Madam, - Terence Dooley (March 24th), referring to the 1985 report "Safeguarding Historic Houses" (co-edited by Professor Kevin B. Nowlan and myself), appears to believe, incorrectly, that the report suggested owners should be responsible for the endowment of endangered historic properties. He states that "this could mean the calamitous loss of a number of extremely important historic houses."
It is unfortunate that the 1985 report does not seem to have come to Dr Dooley's attention before the current correspondence. If it had, he would, I think, have recognised much common ground between his own recent recommendations and those of "Safeguarding Historic Houses" 18 years earlier. He would surely have empathised with the section of that report entitled "Vehicles for Government Financial Support" which opens: "It must be stated forcefully that our heritage historic properties cannot be preserved without the active and consistent support of the Irish Government". The 1985 report continued by putting forward proposals for securing Government participation in the process of conserving historic properties, including the preparation of new legislation making "special reference to the role of a property trust".
None of this appears to be at odds with Dr Dooley's proposals. Where we would appear to diverge is in the legal status of the trust: the Irish Historic Properties Committee, which commissioned the 1985 report, considered that an independent trust having an "arm's-length" relationship with Government, through a Heritage Commission, was appropriate. In his letter of March 24th, Dr Dooley appears to favour more direct Government intervention.
The Irish Historic Properties Committee was set up in late 1982. Its initial membership included six of the seven members of the working party of An Taisce - the National Trust for Ireland which had produced the 1977 report "Heritage at Risk" (edited by Dr Edward McParland and Nicholas Robinson). The committee felt it necessary to prepare its 1985 report because it was alarmed at the lack of progress made in addressing the deteriorating situation of heritage properties in the years following the publication of "Heritage at Risk".
A further 20 years on, let us hope that, this time, with the fresh stimulation of Dr Dooley's report, something will actually be done to save a priceless, but desperately fragile, part of our heritage. - Yours, etc.,
LEWIS CLOHESSY, Manor Kilbride, Co Wicklow.