Situated off the west coast of Ireland, Clare Island has an important cultural heritage including a 14th century Cistercian Abbey containing Medieval wall-paintings, nationally recognized as among the most important examples in Ireland. With the extensive conservation programme coming to an end this year, it was decided to make the conservation results, and the wall-paintings themselves, more accessible to islander and visitor alike.


Programme sponsored by the European Union
(Directorate General for Education and Culture)


The Grouping of European Campuses (GEC) ensures
the co-ordination of this programme. 
For more information regarding the European
Heritage Campuses, visit the GEC site

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Padraic O'MALLEY's comments on the Campus
(Chairman, Clare Island Community Co-operative)

The Centre for Island Studies acted as host and chief organizer of the European Heritage Campus which took place on the island from the 15th of August and the 17th of September 2000. The fourteen young people who participated in the Campus came from 6 different countries. They brought with them to the island a diverse range of interests and academic  backgrounds including architecture, photography, archaeology, heritage and cultural studies, sociology and web design.

  • This website is just one of the results of the Campus: it aims to present the rest of the work carried out by the participants of the Campus, including:

  • Presentation of the wallpaintings as well as documentation and inventory of the conservation programme,

  • Study of the historical background of the Abbey and its architectural stages, as well as some architectural proposals for possible future touristic development,

  • Survey of islanders opinions concerning the future of the Abbey as a public heritage site,

  • Various workshops focusing on the abbey and its wall-paintings with the  Clare Island schoolchildren,

Organisation of a final exhibition and a symposium about this work and the future of the wall-paintings.

The "official" photographer for the Campus project was Mathieu Humblot. 
Rosy Sanders, Marc Chisinevski, and Claire Fear also contributed some of their photos to the site.

© Centre for Island Studies