 | |
| Formation | 26 Sept. 1946 (provisional), 28 June 1948 |
|---|---|
| Type | Non-governmental organisation |
| Purpose | Environmentalism and Historic preservation |
| Headquarters | 5 Foster Place |
| Location |
|
CEO | Gary Freemantle (2024) |
Chairperson of the Board | Stuart McCaul (2024) |
| Website | www.antaisce.org |
An Taisce – The National Trust for Ireland (Irish pronunciation: [ənˠ ˈt̪ˠaʃcə]; "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,[1] and Green Schools[2] 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.[3][4] 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.
- ^ "Blue Flag Programme (Homepage)". Beach Awards. 9 January 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
- ^ Green Schools
- ^ National Spring Clean
- ^ "Key Funders of an Taisce - the National Trust for Ireland - an Taisce". Archived from the original on 23 March 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.