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...

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...

New Post on Slugger: Review of ‘Beauty through Broken Windows’

I have a new post on the Slugger O’Toole blog, a review of a new book called ‘Beauty through Broken Windows’, published on Sunday, the World Day of the Poor.

The book is inspired by the legacy of Edmund Rice, … Read more...

‘The past is not a place to which we would wish to return’: Shannon Campbell on the Unity Pilgrim Resources

In June there was a formal launch of Clonard Monastery’s new ‘Unity Pilgrim’ resources, which are now freely available for use in churches and among young people.

Shannon Campbell, Director of the Catholic Chaplaincy at Queen’s, was the main … Read more...

Learning from Fr Gerry Reynolds and Fr Alec Reid: New Resources for Churches and Young People

The ministries of Fr Gerry Reynolds and Fr Alec Reid, Redemptorists at Clonard Monastery in Belfast, have been recognized as vital to Northern Ireland’s peace process.

Nearly a quarter-century after the Good Friday Agreement, their work of peace remains unfinished … Read more...

Churches as Sources of Hope in a Society Emerging from Covid-19

Last month, I was guest speaker at a conference on ‘The Importance of Hope’, organised by ‘Flourish’, a ministry of Lighthouse in Belfast.

Drawing on my research on religion during the pandemic, I spoke on ‘Something Other than a Building: … 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...