Navan added to the Irish Walled Town network
Navan has been added to the Irish Walled Town network, giving the town access to grants and expertise and the opportunity of promoting the town nationally.
The Irish Walled Town Network (IWTN) Management Committee met last Friday and approved Navan’s application to join the network. Navan becomes the third Meath town in the network along with Trim and Kells.
"The Mayor of Navan, Cllr Eddie Fennessy said; This is great news for the town. The conservation of Navan's Medieval Town Walls is a project I've been privileged to play a small part in over the past couple of years. Huge credit must be given to Meath County Council’s Heritage section and to the Navan Historical Society's Clare Ryan and Ethna Cantwell (who sadly passed away recently) - both of whom played a pivotal role in the work that led to this announcement.
"Membership of the ITWN is a game changer for this project. Access to funding for capital works and in particular, interpretative projects will help to open the walls up to the public in the way that Clare Ryan envisaged on her conservation plan. I will continue to work with the council to help progress this project over the coming years," he said.
Meath County Council, working in partnership with the Navan and District Historical Society, made an application for Navan to become a member of the Irish Walled Town Network (IWTN) in February.
Joining the IWTN which was proposed and discussed at the September 2022 meeting of Navan Municipal Council during the presentation on the Conservation Management Plan for the Town Walls.
Membership of the Network means recognition of the importance of the medieval heritage of Navan and its promotion.
The network has a full time project manager who works with community groups, organises training and mentoring/networking for member towns and hosts an annual conference.
Member towns have the opportunity to apply for two confined grant schemes on an annual basis for interpretative projects and capital works – the budget in 2023 is around €400,000.
The town will feature on the IWTN website, and events and festivals will be promoted nationally.