Mayo’s Céide Fields shortlisted for UNESCO World Heritage site

One of Mayo’s most famous sites has been included in a list of Irish sites which has been forwarded to UNESCO to consider being included on the World Heritage List.

The Céide Fields and North West Mayo Boglands have been included among Ireland’s nominees to the World Heritage List submitted to UNESCO.

The tentative list was announced by the Minister for Environment, John Gormley in April, who said that inclusion on the tentative list was a particular badge of honour.

“We must remember our unique culture and heritage is one of our most valuable assets which deserves to be shared internationally. Inscription on the World Heritage List allows us to showcase this asset. Inscription can also have its own reward and this can be by way of increased tourist numbers and the financial spin-offs associated with this,” he said.
Ireland currently only has two UNESCO World Heritage Sites - Sceilig Mhichíl in Kerry and Brú na Bóinne in Meath - and the other nominees include the Burren, Clonmacnoise, the Historical City of Dublin, the Royal Sites of Ireland, the Early Medieval Monastic Sites and the Western Stone Forts.

The Céide Fields and North West Mayo Boglands comprises a Neolithic landscape consisting of megalithic burial monuments, dwelling houses and enclosures within an integrated system of stone walls defining fields, which are spread over 12 km of north Mayo.

Many of the features are preserved intact beneath blanket peat that is over 4m deep in places.  >> More here