Supporting Partners

Inland Fisheries Ireland is a statutory body operating under the aegis of the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment (DCCAE) and was established under the Fisheries Act on 1st July 2010. Its principal function is the protection and conservation of the inland fisheries resource. Inland Fisheries Ireland promotes supports, facilitates and advises the Minister on the conservation, protection, management, development and improvement of inland fisheries, including sea angling. Inland Fisheries Ireland also develops policy and national strategies relating to inland fisheries and sea angling and advises the Minister on same.

The Stories from the Waterside competition encapsulates the relationship between people and water through unique stories including people’s own memories and folklores that have been passed down from one generation to the next. Inland Fisheries Ireland has a history of helping people connect to their inland fisheries and Stories from the Waterside gave people an opportunity to tell their own stories, from growing up beside a body of water to going fishing with a family member, these stories make up a special collection that belong as part of the history of Ireland’s waterbodies.

Waterways Ireland is the North/South Implementation Body for the inland navigable waterway systems of Ireland and was established under the British-Irish Agreement, 1999. The Statutory remit of Waterways Ireland is to manage, maintain, develop and restore the inland navigable waterways, principally for recreational purposes. The waterways under our remit include the Shannon Navigation, Shannon Erne Waterway, Erne System, Lower Bann Navigation, Grand & Royal Canals and the Barrow Navigation. In addition, as part of the organisations Heritage Plan, Waterways Ireland is committed to protecting the unique waterways heritage for all to enjoy.

Stories from the Waterside illustrates the very real tangible and intangible connections that individuals and communities have with their local waterway. It is this connection which Waterways Ireland wishes to support and encourage as part of our remit to open the waterways up to a variety of users. In addition, the memories and traditions associated with the inland waterways are an integral element of its rich heritage tapestry which we seek to document and preserve for this and future generations.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage’s mission is to support the sustainable and efficient delivery of well-planned homes and effective local government.

The department’s Statement of Strategy 2017 – 2020 sets out how it will achieve its goals to:

• ensure that planning and building in our regions and communities contributes to sustainable and balanced development
• provide for a stable, sustainable supply of good quality housing
• provide a framework for the sustainable management of water resources from source to sea
• support and enable democratic, responsive and effective local government, effective electoral management and high quality fire services and emergency management
• serve society by producing and communicating reliable weather and climate information to protect life and property and to improve Met Éireann’s role as the authoritative voice for high impact weather in Ireland.

Since 9 September 2020 the department is also responsible for:

• managing the Irish State’s nature conservation responsibilities under national and European law
• formulation and implementation of policy relating to Ireland’s architectural heritage
• responsibility for built heritage including the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.

The Heritage Council, established as a statutory body under the Heritage Act 1995, provides policy advice for government on heritage issues that include sustainability, landscape management, high nature value farming, navigable waterways and climate change. Through our publications, promotions, social media and the very successful National Heritage Week we focus on contacting, informing and engaging as wide and as varied a range of people as possible. Our Heritage in Schools Scheme, in particular, plays a key role in encouraging interest and participation from an early age. We also support a wide range of professional development programmes that to date have dealt with landscape, museums, archaeology and traditional building skills.

Community involvement is at the heart of the Heritage Council’s vision for national heritage. Our work with local communities supports jobs, education and heritage tourism in our local areas, delivering a rich tourism experience and excellent practice in the care of our nation’s valuable heritage assets. Finally, the Heritage Council has a complex national brief across natural, cultural and built heritage which places a heavy and welcome reliance on us to work with others to achieve common aims together. In addition, the Heritage Council provides core funding to several bodies in order to support the needs of the sector and to help achieve shared aims.

The Heritage Council is delighted to partner with such a varied group of organisations, all of whom seek to advocate for the tangible benefits that clean water can offer society. By reaching out to the public we get valuable insights as to what is important to people. These stories can be private and emotional: all aspects that rarely reach corporate reports that are usually referenced when important decisions are taken in relation to water and or land use. These are all important values that the Heritage Council wants and needs to hear, and the Council will certainly use them to inform policies that have direct impacts on our rich waterbased heritage.