Impact of the ‘troubles’ in Ireland – Research Symposium

Funded by the Dublin City University and Ulster University Joint Research Workshops Programme, a major symposium on the impact of conflict across Ireland was hosted recently by DCU University Library. The symposium brought together research librarians and academics from both universities’ libraries, the DCU Historic Collections Research Centre, the DCU Institute for International Conflict Resolution and Reconstruction, the UU-Queen’s Northern Ireland Social and Political Archive and the UU International Conflict Research Institute.

Professor Gillian Robinson of Ulster University said, ‘The DCU – Ulster workshop on the impact of the ‘troubles’ in Ireland provided a wonderful opportunity to explore our unique online and digital resources, to identify areas of common research interest and to plan in an innovative way for the future preservation and accessibility of these resources.’ In particular, the symposium of 22 leading experts in their respective fields was focused on discussing future options for Ulster’s world-renowned CAIN (Conflict Archive on the Internet) website. CAIN is the largest and most comprehensive digital archive relating to the conflict on the island of Ireland, often referred to as ‘the troubles.’

Dr Walt Kilroy of Dublin City University said, ‘So many interesting ideas and possibilities for joint research and dissemination emerged during these discussions. This has been an important opportunity for us all to see what can be done together in the short and medium term future.’ The two-day symposium discussed many of the complex aspects of the conflict in Ireland from memory and commemoration to political and social responses to the past. The future of relations across the island of Ireland in what remains a multifaceted and at times challenging period of development was a key point of debate, particularly as to how personal views can be archived alongside documentary and political materials.

Christopher Pressler of Dublin City University said. ‘This symposium was a critically important opportunity for the libraries and institutes of both universities to come together and discuss the design and interpretation of collections and research themes on the intricately stimulating issue of archiving the memory of conflict in Ireland.’ Significant further areas of discussion and development that emerged from the symposium included new areas of research, the development of PhD programmes in conflict resolution, public engagement with memory and collections and areas of collaboration between the two universities on digital and physical infrastructure.

The symposium was organised by Professor Gillian Robinson of Ulster University and Dr Walt Kilroy and Christopher Pressler of Dublin City University