Project News

Are Apologies for Historical Institutional Abuse Possible? In this blog, Professor Anne-Marie McAlinden looks at some of the possibilities and challenges of constructing and delivering effective public apologies for historical institutional abuse. To read the article please click here.

Apologies, Abuses and the National Imagination: Dealing with the Past in Northern Ireland Professor McEvoy was invited to present a paper at a public seminar titled ‘Understanding the “Age of Apology”‘ organised by the ERC funded Political Apologies Across Cultures project at Tilburg University, Netherlands. See further: Happening tomorrow: Seminar … Continue reading “Professor Kieran McEvoy Invited to Participate in Apologies Across Cultures Conference”

26 November 2021 More than 100 participants joined Professor Kieran McEvoy, Professor Anne-Marie McAlinden, Dr Anna Bryson, Professor Muiris Mac Carthaigh and Professor Shadd Maruna for their closing project conference. The team presented their findings with respect to a public attitudes survey (involving more than 1000 face to face interviews … Continue reading “Final Project Conference on Apologies, Abuses and Dealing with the Past”

Interview with Barney Rowan for UTV in 2017 on the role of apologies and other transitional justice mechanisms with regard to the legacy of the Northern Ireland conflict

The Apologies, Abuses and Dealing with the Past project’s survey data was reported in The Irish Times article ‘Study of apologies shows a sorry State‘ on 29 September 2018.

Dr Anna Bryson and Dr Muiris MacCarthaigh presented their paper ‘Public Apologies, Accountability and Blame-acceptance’ at the 115th American Political Science Association’s Annual Meeting & Exhibition ‘Populism and Privilege’ (August 29 – September 1, 2019 Washington, DC). The paper was presented under the panel theme of ‘Campaigns and Crises in … Continue reading “Dr Anna Bryson and Dr Muiris MacCarthaigh: ‘Public Apologies, Accountability and Blame-acceptance’”

Dr Muiris MacCarthaigh gave a presentation titled ‘The Role of Apologies in Dealing with the Past in Ireland’ at The 69th Political Studies Association Annual International Conference on ‘(Un)Sustainable Politics in a Changing World’ at the Nottingham Conference Centre in April 2019. The event was attended by other academics. Dr … Continue reading “Dr Muiris MacCarthaigh: ‘The Role of Apologies in Dealing with the Past in Ireland’”

Anne-Marie McAlinden, ‘The Role of Emotion, Remorse and Redemption in Addressing Historical Institutional Abuse by the Catholic Church in Ireland’ Paper presented at the panel, ‘Memories of Violence: Place, Time, Institution’, 8th Annual Conference of the Historical Dialogues, Justice and Memory Network, Columbia University, New York, 12-14 December 2019. Paper … Continue reading “Prof Anne-Marie McAlinden, ‘The Role of Emotion, Remorse and Redemption in Addressing Historical Institutional Abuse by the Catholic Church in Ireland’”

Anna Bryson and Muiris MacCarthaigh: ‘Accountability and Blame Acceptance in Ireland: The Role of Public Apologies’ Annual conference of the Political Studies Association of Ireland (PSAI) Maynooth University 19 October 2019.

Dr Muiris MacCarthaigh was invited to give a talk: ‘Accountability, Reputation and Apologies’ for the Accountable Governance research project at Utrecht University on 7 February 2020. His talk was followed by a question and answer session which sparked lively dialogue and debate.

On 7 March 2017, Prof Kieran McEvoy gave oral evidence to the House of Commons Defence Select Committee’s Investigation into Fatalities Involving British Military Personnel. His written report addresses the issue of the legality of a statute of limitations for armed forces who served in Northern Ireland.

MPod podcast episode by Prof Kieran McEvoy on ‘Transitional Justice: Definitions, Approaches and Apologies.’ Prof McEvoy was invited by the postgraduate team at the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice to talk on transitional justice and apologies in societies transitioning out of violent political conflicts. … Continue reading “‘Transitional Justice: Definitions, Approaches and Apologies’ MPod Podcast Episode by Prof Kieran McEvoy”

Prof Kieran McEvoy gave a presentation entitled ‘What is Transitional Justice’ (which included a discussion on the role of apologies) at the ‘Civil Unrest in Hong Kong Conference’ on Tuesday 21 January 2020 at The University of Hong Kong. The panel was named ‘Young People, Policing, and Transitional Justice’ and … Continue reading “Prof Kieran McEvoy presented ‘What is Transitional Justice’ at Civil Unrest in Hong Kong Conference”

In June 2019 Prof Kieran McEvoy gave the plenary address entitled ‘Apologies, Reparations and Non-State Armed Groups’ at the Geneva Reparations Week Conference in Geneva Switzerland. The address discussed what role apologies by non-state armed groups can play in providing symbolic reparations to victims in societies recovering from violent conflict. … Continue reading “Plenary Address by Prof Kieran McEvoy, ‘Apologies, Reparations and Non-State Armed Groups,’ Geneva Reparations Week Conference”

Prof Kieran McEvoy (PI) was invited to give a plenary address at a conference organised by The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) in Bogota Colombia. The JEP is the judicial mechanism developed as part of the 2016 Peace Accord between the Colombian government and the FARC. It is designed to … Continue reading “Plenary Address by Prof Kieran McEvoy, ‘Restorative Justice and Dealing With the Past After Conflict.’ The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), Bogota Colombia”

In June 2019 Prof Kieran McEvoy (PI) was invited to deliver a plenary address entitled ‘The Irish Peace Process and the Uneven Transfer of Ideas: Lessons for Colombia?’ at a conference organised by the Presidential Commission for the Establishment and Consolidation of Peace in Bogota, Colombia and the government of … Continue reading “Plenary Address By Prof Kieran McEvoy at the Presidential Commission for the Establishment and Consolidation of Peace Conference, Bogota, Colombia”

The 29th September 2018 marks the 10-year anniversary of the Irish government’s guarantee of the liabilities of all domestic banks – a controversial decision that turned private debt into sovereign debt and which had enormous implications for Irish economic, political and social life. To coincide with this anniversary, the project … Continue reading “Event at the Royal Irish Academy”