Exploring Heritage Led Regeneration in Irish Towns and Villages, this website has been developed out of the findings of a three-stage research project which began in May-June 2017. The coordinators of the project, Caitríona Noonan and Deirdre McDermott, are members of ICOMOS Ireland, and are on their working group on small towns and villages, ‘Baile’ (see About Us). In this context generally, we seek to explore issues surrounding the heritage-led regeneration of small Irish towns, and with this particular project we have aimed to do this with reference to the re-use of traditional street buildings, and with an emphasis on public engagement in the built environment.
The project used the town of Gort, Co. Galway as a case study for the first two stages, which included survey work and a public workshop. The final stage was an event that took place in NUIG as part of the Architecture at the Edge Festival on 29th September 2017.
All small towns throughout the country have their own special character, much of which derives from the unique streetscapes and spaces, landmarks and vistas that have developed over time. In many cases this built legacy now finds itself facing threat due to under-use. We believe that the key for all towns to overcome this threat is the townspeople themselves. By engaging with the built environment (and the social and community networks that uses it) we can identify the strengths and weaknesses in our shared places and begin to figure out ways to improve and enhance them.
The project has been funded by the Heritage Council, and has also been kindly supported by Ecological Building Systems, ICOMOS Ireland, Galway County Council and the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht through the Government Policy on Architecture.