The Churches & Peacebuilding: Address at ‘The Primacy of Peace’ Conference

I delivered an address on ‘The Churches and Peacebuilding – Before and After the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement’ at the ‘Primacy of Peace’ conference on 24 October 2023 at the Marketplace Theatre, Armagh.

The purpose of the conference was to promote … Read more...

Tribute to Professor John Brewer

On Wednesday, Queen’s University hosted an event marking the retirement of Professor John Brewer. John has had a tremendous impact on international scholarship, as well as on my own personal career. (It appears John will have an active ‘retirement’, as … Read more...

The Churches & Peacebuilding: Past, Present and Future

On Tuesday 18 April I participated in a panel on ‘Peacebuilding’ at Queen’s University’s Agreement25 Conference.

You can read the full text of my remarks here.

Image from Clonard Reconciliation ministry, including Fr Alec Reid and Fr Gerry Reynolds… Read more...

Reconciliation Fund Marks Publication of Considering Grace: Presbyterians and the Troubles

Last week, the Irish Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs hosted a special event in Iveagh House, Dublin, to mark the publication of my book, co-authored with Jamie Yohanis, Considering Grace: Presbyterians and the Troubles.

As reported on the Presbyterian Church Read more...

Religion & the University Experience in Britain and Northern Ireland with Mathew Guest and me …

On Thursday 9 March the Queen’s Religious Studies Forum hosted an event on Religion and the University Experience: Perspectives from Britain & Northern Ireland, featuring Prof Mathew Guest (Durham) and me.

You can listen to the audio of our contributions … Read more...

New Post on Slugger – Review of ‘The Ghost Limb’ by Claire Mitchell

I have reviewed Claire Mitchell’s new book, Ghost Limb: Alternative Protestants and the Spirit of 1798, on the Slugger O’Toole blog. You can read it here.Read more...

Can there be Peace? The Troubles and Faith Leaders in Northern Ireland – Roundtable in Lowell, Mass

On Tuesday I participated in a roundtable on, ‘Can there be Peace? Faith Leaders and Healing after Violent Conflict’, sponsored by the Office of the Provost at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell.

The event was attended by members of … Read more...

Kroc Institute Lecture: Rethinking the Role of Clergy in Violence and Peacebuilding

Earlier this month, I spoke at the University of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies on ‘Rethinking the Role of Clergy in Violence and Peacebuilding’ (12 April).

The lecture was initiated by the Kroc Institute’s Contending Modernities initiative … Read more...

Fortnight Review of ‘Considering Grace: Presbyterians and the Troubles’ by Claire Mitchell: ‘a gritty and poignant exploration’

Claire Mitchell has reviewed Considering Grace: Presbyterians and the Troubles, by Jamie Yohanis and me, in Northern Ireland’s Fortnight magazine (January 2022 edition). 

Mitchell, a writer based in Belfast and a former sociologist at Queen’s University, calls the book … Read more...

The 4 Corners Festival & the Unfinished Work of Peace: Irish Council of Churches AGM

Last week (31 March) I took part in a panel discussion at the Irish Council of Churches 99th Annual General Meeting at Skainos in East Belfast. The theme of the AGM was ‘The Unfinished Work of Peace’. Church of Ireland … Read more...

Julia Newton Wins Sídh (Postgraduate) Essay Prize

Julia Newton, a graduate of Queen’s MA in Conflict Transformation and Social Justice, has won the Irish Society for the Academic Study of Religion’s 2021 Sídh (Postgraduate) Essay Prize.

Julia’s essay, which addressed the question,‘Whose Chosen Nation: An Analysis Read more...