Prof. Niall Ó Dochartaigh on Northern Ireland conflict

Presented as part of Collective Knowledges: Galway Arts Centre’s Public Engagement Programme in association with Array Collective’s “The Druthaib’s Ball”- a weekly series of public events with social justice groups, artists, academics, and musicians with talks, workshops, traditional music sessions, dance, storytelling and song.

Dr Niall Ó Dochartaigh will lead a discussion based around his extensive research and recent publications on peace negotiations in Northern Ireland. This talk will focus on the influence of colonial experiences on peace negotiations in Northern Ireland.

Niall Ó Dochartaigh is a Professor of Political Science and Sociology and Director of the MA in Public Policy at the National University of Ireland Galway. He has published extensively on the history of the Northern Ireland conflict, on peace negotiations and on territorial conflict. His publications include Civil Rights to Armalites: Derry and the birth of the Irish Troubles and the co-edited books Political Violence in Context and Dynamics of Political Change in Ireland: Making and Breaking a Divided Island. His most recent book, Deniable Contact: Back-channel Negotiation in the Northern Ireland Conflict provides the first full-length study of the secret negotiations and back-channels that were used in repeated efforts to end the Northern Ireland conflict. It was one of four books shortlisted for the 27th Christopher Ewart-Biggs Literary Prize and was awarded a Special Commendation Prize in the National University of Ireland Historical Research Prize.

Galway Arts Centre’s Public Programme is supported by Creative Ireland and University of Galway.