Decision-making and Contested Heritage in Northern Ireland: The Former Maze Prison/Long Kesh

The former Maze Prison/Long Kesh in Lisburn, near Belfast, is one of the primary sites associated with the ‘The Troubles’ in Northern Ireland. Controversy about the site's future makes it clear that the redevelopment of contested heritage cannot be divorced from the policy process of a negotiated settlement between opposed communities and parties. However, research indicates that, despite the stated ‘inclusive’ intent of the Maze/Long Kesh redevelopment, decision-making about the site is often viewed as removed from stakeholder interests and input. Instead, many see plans for, as well as ongoing arguments about, the site redevelopment as determined by party politics, as well as parochial interests pitting those based in Lisburn against others in Belfast. Thus, community-level and other stakeholder interests are often perceived to be ignored. Findings are informed by in-depth interviews with representatives from two loyalist and three republican ex-prisoner groups, each representing different paramilitary factions, as well as a loyalist cultural organisation, a cross-community victims'/survivors' group and a community relations charity. The material is balanced by further interviews with senior civil servants and politicians from both nationalist and unionist parties.