Interpretation Planning
Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation
“Visioning Glencree’s legacy of peace”
Glencree is situated in a peaceful valley of the Wicklow Mountains, surrounded by stunning scenery. Since 1974 it has been the site of the Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation (GCPR), set up in response to the conflict in Northern Ireland.
The GCPR want to develop a visitor experience which interprets its layers of history for tourists, locals and GCPR attendees, while complementing its ongoing organisational needs.
Funded by a Heritage Council Community Grant, Tandem developed an Interpretive Strategy and Visioning Report.
We held an initial on-site workshop with the wider team at Glencree to discuss the potential for this experience, and absorb their knowledge and ambitions for the site.
The area available for the visitor experience was not defined yet, so we took a conceptual approach to the visitor journey – aided by sketches, moodboard images and themes & topic mapping.
We developed an emotive and educational visitor experience that interprets the layers of the site’s heritage, from the impact of founding member Una O’Higgins O’Malley to Glencree’s role in conflict resolution nationally and internationally today.
As part of our vision, we considered the whole site, including a café, wayfinding, outdoor orientation, and landscaping.
The ambition is that this is the first step towards a new era for Glencree, establishing it as unique visitor experience which provides opportunities to share the GCPR’s knowledge, practices and heritage.