Re: Re: Rock of Cashel stone conservation restoration

@ake wrote:

Trim castle won a Europa Nostra ‘diploma’ award for ‘the well-researched and excellent restoration of an important 12th century castle ruin, including imaginative new installations’. I’ve been to Trim castle and as far as I can judge the conservation is excellent (leaving aside the hotel..). The architects were ‘Willy Cumming / Kevin O’Brien (Dúchas) with Cloonan O’Donnell Architects’ with ‘Dúchas Works Depot, Trim & J.V.Ledwith Ltd.’ building contractors, according to the EN site.

I’m inclined to think that there are simply not enough quality conservators to go round for all the heritage sites in Ireland. The number of sites is huge, and of course conservation is a perpetual process. Since our small population cannot supply enough workers of the required standard we should definitely be importing other European experts- there must be a surplus in the bloated populations of England, France and Germany.

Do not forget the Italians!!! They are excellent when they get going. Just look at Cobh since they imported an architect who seems to know something about conservation – at least he recognises that the paint is peeling off the door of the Cathedral and the floor is coming up and the Baptistery has been vandalised. All this is a huge quantum leap in comnparison to the previous incumbent, D. Deasey, who did not think there was anythingtoo wrong with walking into the building in the middle of the night and digging holes in the floor of the sanctuary -simpley because they were in places where you could not see them. But the, he had had things “explained” to him by the great soothsayer of the Cathedral wreckage plan: Brian McCutcheon!!