The history Irish conservation complements beautifully that of the UK, so if your knowledge needs a boost then UCD Assistant Professor Arthur Parkinson’s feature from issue 163 of Context. on historic building conservation in Ireland, explains its development and context, including the formation of key Irish agencies such as An Taisce (1948) and the Irish Georgian Society (1958), as well as core legislation.
…the historic built environment was for many years not valued to the same degree as in many other western European countries.
image: Context 163, p14 – Arthur Parkinson
Arthur Parkinson writes:
In Ireland, the dominance and control exerted historically by the country’s nearest island neighbour, and the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922, have both led the independent state to forge a quite different path in conservation terms from the UK. Historically, these aspects of Ireland’s history have often tended to play a central role in debates around historic buildings – in turn impacting on the state’s broad approach and priorities in relation to built heritage – and the historic built environment was for many years not valued to the same degree as in many other western European countries.
… in 1957, despite expert recommendations to the contrary, the political leadership of the time approved the demolition of two substantial Georgian houses in Kildare Place, immediately adjacent to the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature). This prompted the foundation of the Irish Georgian Society (IGS) in 1958, the first nationwide independent body set up in the state whose primary aim was the protection of architectural heritage.
… in 1957, despite expert recommendations to the contrary, the political leadership of the time approved the demolition of two substantial Georgian houses in Kildare Place
… The Irish planning system has broad similarities with that of the UK – most notably, the system of local government created in 1898 is similar to UK systems, and the foundational Irish legislation, the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963, is substantially based upon the UK’s Town and Country Planning Act 1947…
IHBC blogs on Ireland conservation
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