An Taisce – The National Trust for Ireland (; "An Taisce" meaning "the store" or "the treasury"), established on a provisional basis in September 1946, and incorporated as a company based on an “association not for profit” in June 1948, is a charitable non-governmental organisation (NGO) active in the areas of the environment and built heritage in the Republic of Ireland. It considers itself the oldest environmental and non-governmental organisation in the country, and is somewhat similar to the National Trust of England, Wales and Northern Ireland but based more directly on the National Trust for Scotland. Its first president was the prominent naturalist Robert Lloyd Praeger.

An Taisce is a membership-based charity, rather than a state or semi-state organisation, or quango, but it does receive government and European Union funding for specific programmes, such as Blue Flag beaches, and Green Schools private-sector funding for, for example, the Irish Business Against Litter surveys, and a mix of State and private funding for the annual National Spring Clean. An Taisce has for decades also had a statutory role in certain planning and environmental processes in the country.

The work of the organisation includes policy recommendation and campaigning in the built and natural heritage areas, the holding in trust of relevant properties, and environmentally-relevant education. It has a number of local associations, which may assist in caring for properties, and monitor planning in their areas. An Taisce's headquarters are in Dublin's oldest surviving guildhall, the Tailors' Hall, which it helped to restore.

Development

Foundation

A public meeting to consider the need for a national trust was held in the Mansion House in September 1946, convened by the Royal Irish Academy, the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, An Óige, the Geographical Society of Ireland, the Dublin Naturalists' Field Club and the Irish Society for the Preservation of Birds. The meeting resolved to create such a body, and elected both a provisional committee, and a council of 16 plus 4 co-opted members, who secured bankers, auditors and solicitors. After extensive debate, the two-part name was chosen and application was made to form a not-for-profit company. Special approval was sought from the Minister for Trade and Commerce for charity-appropriate memorandum and articles, adhering to the “association not for profit” section of the then Companies Act, with a prohibition on distribution of surpluses, and for permission to omit the word “Limited” from the company name.

An Taisce was an indirect successor to the all-Island National Trust Committee which had ceased to exist in 1946 after the passing of the National Trust Act (Northern Ireland) 1946.

The organisation was duly incorporated as a company limited by guarantee on 28 June 1948. The initial constitution was modelled on that of the National Trust for Scotland. The first official meeting of the company was held on 15 July 1948 at the Royal Irish Academy's headquarters, Academy House on Dawson Street, and the first annual general meeting was convened on 23 September of the same year, with formal greetings from the National Trust and the National Trust for Scotland. Praeger was elected as the first president of the organisation and Professor Felix Hackett as chairperson. Praeger made an opening address which was subsequently broadcast nationally by Raidió Éireann.

By 1969, membership reached 3,600, with 18 local branches operating, and the first campaign to circulate educational material in schools was launched. Also in 1969, An Taisce was asked by Charles Haughey, Minister for Finance, to survey the country's major houses and gardens, and also the non-national museums. The property was further damaged by fire later in the year and was finally fully demolished in August 1984.

Also in 1984, An Taisce moved to Tailors' Hall, but with just two employees, and restoration work commenced in 1985 and continued for several years. Also in 1984, the organisation was awarded the National Heritage Award, and at a seminar of the Trees Committee, the Tree Council of Ireland was launched. In 1985, a special agreement type provided for under planning legislation, in which An Taisce acted as guarantor for the preservation of a heritage property, was enacted for the first time, to preserve Castlehyde near Fermoy for at least 35 years.

Mission and scope

An Taisce's work and expertise deals with the Republic of Ireland's natural, built, and social heritage. It seeks to educate, inform, and lead public opinion on the environment, to advocate and influence policy, and to manage a portfolio of heritage properties. to consult An Taisce on development proposals.

Structure

The organisation comprises several thousand members, with a range of membership types and fees. Overall steering of the organisation is in the hands of a council, which in turn elects a board of directors (charity trustees), and other internal policy and operational committees.

Some members are also organised in what are called local associations, which operate under policies set by the national body, but with some element of autonomy. 11 such associations exist as of 2023, with others having existed in the past, such as in Fingal and Dublin city; at peak, there were 27 and over time they have existed in 25 of Ireland's 26 counties. In 2001, there were 21 local associations across 17 of the 26 counties.

Operations

The organisation has three main operational divisions.

The Properties Unit looks after properties that have either historical significance or are environmentally sensitive. The properties are taken care of by both professional staff and volunteers who are involved with the day-to-day management of income generating properties such as Tailors' Hall (which it also makes available for private hire) and the restoration of important resources such as the Boyne Navigation. This unit is funded primarily by donations and legacies, and works mostly through volunteers.

The Advocacy Unit monitors roughly 5% of all planning (local authority development approval) applications made annually, making submissions on a small number of those received, and appealing about 300 decisions a year to An Bord Pleanála, the statutory planning appeals board. The Advocacy Unit also monitors environmental standards and co-ordinates policy formation from the elected advocacy committees amongst the membership. This unit is funding almost entirely by member contributions and donations, and the work is mostly performed by volunteers, with a small paid staff.

The Environmental Education Unit operates nationwide programmes on behalf of the Irish government's Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, the National Transport Authority and the European Union, such as the Blue Flag water quality accreditation programme and Green Schools Programme that aims to promote higher environmental standards in schools. Much of this unit's work is funded by the Irish government and EU programmes, and some by private bodies such as Irish Business Against Litter, and it is mostly carried out by paid staff.

As of 2024, An Taisce had over 110 staff, including a leadership team of 4 senior positions, a CEO, Director of Education and Community, Development Director and Financial Director. There are also positions handling members and donors.

After many years formally based at the offices of the Royal Irish Academy, and a variety of home and leased offices, its headquarters are since the late 1980s in Dublin's last surviving intact guildhall, the Tailors' Hall, with a second office, for the large education division, nearby in Swift's Alley in Dublin's Liberties.

  • Tailors' Hall, Back Lane, central Dublin (registered office)
  • Babe's Bridge, on the River Boyne
  • the Booterstown marsh Nature Reserve, coastal southern Dublin, in the care of the Dun Laoghaire - Rathdown Local Association
  • the Boyne Navigation, a canal, and its towpath, County Meath, donated in 1969 and partially restored
  • Corlican Quaker burial ground, Wexford
  • Gort Weigh House, County Galway
  • Crocknafarragh, a mountain area in County Donegal (2,605 hectares), transferred from the Irish Land Commission on nominal terms in 1968, and leased to the Irish state as an extension of Glenveagh National Park
  • A farmhouse in Killaha West, County Kerry
  • A section of The Burren from Gortlecka to Mullaghmore, near Inchiquin, County Clare (15 ha.), bought in 1977
  • The Grove, on a corner of Morehampton Road, a wildlife sanctuary in south inner Dublin, donated in 1979
  • The Gull Islands and Rough Island, Mulroy Bay, County Donegal, acquired in 1990 and 1995 respectively
  • Kanturk Castle, County Cork, a 17th-century building transferred from the National Trust, initially on a leasehold basis, then in 1998, freehold; in the guardianship of the Office of Public Works
  • Mongan Bog, County Offaly (125 ha.), acquired in an exchange in 1987
  • Oweninny Bog, Balcorrick, County Mayo, iron flush bog (9 ha.), including the source of the Sruffaunnamuingabatia, transferred by Bord na Mona in 1984
  • Slieve Beagh (former estate of Rossmore Castle), County Monaghan and County Tyrone (2,200 acres, 2/3 in the Republic of Ireland)

Properties formerly in An Taisce's care include: