A Sense of Place, a Place of Senses: Land and a Landscape in the West of Ireland

Ponies Out of Place? Wild Animals, Wilderness and Environmental Governance

“…This continues to be the case in the anthropological exploration of humananimal relations under postmodern conditions. On a personal level, I admit to having been taken aback when long-term residents of Coffin Bay first told me that the landscape out on the peninsula was no more than mere 'scrubland', not least because I had recently spent a year close by a similar geological formation, the sheer barrenness and bleakness of which made it a place of physical beauty and source of spiritual uplift for many who lived within it, or on its margins (Peace 2005). …”

Commodification and Conflict: What Can the Irish Approach to Protected Area Management Tell Us?

“…The debates and legal proceedings over Mullaghmore had ''significant consequences 386 N. Healy and J. McDonagh for the exercise of power at a national level'' (Peace 2005, 508) and expanded the authority and responsibility of Irish environmental authorities. When the Mullaghmore development began, the Irish state ardently considered itself to be exempt from planning permission for OPW developments (Leonard 2006;Peace 2005). However, due to the legal and political opposition taken by BAG, this was overturned (Peace 2005).…”

“…The pro-Mullaghmore supporters focused on the likely stimulation of the local economy, improvement of road infrastructure, and a streamlining of tourist numbers. Supported by the Burren National Park Support Association (a network of local businessmen, farmers and local community members), the group viewed the proposal through utilitarian spectacles, perceiving Mullaghmore as an important economic tool in a largely deprived rural region (Peace 2005). As the dispute progressed, it was increasingly interpreted as an ''insider-outsider,'' ''rural-urban'' conflict.…”

“…Building permission for the visitor center was refused 9 years after the center proposal was first announced (Peace 2005). The ruling also called for the removal of car parks and other construction work on the site at a cost of IR£1.2 million (approx.…”

“…After the unveiling of the development, the Burren Action Group (BAG) was set up by a small group of individuals dismayed by the State's proposal (Peace 2005). This opposition group quickly expanded to include influential academics, national environmental organizations including An Taisce (National Environmental Trust) and The Heritage Council, and international groups such as World Wildlife Fund, Plantlife, and the World Conservation Union.…”