Built Heritage Management in Ireland Before and After the Crisis of 2008’.

Effective built heritage management in Ireland has long been negated by economic and political pressures, in particular by the pro-development ethos of the State and the weak planning system that existed until the early 2000s. However, the legislative and policy frameworks for urban conservation and built heritage management have evolved considerably in recent decades, particularly through the enhanced protections afforded to historic structures and areas of architectural conservation through Part IV of the Planning and Development Act 2000. During Ireland’s Celtic Tiger economy, funding mechanisms for urban conservation measures also improved as clear lines of responsibility for heritage management were demarcated from the national to the local levels. However, in the context of Ireland’s economic crash since 2008, a number of key challenges remain. Despite having a reasonably well developed heritage management system on paper, in practice the pro-development ethos of the State remains firmly in place and the historic environment is seen as an asset capable of being exploited for economic gain rather than for the intrinsic value of the cultural worth of historic structures. This paper provides an overview of developments in the legislative and planning frameworks for built heritage protection, the funding sources for conservation and the roles of key actors in urban heritage management and introduces three case study sites for the further examination of urban heritage management practices in the Irish context.