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RIDING THE STORM —ARCHAEOLOGICAL HERITAGE AND CLIMATE CHANGE Michael MacDonagh, Chief Archaeologist at the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, outlines plans to meet the challenge of climate change impacts on our historic built environment. On 12 February 2014 Storm Darwin swept over Ireland. This was one of the most extreme weather events ever recorded here. Wind speeds reached 160km/hour, and there was extensive coastal and inland flooding. Electricity supply was cut off to hundreds of thousands of homes, over seven million trees were blown down and lives were lost. In 2014 the National Monuments Service received 206 reports of damage to monuments or historic buildings—up fivefold from the previous year. Almost half of these reports (94) related to impacts arising from erosion and weathering, over six times the average yearly total for this category. The majority of reports came from the west and south-west coasts, with most from County Galway, though the midlands were also 30 widely affected. The reports received were of impacts on known burial grounds, with ancient human remains being exposed through wave action and coastal erosion; of ancient coastal middens being exposed and damaged; of collapsed masonry remains; and also of previously unknown archaeological remains being exposed. While our historic buildings and archaeological sites and monuments across the State have stood for centuries, if not millennia, there can be no denying the impact of extreme weather events and climate change. Storm Darwin was one of a number of storm events through 2014, and the trend of extreme weather events, increased rainfall and even drought is growing. In 2017 Storm Gert caused significant damage, notably in Donegal. Studies of the climate record in Ireland show an upward trend in temperatures, resulting in warmer wetter winters and hotter drier summers, accompanied by an increase in extreme events, a pattern that is set to continue. In the marine environment we can expect rising sea levels and an increase in storm surge. Making a plan In 2015 the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act established the requirement for a National Adaptation Framework (NAF). The framework, which is to be completed in the coming months, aims at reducing Above: Fig. 1—Exposed skeletal remains at Omey Island, Co. Galway (National Monuments Service, 2015). Archaeology Ireland Autumn 2019
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C L I M A T E C H A N G E Right: Fig. 2—Doonmore Castle, Co. Clare, following significant collapse, May 2019 (National Monuments Service). vulnerability to the negative effects of climate change and availing of positive impacts. It will be composed of twelve sectoral plans, of which Built and Archaeological Heritage is one. An overarching government Climate Action Plan has also been published, focusing on climate change mitigation and embracing oversight of the implementation of the twelve sectoral adaptation plans. The Built and Archaeological Heritage Climate Change Sectoral Adaptation Plan will be published this September. It builds on background research commissioned by the Department in 2017 and carried out by Dr Cathy Daly, now of the University of Lincoln. When the Department was instructed in 2018 to prepare a full adaptation plan, a multidisciplinary team led by Carrig Conservation and Dr Daly was appointed to assist in its preparation. Reporting to a Built and Archaeological Heritage Advisory Group, Carrig Conservation and Dr Daly, with the assistance of the Irish Green Building Council, oversaw development of the plan through the first half of 2019. This included stakeholder consultation workshops and a public consultation process in May and June 2019. Over 100 people attended consultation workshops in Galway and Dublin. The Advisory Group, chaired by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, comprises representatives from a wide range of stakeholders—the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, the Office of Public Works, the City and County Managers Association, Local Authority Climate Action Regional Offices, the National Museum of Ireland, the Heritage Council, the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland, the Irish Landscape Institute, An Taisce, the Royal Irish Academy, the Discovery Programme, ICOMOS Ireland and the Federation of Local History Societies are all represented. The purpose of the Advisory Group has been to better enable sectoral communication and to assist in identifying risks and vulnerabilities, providing important input into the development of the adaptation plan. Archaeology Ireland Autumn 2019 As well as being informed by existing research, incorporating expert, stakeholder and public consultation throughout the process, the Climate Change Sectoral Adaptation Plan has also closely considered published adaptation plans from other sectors. This ensures that cross-cutting issues are highlighted and further ensures that heritage is not inadvertently damaged through the adaptive actions of other sectors. It has also drawn on the experience of colleagues in Britain and Northern Ireland, enabling exchange of information on risks, vulnerabilities and the optimal approach to adaptation planning. Direct impacts Various climate change risks to built and archaeological heritage have been identified, arising from the potential for warmer, wetter winters, increased intensity of storms, sealevel rise, coastal erosion and increased 31

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RIDING THE STORM —ARCHAEOLOGICAL HERITAGE AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Michael MacDonagh, Chief Archaeologist at the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht,

outlines plans to meet the challenge of climate change impacts on our historic built environment.

On 12 February 2014 Storm Darwin swept over Ireland. This was one of the most extreme weather events ever recorded here. Wind speeds reached 160km/hour, and there was extensive coastal and inland flooding. Electricity supply was cut off to hundreds of thousands of homes, over seven million trees were blown down and lives were lost.

In 2014 the National Monuments Service received 206 reports of damage to monuments or historic buildings—up fivefold from the previous year. Almost half of these reports (94) related to impacts arising from erosion and weathering, over six times the average yearly total for this category. The majority of reports came from the west and south-west coasts, with most from County Galway, though the midlands were also

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widely affected. The reports received were of impacts on known burial grounds, with ancient human remains being exposed through wave action and coastal erosion; of ancient coastal middens being exposed and damaged; of collapsed masonry remains; and also of previously unknown archaeological remains being exposed.

While our historic buildings and archaeological sites and monuments across the State have stood for centuries, if not millennia, there can be no denying the impact of extreme weather events and climate change. Storm Darwin was one of a number of storm events through 2014, and the trend of extreme weather events, increased rainfall and even drought is growing. In 2017 Storm Gert caused significant damage, notably in Donegal.

Studies of the climate record in Ireland show an upward trend in temperatures, resulting in warmer wetter winters and hotter drier summers, accompanied by an increase in extreme events, a pattern that is set to continue. In the marine environment we can expect rising sea levels and an increase in storm surge.

Making a plan In 2015 the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act established the requirement for a National Adaptation Framework (NAF). The framework, which is to be completed in the coming months, aims at reducing

Above: Fig. 1—Exposed skeletal remains at Omey Island, Co. Galway (National Monuments Service, 2015).

Archaeology Ireland Autumn 2019

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