Heritage Signage & Heritage Trail Guidance from Fingal County Council

Interpretation of, and increasing awareness of, our archaeological, historical and natural sites is supported by Fingal County Council. To assist with this the Council has developed guidance to provide clear direction and advice to the public and stakeholders on the best practice, procedures and requirements for the development of heritage signage and heritage trails in Fingal.

Fingal County Council has developed a suite of signage that is being utilised throughout the County to form recognisable information points and visual coherence. The Heritage Signage guidance gives you advice on what is involved in developing heritage signage or a heritage trail, tips for content and what permissions you will need.

‘The guidance was developed with the aim of supporting communities in sharing their local heritage’ said Fingal Heritage Officer Christine Baker ‘and while it may seem a bit odd, the first question is: Do you really need signage? There are many ways to interpret heritage from audio tours and apps to festivals and heritage days. The best approach is to undertake a community-based heritage audit, such as is being carried out by Baldoyle Tidy Towns, which gathers different strands of knowledge and different community perspectives into an interpretation plan’.

Baldoyle Tidy Towns member Councillor Joan Hopkins said ‘We are delighted to have this opportunity to audit and gather all of the natural, cultural and built heritage of Baldoyle into one framework document which the whole community can use to celebrate Baldoyle’s past and present.  Funding from the Heritage Council of Ireland and support from Fingal County Council have allowed us to commission a professional resource that will provide direction and consistency in how we interpret the many areas of interest we have identified.

‘Despite the pandemic we had over 300 responses from the community to our public consultation survey,’ said Mary Harkin of Baldoyle Tidy Towns.  ‘As you might expect, respondents highlighted Baldoyle Bay, local history, stories and folklore, the Racecourse and the Vikings as areas of particular interest. But there was also great interest in architecture, archaeology and biodiversity and some really creative suggestions about how they could be interpreted. We are really looking forward to sharing the results of the Heritage Audit with the community and enjoying the different projects that it will inspire’. 

Baldoyle Tidy Towns plan to launch the Baldoyle Heritage Audit at The Dark Stranger Viking Heritage Festival being held by Baldoyle Forum Clg in September.  This will be the first heritage event of this kind in their community but they are confidents that with the rich heritage they have to celebrate, it will not be the last.  

Download the Heritage Signage and Heritage Trail Guidance in English or Irish from https://www.fingal.ie/heritage-online-and-publications  or contact [email protected] directly.