PROTECTING HOWTH’S HERITAGE
Howth’s East Mountain forms a dramatic landscape protected for its unique environmental and ecological value
RESTORING THE “EIRE 6” SIGN
Howth Head is one of three national Special Amenity Area Orders (SAAO) and is also protected under the UNESCO Natura 2000, a European order to protect flora and fauna.
When a restoration of the EIRE-6 sign was first proposed, Fingal County Council commissioned Faith Wilson Ecological Consultants to produce a flora study, an advisory note on the impact of removing vegetation to expose the sign and advice for restoring and maintaining it compatible with habitat protection. The study provides a detailed description of the sign, its location and the vegetation and habitats of the immediate area around it. The report was submitted in September 2019.
In the autumn of 2019 an Appropriate Screening was conducted, supported by the SAAO. The Restoration Group’s application (ARC) was submitted to the NPWS for permission to remove vegetation.
The group agreed to a partial restoration of the sign that is compatible with preservation and management of the heathland in a manner that does not damage its habitats. Summarising the approach, the report stated that “if the mitigation and methods outlined … are followed for exposing the sign and for maintaining it, then no significant loss of habitat will result and the integrity of the site will not be compromised.”
To achieve this, it recommends initially only restoring the lettering itself, leaving the triangular area as is, and the existing vegetation “adjacent to the path” not be removed: “It would be … desirable if the EIRE 6 sign only was exposed and the surrounding vegetation left in situ so that the letters are effectively set within a sward of existing vegetation. … The surrounding vegetation can be trimmed and kept short on an ongoing basis and any colonisation of the letters by either gorse or other species can be effectively weeded-out.” As regards the stones of the sign, the study proposes that slightly larger stones of c. 20-30cm diameter “of a siliceous nature ideally … of local origin” be added to replace material that has been removed, and be painted white or whitewashed as in restorations elsewhere.