ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the realm of rural place promotion in Ireland; more specifically it focuses on the utilization of elements of local heritage in promoting or regenerating rural localities. Community-based tourism and heritage projects have been major beneficiaries of rural development funding in Ireland. Community based heritage projects pre-suppose that the residents of the locality have a shared sense of that past and that they can agree on what are legitimate elements to portray. The chapter outlines several examples of the utilization of local heritage. It focuses on different types of heritage-related projects in Ireland which have been recipients of European Union (EU) LEADER funding. Information derived from field research, brochures, publicity material and websites produced by local groups and material provided from EU LEADER sources indicates a number of apparent foci in rural heritage projects in the Republic of Ireland.
