Similarities and Divergences in Attitudes Toward Georgian Irish Heritage

Abstract

This paper makes a comparative analysis of the treatment of Georgian heritage in Northern Ireland (NI) and the Republic of Ireland (Éire). It assesses this treatment through a review of listing practices, lost houses, and the parallel evolution of planning policies along with the historical reasons for this, analyzing the nature of the drivers of and limits to the conservation of the Georgian buildings of Ireland. NI and Éire share most of the factors that led in the early twentieth century to significant heritage loss, and later to the creation of effective and inclusive conservation legislation. Our study shows that the political mindset in Éire is what has most discouraged listing and conservation, along with a lack of key legislation as passed in Great Britain but not in Ireland prior to partition, due to the political context.