One of the truly wonderful things about Ireland is that we have so many incredible sites, open and accessible for all. But a significant number of people are doing untold damage:

Sligo’s Neolithic tombs are being vandalised ‘on scale never seen before’ https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/sligo-s-neolithic-tombs-are-being-vandalised-on-scale-never-seen-before-1.4310914

The chronic underfunding of our heritage has left sites utterly vulnerable, we face irreparable loss to many monuments.

Many of these threats are increasing — illegal metal detecting, thoughtless people clambering over vulnerable sites for selfies, idiots deciding to light fires

We need urgent action, and much can be achieved by bringing back the pre-2008 funding and staffing levels of the legal guardians of our heritage — the National Monuments Service & National Museum. And by getting expertise back into local authorities.

Community involvement can be so effective too, I've seen that firsthand with schemes like Adopt a Monument. More investment in community engagement would be an effective way to protect monuments and empower communities.

This needs to change, fast.

I havent even mentioned the threat that increasing storms pose to our heritage sites. Our culture is under siege from indifference and austerity.

We owe @RobertHensey @PadraigMeehan and all at @Sligoneolithic our thanks for raising the alarm on this.

I hope you can take action in this case @noonan_malcolm, it's one of the most important prehistoric landscapes in Europe and it's under dire threat.