Call for ancient Boundary Stones to be conserved
There’s been a call to have 14 ancient Boundary stones marking the old Sligo Borough Boundary to be properly conserved and protected.
Councillor Chris MacManus urged the Council to look for funding from the Heritage Council to carry out the work, given their importance to local heritage and the “dreadful” condition some of them are in.
Where the old Borough Boundary intersected a road it was marked by a large sandstone boundary stone at 14 locations around Sligo.
Of the 14 boundary stones, 13 are in their original position, while one which was on Hazelwood Road was taken into safekeeping prior to works along the road and is now stored in the council yard in Finisklin.
“A lot of them are in really bad condition,” Cllr MacManus told the Sligo Municipal District meeting last week.
“They’re one of the last few symbols left of our Borough. There’s one at the Finisklin footpath and with no regard a footpath was filled in covering the bottom half of this 170 year-old stone,” he said.
It is located at the Finisklin Roundabout on the First Sea Road (pictured above.)
“There needs to be mindfulness as to their condition,” he said.
Cllr MacManus said that in 2015 millions of euro were available in the form of grants from the Heritage Council but less than ¤5,000 of it came to Sligo.
Responding, Senior Engineer with Sligo County County Brian O’Flynn said that while not protected structures, the Boundary stones were of “local heritage value and are a physical expression of the extent of the historic Sligo Borough area.
“This is a piece of our heritage. There’s only one stone on Pearse Road that we’ve given prominence to and it’s a fine marker,” he said.
“We should give all 13 others the same respect,” he added.
Officials said that they would have to assess the rest of the stones, their setting, presentation and condition.
This assessment will include costings for the stone conservation works and funding sources for the assessment.
Council officials said they could apply for funding from the Heritage Council next year to carry out the assessment. “I hope the Executive can implement it with funding from the Heritage Council,” said Cllr MacManus.