RUINation event brings together scholars and artists from across Ireland and the UK

2 Apr 2026

On March 23, an interdisciplinary panel which included Dr Harald Fredheim (University of York) Gareth Kennedy (National College of Art and Design) Dr Philip Lawton (TCD) Dr Katrina Maguire (Limerick School of Art and Design) Robert O’Bryne (Irish Georgian Society) Shane O’Driscoll (Ardú Cork) Dr Kathleen Stokes (DCU) discussed how ruination, the wilful destruction or deliberate abandonment of a building, intersects with aesthetics, identity, climate change, and Ireland’s housing crisis. This conversational workshop explored collaborative pathways through the issues that de-centre the authorised voice.

RUINation is led by Sarah Kerr, Sarah Bezan, Maedhbh Nic Lochlainn, Jesse Peterson and made possible, in part, by support from UCC Futures - Future Humanities Institute. 

It is an irreversible process that leaves buildings vacant and unable to perform their original functions. It is also, however, transformation: but not only in the sense of decay and dereliction, it also brings about creativity and production.

RUINation allows for the creation of unofficial green spaces in urban centres and they can become sites for creativity, art and socialising.

Ruins are a part of the urban fabric that contribute to cultural identify, sense of place and sense of self. In recent years, accelerated by social media, we’ve seen an increase in urban ruin exploration, we’re now familiar with term like “ruin porn” and “ruinophilia” in reference to favoured ruination aesthetics.

These are evidence of how ruins, as unofficial heritage, are perhaps just as important and enjoyed as the official, state-managed built heritage. All of this sits uncomfortably alongside a specific Irish problem: the housing crisis. Ireland’s quantity of abandoned and decaying buildings outstrips the amount seen in other countries due to specific political and economic drivers including the speculative capitalism of pre 2008.

This has contributed to this shocking statistic: there are at least 163,433 empty buildings in Ireland. This event asked how should these buildings be considered. Are these overlooked heritage “assets” or heritage in the making? Should or could these buildings be considered in a similar manner to State-managed ruins? That is, favoured as intrinsically valuable and a gift for future generations? Or do these buildings have a right to decay? Should they be demolished and replaced with appropriate housing? What is selected for demolition and renovation, and why? 

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For more on this stry please contact skerr@ucc.ie