The process required for a site to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List is long and complicated. It has four main stages, each of which is a process in itself: placement on a tentative list, submission of a nomination file, evaluation by an advisory body and a final decision by the World Heritage Committee. The whole process usually takes around a year and a half, but can vary depending on the time required for each stage (World Heritage Ireland, 2010). In order to submit sites to the World Heritage List, a country must first sign the World Heritage document. Convention, thus committing to protect their natural and cultural heritage. Next, the State Party, in the case of Ireland the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, creates an inventory of the country's natural and cultural sites (World Heritage Ireland, 2010). From these sites or combinations of sites, the State Party creates an indicative list. This list consists of sites considered to have “outstanding universal value” and which meet at least one of the ten criteria set out in the Revised Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention (2012). This list is very important, because the World Heritage Committee can only examine nominations from sites already included on the tentative list (UNESCO, 2014). Additionally, the Tentative List lasts five to ten years, before the State Party must update it; of course, the State Party can update it as often as it wishes. This allows for a constant re-evaluation of sites on the tentative list to determine whether any should be added or removed, or whether any are ready for the next stage of the inscription process: nomination. For the State Party to nominate a site, they must first come...... middle of paper ......ine] Worldheritageireland.ie. Available on: [Consulted April 18, 2014]. International Council on Monuments and Sites, 2014. The role of ICOMOS in the World Heritage Convention. [online] Icomos.org. Available on: [Consulted April 18, 2014].UNESCO, 2014. Selection criteria. [online] Whc.unesco.org. Available at: [Accessed April 18, 2014].UNESCO, 2014. World Heritage Committee. [online] Whc.unesco.org. Available at: [Accessed April 21, 2014].UNESCO, 2014. Nominations for the World Heritage List. [online] Whc.unesco.org. Available on: [Consulted April 18. 2014].