Valentia Island could get UNESCO world site status

VALENTIA ISLAND could be on the cusp of claiming World UNESCO site status, as a major push to recognise its contribution to communications in the 19th century gathers momentum.

Valentia was home to the transatlantic cable that connected Europe to America for over 100 years and this rich history is the key for the Island to be named as an UNESCO ' World Communication Site'.

“It was the start of a major advancement in communications, this was the first connection between the old and the new world. Before that it took two to three weeks to get a message across the Atlantic,” Michéal Lyne of the Valentia Island Development Company said.

The first of four major trans-Atlantic cable projects started on the island in 1857 and despite initial failures by 1866 cables were working to speeds of up to eight words a minute.

The first step in the UNESCO process was the preparation and presentation of 'Paper 1' which explains why Valentia has a product “worthy of recognition”. It also reveals four sites associated with the trans-Atlantic cable project including the Slate Yard in Valentia where the first successful message was sent and the main Cable Buildings, where messages were relayed and received between 1868 and 1966.

The next step in the UNESCO will be to get the Irish Government to get behind the project and move 'Paper 2' forward.

To do this at total of €50,000 will have to be raised, and a public meeting will be held in the coming weeks to decide if islanders are interested in moving ahead.

“At the moment there are only two UNESCO sites in Ireland, the Boyne Valley and the Skelligs; to have two sites so close to each other here in Kerry would be a major boost for the area,” Michéal said.