively restored buildings.
The benefits of our work are enjoyed by more than our visitors. The morale of a village can be lifted by the rehabilitation of its most interesting landmark building. Visitors introduce tourist revenue. Craftsmen and craftswomen are given scope to revive traditional skills. And wasteful decay or demolition gives way to the sensible recycling of Ireland's valuable architectural stock.
Further, we see ourselves as problem solvers. Owners, private and public, with responsibility for important buildings are faced with the dual task of restoring and finding sustainable uses for them. By taking a building on lease we are enabled to restore it, and can sustain it on short-term lettings until the expiry of the lease (typically, 50 years) when the fully restored building reverts to the owner.
To date we have restored 15 interesting and architecturally important buildings across Ireland, north and south. Funding for this work came from the ERDF, The Heritage Council, the National Millennium Committee, Udaras na Gaeltachta, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government; and from the Environment and Heritage Services section of the Department of the Environment of Northern Ireland, the UK Heritage Lottery Fund for Northern Ireland, The Architectural Heritage Fund, and from local authorities in the regions where our properties are located. In addition, significant private funds assist both capital and administrative costs.
The key element of the project is sustainable development.
