Gort Maintenance and Energy Webinar and Workshop | A greener future for our Town

The purpose of the workshop is to:

• explore the issues faced by the owners and occupiers of the traditional and historic buildings in Gort, - with a view to providing technical assistance and demonstrations in the future

• identify ways of improving the quality of the accommodation, so that

it is fit for purpose in the 21st century, is sustainable - meets the challenges laid down by our Green Energy commitments to help address climate change, protects the historic fabric that contributes to Gort’s special sense of place;

• highlight the opportunity provided by the SEAI Sustainable Communities (SEC) Project, and encourage a collaborative funding application for an SEAI funded Energy Masterplan and Energy Enhancement project in Gort.

The webinar will begin with a series of four short presentations, together lasting a total of 40 minutes, before opening into a discussion from the floor. The presentations will be made online in a zoom format and projected into the physical venue.

Webinar Moderator:

Deirdre McDermott, Architect and conservation consultant in DMD, member of ICOMOS Ireland and it’s Small Towns and Villages NSC Baile, initiator and joint project manager of the 2017 SDG Project Evaluating Street Life is acting facilitator for the project and will moderate on-line proceedings;

Workshop chairperson:

Bernice Carolan, recently returned to her homeplace and now Secretary of Gort Tidy Towns, will chair the face to face workshop in Gort which will also be connected into the on-line webinar.

Webinar Presenters:

Mairín Doddy, Conservation Officer, GCC, facilitating local authority partner will briefly introduce the project;

Colm Murray, Baile (COMOS NSC for Small Towns and Villages) and Heritage Council will introduce the research undertaken on traditionally built buildings, as a joint initiative with ICOMOS Ireland, the Heritage Council and SEAI .

Colm Murray is the Architecture Officer at the Heritage Council in Ireland, where he has worked since 2005, contributing to policy formation in heritage-led urban regeneration, energy use in traditionally-built buildings, the development of training provision in traditional building skills, and the role of values in conservation decision-making. His work includes managing conservation plans and grant administration.

Brent Mostar architect specialising on energy matters, who worked in Gort for many years before taking up a post with GCC, will introduce the energy measures being taken on Portumna Castle.

Dr Orla NicSuibhne, Galway county mentor for SEAI's Sustainable Energy Community (SEC) Programme, will provide a brief overview of the potential benefits of working towards a collaborative application for significant funding.

In 2016 she was awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Irish Research Council, with SEAI as the Enterprise Partner. The outcome was a model to help communities transition to a low carbon future. She is a H2020 expert evaluator for the European Commission, and has just started a Graduate Certificate course at DCU in Management for Sustainable Development.

Orla will present an overview of the SEC model; provide details on how to complete the energy master plan that is 100% funded by SEAI; and finally how to apply to SEAI for grant aid to complete the energy projects identified in the energy master plan in your community.

Discussion from the floor and from virtual attendees.