The history, significance and interpretative value of the Northern Ireland Prison Service Collection at the Ulster Museum.

In 2018, National Museums Northern Ireland (NMNI) acquired a collection of artefacts from prisons in Northern Ireland. My proposed PhD will address the significant interpretive value of this prison service collection in relation to exploring historical and contemporary justice in Northern Ireland (NI). Building upon the indicative research questions, this project will work with varied groups connected to the collection, such as ex-prisoners, ex-prison officers and family members of those affected by incarceration and internment, to interpret the artefacts, and engage with transitional justice practices. This will be achieved by using participatory community engagement initiatives, such as oral histories, group interviews and creative workshops. Acknowledging previous projects that address prison heritage within NI, this PhD's key aim is to provide a creative platform for yet unrecorded community- and collection-based perspectives on imprisonment and justice. Another primary objective is to seize this crucial transitional moment for this collection by engaging with ageing communities affected by imprisonment before their voices are lost, and to significantly increase understanding of this collection in light of potential heritagisation of local prison sites, such as Maze Long Kesh. Finally, through collaboration with the museum, this project aims to help bridge grassroot and institutional initiatives for memory and justice, expanding opportunities for collaboration.

My research questions will begin by addressing the history of the collection, namely building upon the indicative research question: how did the collection originate and how has it been developed and preserved over time? Through charting the history of its creation, I will explore how the collection can illuminate key phases of the conflict and the differing attitudes to incarceration during the Troubles. This leads into facilitating interpretative discussions with affected communities to establish the multiple narratives, values, identities and beliefs amongst those associated with imprisonment during this era. Inspired by these conversations and engaging with current literature on the topic that suggests storytelling can help access justice for those who participate, my primary research question asks how legal, historical, museological and contemporary mechanisms for capturing stories of incarceration can converge in the interest of community-centred justice. By using the prison collection's objects to prompt discussion and interpretation, I will address through storytelling methodologies how justice affects, and is represented within, the collection and community, and how the two can be mobilised to contribute to transitional justice initiatives.