I’m delighted that my co-authored chapter – with Nicola Brady, General Secretary of the Irish Council of Churches – will be published in a special journal, ‘Dealing with the Legacy of Conflict in Northern Ireland through Engagement and Dialogue,’ published by the Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation in collaboration with the Irish Centre for Human Rights, NUI Galway and Ulster University.

Our chapter is titled, ‘The Churches, Reconciliation And Addressing The Legacy Of Intercommunal Violence In Northern Ireland.’

The journal will be launched at an online conference. on Wednesday 24 March, 9.30-12.30 pm. The keynote speaker is Professor Brendon Hamber, the John Hume and Thomas P. O’Neill Chair in Peace based at the International Conflict Research Institute (INCORE) at Ulster University.

There will also be a panel discussion featuring Geoffrey Corry, Joe Robinson, Dr. Heidi Riley, and Ashle Bailey-Gilreath.

For more information and to register for the free event, click here.

For a list of articles in the journal, click here.

Here is the abstract of our article:

Abstract: ‘The Churches, Reconciliation And Addressing The Legacy Of Intercommunal Violence In Northern Ireland.’

This article explores the role of churches in Northern Ireland since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, focusing on their efforts to promote reconciliation and address the legacy of intercommunal violence. The first part analyzes initiatives that took place between 1998-2015, including the Methodist Church’s Edgehill Reconciliation Programme, the Church of Ireland’s Hard Gospel project, the Presbyterian Church’s Peacebuilding Programme, and the Irish Churches Peace Project. It argues that their effectiveness was limited by a lack of financial investment by the churches themselves and by insufficient communication with their own grassroots. The second part analyzes two post-2015 initiatives that attempt to address the limitations of previous projects: The Church Leaders’ civil society dialogue initiative and the Presbyterian Church in Ireland’s ‘Considering Grace’ project. The Church Leaders’ initiative is potentially strengthening the churches’ collective voice on key issues, as it moves beyond joint statements to facilitating public dialogues. Considering Grace is attempting to address the communications failures of prior projects through a grassroots-level, facilitated dialogue on the legacy of intercommunal violence, framed around the concept of ‘gracious remembering’. It is too soon to evaluate the long-term impact of these initiatives. But it is significant that both have prioritized facilitated dialogue as a means to promoting reconciliation and addressing the legacy of intercommunal violence.