About the Book
This book is the first sustained attempt to incorporate critical scholarship and thought at the cutting edge of contemporary geography, history and archaeology into the burgeoning field of Irish heritage studies. It seeks to illustrate the validity of multiple depictions of the Irish past, showing how scrutiny of heritage practices and meanings is so essential for illuminating our understanding of the present. Examining Ireland's heritages from a critical perspective that celebrates notions of heterogeneity and uniqueness, the distinguished contributors to this book scrutinise the multiplicity of complex relations between heritage, history, memory, commemoration, economy, and cultural identity within various historical, geographical and archaeological contexts. Using several examples and case studies, this book raises issues not only from a uniquely Irish perspective, but also investigates the memorialisation and marketing of the Irish past in overseas locations such as the USA and Australia.
Table of Contents:
Contents: Introduction: Historico-geographical explorations of Ireland's heritages: towards a critical understanding of the nature of memory and identity, Mark McCarthy. Commemoration And The Politics Of Heritage: Commemorative heritage and the dialectics of memory, Guy Beiner; A lost heritage: the Connaught Rangers and multivocal Irishness, John Morrissey; Memory and identity in 'Irish' Australia: constructing alterity in Belfast (Port Fairy), c. 1857-1873, Lindsay Proudfoot and Dianne Hall; Performing Irish-American heritage: the Irish historic pageant, New York, 1913, Deborah Sugg Ryan. Spaces Of Individual And Collective Memory: Newgrange, heritage and the Irish nation: two moments of transformation, David C. Harvey; Heritage, rhetoric, identity: critical reflections on the Carrickmines Castle controversy, Tadhg O'Keeffe; Ireland and the house of invented memory, Hugh Maguire; Remembering the creameries, Maura Cronin. Heritage, Economy And Constructs Of Identity: The tourism nexus: national identity and the meanings of tourism since the Irish Civil War, Eric E. Zuelow; Redefining nation, identity and tradition: the challenge for Ireland's national museums, Gemma Reid; The construction of community through heritage in Northern Ireland, Elizabeth Crooke; Identity crisis? heritage construction, tourism and place marketing in Ireland, Ruth McManus; Index.
About the Author :
Dr Mark McCarthy is a Lecturer in Heritage Studies, at the School of Humanities, Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology at Galway, Republic of Ireland. Contributors: Mark McCarthy, Guy Beiner, John Morrissey, Lindsay Proudfoot, Dianne Hall, Deborah Sugg Ryan, David C. Harvey, Tadhg O'Keeffe, Hugh Maguire, Maura Cronin, Eric E. Zuelow, Gemma Reid, Elizabeth Crooke, Ruth McManus.
Review :
’Ireland’s Heritages contains a lucid series of case studies examining heritage and memory in 19th, 20th and 21st century Ireland. Bringing together leading authors on Irish geography, history and archaeology, it clearly merits a place in anyone's library - but will be especially welcomed by those interested in the construction of Irish identities both at home and abroad.’ Ulf Strohmayer, National University of Ireland, Republic of Ireland ’Under the editorship of Mark McCarthy, a band of distinguished scholars offer up an incisive and revealing cornucopia of critical essays riveted on the theme of (Irish) heritage. It is a timely offering which should be of interest to politicians and policy workers besides disciplines such as geography, history and archaeology.’ Patrick O’Flanagan, University College Cork, Republic of Ireland ’Ireland’s Heritages is a useful reference in its summary of debate on memory and identity, and in its challenging task of bringing these themes into a critical forum.’ Historic Environment ’...this book provides a very comprehensive and varied examination of the multi-faceted nature and understandings of Irish heritages.’ Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
