This weekend a number of news reports claimed that the PSNI has requested that journalistic material from the US broadcaster CBS and the British newspaper, the Sunday Telegraph concerning Dolours Price and the abduction and ‘disappearance’ of Jean McConville be handed over to detectives investigating her death.
 |
| 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.
Guest writer Mark McGregor with a piece on the Decade of Centenaries.
Saturday (29.09.12) saw the first showpiece event in what has been called a ‘Decade of Centenaries’. Tens of thousands of Orangemen, bandsmen, political Unionism and members of loyalist paramilitary groups marched en masse through Belfast to Stormont to celebrate the signing of the Ulster Covenant. While there was little trouble around event, beyond traditional disrespect outside Catholic churches, it should give pause for thought on how such commemorations are conducted, their role and purpose.
The following notice provides information about an upcoming book launch: In the Footsetps of Anne. The book details the experience of republican women imprisoned during the republican war with the British state.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
