Historical landscape studies in Ireland

Abstract

The article traces the development of landscape studies in Ireland from the founding fathers, E.E. Evans (Belfast), whose work focused on the relic features of traditional settlement and field patterns to T. Jones-Hughes (Dublin), who used the nineteenth-century government surveys in order to explore the importance of landholding and a fragmented cultural identity for the formation of the landscape in Ireland. Both geographers created schools who continued their work: R. Buchanan, D. McCourt and B. Proudfoot in the North, and W.J. Smyth, S. Smith, P. Duffy, W. Nolan, K. Whelan and P. O'Connor in the Republic. -An important facet of Irish Historic settlement studies is the exploration of historical cartography, an area in which J. Andrews is the unrivalled expert. The reconstruction of past landscapes was attempted by R. Glasscock (Belfast) and T. Barry (Dublin) following the methodology of the English deserted settlement school, while C. Doherty, H.B. Clarke, A. Empey, B. Graham and A. Simms used documentary evidence for the reconstruction of the Gaelic, the Viking and Anglo-Norman settlements respectively. Part of this discourse is the complex question of continuity in Irish settlement history. The sixteenth and seventeenth century Plantation schemes have been explored by P. Robinson, R. Gillespie and M. McCarthy, while a big research project undertaken by B. Graham and L. Proudfoot has shed light on the importance of the landlords in urban and rural improvements. The article briefly points towards key texts for historic settlement studies in Ireland. The contribution of major projects are discussed, including the Irish Historic Towns Atlas and the County Histories. A widening of the research agenda has occurred with the conceptualisation of landscapes as representation of culture, an approach that is evident in N. Johnston's and Y. Whelan's work on the importance of monuments. Other areas which need more research are the landscape of Gaelic Ireland and the neglected late-medieval period as well as comparative studies, within Ireland and between Ireland and the rest of Europe, and last but not least environmental history. Reference is made to bodies of source material. The appendix provides information on the legislative tools for the future protection of the Irish landscape and it discusses the structural difficulties inherent in the Irish system.