@inbook{d9c4f5b2dc1d46ea8df7246c423e1b6b,
title = "Introduction: telling difficult histories in Ireland",
abstract = "Just south of Tipperary town in the rolling Munster countryside, the remains of a derelict nineteenth-century workhouse can be found (Figure 0.1). Built of limestone in a Tudorbethan style and set in 6 acres of land, this instrument of the Poor Law first opened its doors in 1841. It was one of 163 Irish workhouses constructed in this period and on such an imposing scale that it could accommodate 700 individuals in need. With the onset of the Great Irish Famine in 1845, the building would come to house four times this number. Such dramatic overcrowding led to rampant spread of disease and higher mortality for the unfortunate inhabitants. 1 Today, with smashed windows, boarded doorways and gaping holes in its roof, this building{\textquoteright}s condition signals neglect. It is not obvious that this former workhouse was the subject of an early twenty-first-century initiative to repurpose it as self-catering accommodation for tourists. Despite considerable initial investment, the project was never completed and the building{\textquoteright}s material deterioration now continues apace.",
keywords = "public history, Ireland, Northern Ireland, memory, trauma, conflict",
author = "Leonie Hannan and Olwen Purdue",
year = "2024",
month = jun,
day = "27",
doi = "10.4324/9781003218241-1",
language = "English",
isbn = "9781032110592",
series = "Global Perspectives on Public History",
publisher = "Routledge",
pages = "1--21",
editor = "Leonie Hannan and Olwen Purdue",
booktitle = "Public history in Ireland: difficult histories",
}