Negotiating post-colonial legacies: shifting conservation narratives and residual colonial built heritage in Ireland

Abstract

Where they evolve in contentious political contexts, conservation and heritage can be framed by competing priorities reflecting collective remembering, cultural politics and identities intertwined with the symbolic representation of the built environment. Drawing on postcolonial experiences in Ireland, this paper explores the shifting representations of built heritage over the post-independence era and the extent that a residual colonial legacy can perform a role in framing contemporary place-making processes. Empirically, we focus on representations emerging within contemporary 'elite discourses' - built heritage policy-makers, leading conservation practitioners and civil society conservation groups - to explore how they negotiate this postcolonial context.