Material and Intangible Interventions as Future- Making Heritage at Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin
Issue: Vol 6 No. 1 (2019) Special Issue: Futurity, Time, and Archaeology
Journal: Journal of Contemporary Archaeology
Subject Areas: Archaeology
DOI: 10.1558/jca.34566
Abstract:
This paper uses archaeological studies of political imprisonment in Ireland to show how (im)material interventions at Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin are central to understanding evolving identity and memory in post-partition Ireland. This heritage prison is not only an “icon” of historical struggle, it is a material entity where archaeological methodologies can help to uncover the past realities of imprisonment. Furthermore, it is a highly political place in the present where conflict continues regarding who “wins” the peace in the realm of public memory. This paper argues that archaeological approaches to a transitional heritage site are ideally placed to illuminate not only experiences of its functional past but also its evolving relationship with contemporary society as a form of future-making.
Author: Laura McAtackney
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