Environmentalism and property rights: The mullaghmore interpretive centre dispute

This article applies recent work on the relations between property rights and public policy to the recent dispute about Mullaghmore in Co. Clare. In this dispute, State policy attempted to define the Burren landscape primarily in terms of its potential to generate revenue. The protesters of the Burren Action Group, however, succeeded in redefining the issue to take account of a more complex intersection of social, political, economic and environmental issues. The article analyses the complexities involved in this protracted process, connecting them with contemporary theories of property and its uses. Seeing the heritage industry as resources-led, it argues for a more holistic approach to the plight of rural areas.