The Heritage Council Annual Report 2002

6. Best Practice in Heritage
Conservation and Management
Restoration of Mayglass Farmstead
The Heritage Council has supported and financially assisted the conservation of a
vernacular farmstead, its ancillary buildings and furniture at Mayglass, Co Wexford
since 1998. The philosophy for the repair of the buildings has involved different
disciplines and best conservation practice. Some of the techniques used were new to
conservation in Ireland and the lessons learned need to be shared with the wider
community. The house is privately owned, though the Heritage Council has a 10 year
agreement with the owner to undertake conservation and education projects at
Mayglass. The main house is very small and its contents are fragile, so large numbers
of people cannot be accommodated for visits.
The Council wishes to establish a methodology for informing a wider constituency
about the Mayglass project and disseminating the experience gained, while not putting
undue pressure on the fabric of the building and respecting its current use as part of a
working farm.
Current activities include a publication on Mayglass containing a series of technical
essays for the professional and the general public to be published later this year. In
addition there is a project website www.Mayglass.2000.ie.
At present, Mayglass is providing an invaluable educational tool for specialists in
architectural conservation. However, to reach a wider audience, the Council is
undertaking an educational/interpretative project at Mayglass, principally aimed at the
non-specialist, interested general public, primary and secondary schools, and which
includes all aspects of the heritage.
The Council wishes to examine how best to explore a number of themes, and to
investigate the best ways to communicate:
• On the buildings of Mayglass and its conservation
• How life was lived in Mayglass –what the artifacts and furniture etc were used for?
• Exploring the past through these objects
• The relevance of these objects to the present, and to sustainable living
• How Mayglass can be used to explore other aspects of our heritage (e.g. ecology,
folklore, archaeology)
Council is at present carrying out research on the range of educational opportunities
offered by the Mayglass Project; identifying target groups and the potential demand
and fitting the educational opportunities offered by Mayglass to the needs of these
groups. Importantly they are examining how best to use the opportunities within the
constraints of accessing the site – e.g., web-based; distance learning; virtual reality.