What is Cultural Heritage but the all encompassing realm of how humankind leaves its mark on a place over time? This loose definition, by its very nature, covers a huge area of interests such as our built heritage (i.e. archaeology, architecture, monuments, etc.) and our wildlife (i.e. introduction of species, farming practices, etc.) and also extends to include our creative outputs such as literature, art, language, music, folklore, etc. as well as our sporting heritage.

As such Cultural Heritage encompasses both the tangible and intangible realms of culture as well as natural heritage. The following definition on Wikipedia tends to satisfactorily convey what cultural heritage is all about -

"Cultural Heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts (cultural property) and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations. Cultural heritage includes tangible culture (such as buildings, monuments, landscapes, books, works of art, and artifacts), intangible culture (such as folklore, traditions, language, and knowledge), and natural heritage (including culturally-significant landscapes, and biodiversity)"
 

Cultural Heritage in the County of Cork

In the County of Cork there is a fantastically rich element of cultural heritage, not surprising for Ireland's largest County area with a population of almost 400,000 people, (399,216 to be exact and over half a million people taking in the city!) as recorded in the 2011 Census. The fact that Cork City was designated Europe's Capital of Culture is 2005 is testament to this rich cultural heritage but the culture of Cork extends far beyond the reaches of just the city.

The entire county is steeped in cultural heritage. With two Gaeltacht areas -Cape Clear (Oileán Chléire) and Muskerry (Múscraí) - the Irish language as well as Irish customs including music, sports, literature, etc. are alive and kicking and Cork is renowned for its various festivals including the Story Telling Festival in Cape Clear, the Medieval Festival in Youghal and of course the Mitchelstown Food Festival to mention but a few.

It is a long road in the county of Cork that you won't find an element of cultural heritage nearby, with gaelic games taking places in adjacent pitches, arts and craft shops scattered along country road, trad sessions on in nearby pubs and just by talking to a local you will realise that Cork people have a personality all to their own, a by-product of our collective cultural heritage.
 

Relevant legislation:

National Cultural Institutions Act, 1997
National Archives Act 1986


Other relevant legislation, conventions and agreements include:

Civil Registration Act, 2004