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| Photo by Ida Milne |
- Introduction
- Origins of the Belfast Project
- Purpose of the Belfast Project
- Confidentiality and Copyright
- Process that led to the publication of the book and the issues surrounding it, including the threat to researchers’ and participants’ safety
- The Press and Dolours Price
- Boston College’s response to the subpoena and the subsequent legal action brought by myself and the Project Director, Ed Moloney, against the US Government to stop the subpoena
- Progress of the case
- Protections and the egregious role of institutions housing material from the perspective of John Lowman and Ted Palys
- In terms of conflict resolution, oral history can play a large part in dealing with legacy issues
- Conclusion
Introduction
The trials and tribulations of the Belfast Project if nothing else should serve as a salutary lesson to oral historians who opt to capture narratives of an acutely sensitive nature. Like other history the oral component often deals with a safe subject, posing no risk to the researcher, research participants or the research project. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with that. But history construction, particularly that which seeks to excavate armed conflict is often going to unearth knowledge that is frequently more toxic, than safe.
