Mayo councillor criticises Government representatives after county misses out on national funding allocation
A Mayo councillor has expressed his disappointment after the county failed to secure funding under the 2026 Historic Structures Fund.
Cllr Patsey O’Brien raised the matter at the April meeting of the county council and questioned why Government representatives from the county were not doing more to secure funding for Mayo.
The 2026 Historic Structures Fund provides capital funding of between €50,000 and €200,000, with a focus on enhancing, refurbishing, or reusing heritage structures.
To qualify, buildings must demonstrate either a clear community or public benefit, or a clear residential benefit.
Across Ireland, a total of 35 applications were successful this year, and they will share an overall allocation of €4.4 million in funding.
In 2025, Mayo had one successful application, with St Patrick’s Church in Newport receiving €130,000 in funding for restoration and repair works to the sandstone façade of the building’s main bell tower.
Cllr O’Brien noted that three applications were submitted this year for funding, yet “not one single penny was allocated to Mayo,” he said, pointing out that “this county is seeped in historic buildings.”
“I don’t know what has happened with the Government representatives in this county, that they can’t stand up for the county where they were elected,” he said.
Cllr O’Brien said that the council chamber is often filled with discussions on how to enhance and improve the county, but stated that “when it comes down to funding, we lose out on it.”
He added that this is the second time in recent months that Mayo has missed out on national funding, stating that “it’s not good enough.”
He highlighted the National Development Plan (NDP) Sectoral Investment Plan 2026-2030 for the Education and Youth sectors, for which funding was announced in January.
Under the plan, Minister for Education and Youth Hildegarde Naughton confirmed an allocation of €7.55 billion over the next five years.
Within the first tranche of 105 prioritised projects, which will receive a total investment of €1.6 billion, none are located in County Mayo.
“We lost funding in relation to the schools, 105 projects and not one of them from Mayo for 2026 or 2027,” Cllr O’Brein said.
Returning to the Historic Structures Fund, Cllr O’Brien reiterated his disappointment that none of the applications from Mayo received funding.
He asked the Chief Executive, Kevin Kelly, to investigate why the applications were unsuccessful and report back to the council.
“It is not good enough for this county, and it is not good enough that we have representatives willing to accept this,” he said.
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.