The ecosystem services (ES) concept emerged as a metaphor to demonstrate humanity’s dependence on the natural environment and is increasingly applied to frame human-nature relationships in conservation science, policy and practice. This paper aims to enhance understanding of how the ES concept is applied for ecosystem management and biodiversity conservation in the Irish context, with further applicability to international contexts. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with stakeholders involved in ES research, policy and practice to understand and reflect a variety of perspectives. Three contexts of ecosystem management in Ireland are examined as focal points for the ES framing: natural capital and ES research; Agri-Environment schemes as types of Payments for ES; and collaborative forms of governance for peatland conservation. Specifically, we examine the idea of conceptual innovation as a process where concepts evolve in time and space as they are applied by different societal actors. The contexts examined demonstrate a variety of perceptions and show the scope for agency in how concepts are applied when they meet local realities. The research also demonstrates how alternative concepts and ideas are continuously emerging in societal discourse, and suggests the need to develop ‘networks of concepts’ that can work together to manage the politics, power relations and inequities inherent in the application of any concept. Fostering transparency and reflection on values, language and how knowledge is produced helps make visible power dynamics underlying the ES concept and encourages the development of ES approaches that are effective, inclusive and actionable. Developing concepts from a process perspective has implications for changing the course of a concept as its future unfolds. Following from this, we suggest the need to map an emancipatory future agenda for ES research that centres the voices of those researching, participating and acting ‘from the margins’.