Negotiating heritage after conflict: Perspectives from Northern Ireland

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides a brief account of the political history of the region, divided into three phases. It focuses on moments of what might be termed heritage construction: first, the consolidation of unionist identity through monumental buildings; second, the growing confidence of nationalist and republican communities expressed through remembrance and murals; and later the dual uses of heritage. The book discusses how the events of 1968 in Northern Ireland are remembered contributes to an understanding of how discourses of exceptionalism have conditioned and are conditioned by dominant narratives of insularity that present Northern Ireland as exceptional. It explores how the heritage sector has sought to recognise the rights of these new citizens in developing inclusive practices that go beyond the binary oppositions of the conflict.