Uisneach stays on ‘tentative list’ for UNESCO status bid
The Hill of Uisneach has held its place on the revised Tentative List of potential World Heritage Properties for Ireland.
Uisneach features as one of the Royal Sites of Ireland on the recommended list prepared for the Minister for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD, by an Expert Advisory Group (EAG) appointed by him last June to review applications to become part of a new list.
World Heritage properties are sites of cultural and/or natural heritage designated by UNESCO to be of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) to humanity. Ireland has currently two properties on the UNESCO World Heritage List, Brú na Bóinne and Sceilg Mhichíl, both inscribed in the 1990s.
The first major step towards full World Heritage inscription is the inclusion on a country’s Tentative List. UNESCO will not consider nominations unless a property has been included on the Tentative List for at least one year prior to the submission of any nomination.
The nomination process often takes a number of years and includes the preparation of a detailed dossier to be officially submitted to the World Heritage Centre for evaluation.
Included alongside Uisneach under the Royal Sites heading are Dún Ailinne in Kildare, Cashel in Tipperary, Rathcroghan Complex in Roscommon, Tara Complex in Meath, and Navan Fort in Armagh.
According to the EAG, the sites could be included on a new Tentative List once more work is carried to fully demonstrate the potential OUV, particularly in relation to the authenticity/integrity, protection and management and comparative analysis aspects of the application.
Also on the new tentative list are The Passage Tomb Landscape of County Sligo; Iniscealtra (Holy Island), County Clare; the Transatlantic Cable Ensemble: Valentia-Heart’s Content, County Kerry; The Cultural Landscape of the Burren Uplands, County Clare and Glendalough Valley, County Wicklow.
The nomination process does not necessarily result in the inscription of a property on the World Heritage List.