Apologies, Abuses and Dealing with the Past: A Socio-Legal Analysis

Lead Research Organisation: Queen's University Belfast
Department Name: Sch of Law

Abstract

CONTEXT

This project will examine the relationship between apologies, abuses and dealing with the past. Using the island of Ireland as a case-study, the project will explore a range of wider themes concerning the ways in which apologies have been constructed, delivered and received beyond the state. It will focus on apologies for harms inflicted by paramilitaries, churches and the corporate sector. In addition, international and comparative research will be conducted by a PhD student (funded by QUB) to explore the resonance of these themes in other contexts.

At a conceptual level, the notion of apology is diversely theorised and almost always focused on the state. Despite widespread acceptance that apologies are key to dealing with past wrongs, in practice the theoretical literature is rarely informed by detailed empirical assessment of the views of apologisers, victims or the general public.

States, armed groups, churches and large corporations have in recent decades apologised for past wrongs, albeit with mixed results. For victims, apologies often appear to be an important element of dealing with the past. However, in practice the precise interplay between apology and notions such as accountability, reconciliation, truth and legitimacy is little understood. More generally, while 'saying sorry' is almost a given as an acknowledgement of hurt, there have been few efforts to develop a nuanced grasp of what constitutes a legitimate apology and how the drafting, performance and reception of such apologies may or may not assist in coming to terms with past wrongs. Through exploring the perspectives of perpetrators, victims and community, this project seeks to provide a comprehensive and rigorous analysis of the role of apologies in dealing with the past.

AIM

Using Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland as a case-study, this project will explore the role of apologies in dealing with past harms linked to paramilitary violence, institutional child abuse and the economic crisis. A QUB-funded PhD student will explore the resonance of these themes in select international contexts.

OBJECTIVES

1. To explore a range of themes concerning the construction, delivery and reception of apologies in dealing with the past including: apologies and law; apologies and accountability; apologies, acknowledgement and truth; apologies timing, choreography and performance; apologies, legitimacy and audience; apologies and leadership; apologies, reconciliation and follow through; apologies and imagined communities.

2. To deploy a research methodology involving an extensive analysis of academic and policy literature and archival research; semi-structured interviews with 'perpetrators', victims and key policy makers and opinion formers; focus groups with victims; and a CAPI survey (and focus groups) with members of the general public.

3. To disseminate the findings and academic and policy outputs through a project website, twitter, blogs, stakeholder seminars, a major international conference and presentations at a range of international and national conferences. Publications will include one monograph, at least four articles/book chapters, six policy documents and 12 blogs.

POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS AND BENEFITS

The project is designed to develop a deeper understanding of the role of apologies in dealing with the past. Previous research on apologies has often been confined to disciplinary silos. Premised on the understanding that apologies are usually shaped by legal implications, this project will seek to develop a bridge-head between law and other fields including politics, philosophy, anthropology, history, sociology and psychology. While drawn from the experience of Ireland, a more holistic understanding of the role of apologies will be of interest to academics, policy makers and activists in any society struggling to come to terms with the harms of the past.

Planned Impact

Since the research will focus on apologies linked to a range of different types of past wrongs (paramilitary violence; institutional child abuse; and the economic crisis) this project will have multiple beneficiaries. The nature of the impact for each will be different. In the short term, beneficiaries can broadly be divided into 'apologisers' (those who have historically constructed and delivered apologies or who are currently doing so); primary, secondary and tertiary 'victims' (direct victims, their families, as well as the wider public) in Ireland, North and South. In the medium to longer-term, via presentations at international conferences and dissemination of policy and academic outputs, the findings will resonate at national (both jurisdictions) and international levels. They will inform political leaders, policy makers, victims and victims' groups, and a range of international stakeholders who are grappling with related challenges.

The timing for work on apologies in Ireland could not be more apposite. Both the British and Irish governments are slated to introduce dealing with the past legislation in autumn 2015 and thereafter to make statements of acknowledgement regarding their respective roles in the conflict. Similar actions will be expected from paramilitaries and others. There are ongoing public inquiries North and South into child abuse by religious authorities (due to report in 2017 and 2018 respectively). A Parliamentary Inquiry into the banking crisis in Ireland is in progress and has already provoked a debate about the efficacy of apologies from politicians, policy makers and corporate officials.

As is detailed in the CVs and Pathways to Impact, McEvoy, Bryson, McAlinden and MacCarthaigh have strong pre-existing relationships with victim organisations across the sectors. We will consult with such groups on their needs regarding apologies before finalising the 6 policy outputs and 12 blogs. Anticipated themes could include: user-friendly advice on the legal consequences of apologies; the management of expectations; and whether, when and how to engage with 'perpetrator' organisations. The project will also hold a series of seminars at the beginning, mid-point and end of the project (rotating between the two jurisdictions). Working through and with representative bodies, we anticipate an immediate impact for victims, both nationally and internationally.

With regard to apologising organisations, again the team has strong links. Potential impact relates to enhancing the knowledge, skills and capacity necessary to deliver a genuine or 'meaningful' apology. For example, as discussed in the Case for Support, one specific planned output is a universal template on how to construct a 'legitimate' apology encompassing drafting, engaging with victims, timing, delivery, choreography, legal ramifications, etc. Impact will be achieved through the policy outputs, blogs, project website, twitter and final conference.

More broadly, asking fundamental questions (such as whether 'saying sorry' is ever enough), raises 'big' societal issues about apologies and how they relate to healing, remorse, memorialisation and reconciliation. Public engagement on these and other issues will be facilitated by the survey and focus groups with the general public, the project website, planned blogs (12) and the project twitter account. The website will include short video clips relaying the key findings and relevance of the research as well as anonymised excerpts from interviews and focus groups (pending permission). QUB press office will help promote the project throughout.

The research findings have the potential to inform national and international policy-making. Political leaders, policy makers, academics, local NGOs and research participants will be invited to the project conference. The policy papers, blogs and academic outputs will be widely disseminated.
 
Description Generation of New Knowledge

This comparative interdisciplinary research project set out to explore the role of public apologies across three discrete sites of harm on the island of Ireland - the conflict, , historical institutional abuse, and the economic crisis. Our extensive (221pp) literature review (law, transitional justice, anthropology, sociology, social psychology, history, political science, management studies) indicated that existing research on apologies remains largely theoretical heavily influenced by early research by Tavuchis and Goffman and correspondingly that there is comparatively little empirical work on victim or offender perspectives. While social psychologists have attempted to test theories relating to apologies these studies generally involve student participants responding to notional scenarios. With the exception of law and management and communication (which tend to operate within silos) the literature on apologies is inherently interdisciplinary with extensive citation across areas. State rather than non-state actor apologies also tend to dominate the academic literature.

Our research set out to address these gaps by focusing primarily on non-state actors and eliciting the perspectives of primary, secondary and tertiary victims, apologisers and the general public. This was achieved by designing and delivering:
• A general population survey involving face to face interviews with a broadly representative sample of adults living in Ireland, North and South (n = 1007 ; 509 female/498 male)
• 14 focus groups with members of the general population
• 12 focus groups with victims and survivors (4 focus groups per sector)
• 68 in-depth semi-structured interviews with a range of victims and apologisers across the three sites of analysis

In the quantitative analysis of the survey data, we found that the general public are overwhelmingly in favour of further public apologies as a necessary part of dealing with the legacy of past harms. Across all three study sites (the conflict, institutional abuse, and the banking crisis), the vast majority of respondents agreed that responsible parties have not adequately apologised to date and that further apologies are required. When asked whether further apologies from all responsible actors would be helpful to society as a whole, 73% answered as 'strongly agree' (48%) or 'agree' (25%). Only 4% of the sample agreed with the notion that 'people should just move on' (this response was highest amongst respondents between 18 and 24 with 10% agreeing to this in this age group).

In focus groups, we explored what makes for a sincere and effective apology. Here, it was clear that apologies alone were deemed inadequate and must be evaluated in light of a range of other variables. Another issue that came to light in these focus groups was that certain apologies have resonated in the public's memory more strongly than others. Like respondents to the survey, focus group respondents (wrongly) felt that some responsible groups had "never once said sorry" for the harm they had caused. When presented with evidence of the contrary (in the form of recorded public apologies from different key actors), focus group members dismissed the apologies as insincere or illegitimate based on both internal factors (presentation, language, etc) and external factors (lack of follow-through, later contradictory behaviours, etc).

To further probe this gap between reality and reception, we engaged in more empirical work to establish an archive of extant public apologies. This was broken down for key groups. This databank was complemented by analysis of the media coverage of iconic apologies (and coded alongside the literature review).
Another key component of our field research was the 68 in-depth qualitative interviews with victims, ex-combatants, victim advocates, lawyers, politicians, social workers, church leaders, corporate bankers and others. This multifaceted dataset was coded and analysed using NVivo 12 software according to 28 carefully selected parent nodes or themes and 141 'child' nodes or sub-themes.

Our work with victims highlighted the importance of accountability and moral leadership - taking responsibility for the infliction of harm and moreover for repair and guarantees of non-recurrence. It also underlined the different functions of an apology for victims (including acknowledgement of wrongdoing or harm; symbolic and emotional reparation; a counter-weight to stigma and shame). Our empirical work with apologisers informed understanding of the ways in which timing, choreography, legitimacy, audience and leadership affect the sincerity and legitimacy of an apology. We also probed key issues such as 'who' should deliver an apology and how this affects how an apology is received by victims.

This research ultimately informed our template for an effective apology which features in a number of the project outputs, notably in the report on apologies commissioned by the UN Special Rapporteur for Transitional Justice. The UN became aware of our work and asked PI McEvoy and CI Bryson to write a report on the use of apologies in post conflict and post authoritarian societies as well as a practical 'how to apologise' guide. A version of that report was presented to the UN General Assembly in 2019 has been made available on the UN website in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Mandarin and Russian. The latter was then used by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in the design and delivery of a court ordered apology for the crime of kidnapping throughout the Colombia conflict.

New research questions opened up
This research project brought to light a range of issues that must be considered in order for an apology to be considered truly 'victim-centred'.
These include:
1. Consultation with those to whom apology is addressed
2. Consultation within apologising constituency
3. Naming and acknowledging of a harm deliberately or negligently inflicted
4. Truthful admission of individual, organisational, or collective responsibility
5. Statement of remorse and regret related to the wrongful act/s or omission
6. Delivered in a context (sometimes choreographed with other events) designed to maximise potential of the apology
7. Delivered by person(s) with credibility to 'speak for' the organisation or institution
8. Delivered with due respect, dignity and sensitivity to the victimised
9. Credible promise of non-recurrence
10. Appropriate compensation or reparations
We found surprisingly little research on the gender dimensions of the apology process and thus included a dedicated question on this in our research instrument. We initially assumed that women might be more inclined to apologise and to accept an apology but this was not substantiated by the empirical research. Our analysis of this element of the research is ongoing.

Negative results or research paths closed off
Reflecting on the early focus groups with victims of historical institutional abuse (HIA), the team felt that it would be unethical to continue with subsequent sessions as participants were speaking over one another and asking questions among themselves about compensation. Thus, no further focus groups with victims of HIA were conducted. Additional one-to-one interviews were conducted with victims instead. Likewise we decided not to start a project twitter account as it was clear from our focus groups that the issues arising were so sensitive and potentially damaging that it would not be appropriate to mediate them via this type of online social platform.

New research networks/collaborations/partnerships
Our empirical work demanded that we develop good working relations with a wide range of apologising and victim organisations. In the case of the conflict, for example, we engaged in dozens of bi-lateral and stakeholder meetings to clear the ground for fieldwork and to discuss the potential application of our research on apologies in public life. Likewise, in the case of historical institutional abuse it was necessary to develop existing relationships with victims' representative organisations and to cultivate new alliances with key stakeholder groups. This engagement enabled us to design and deliver three high-profile stakeholder seminars and to ensure that our research reached the relevant target audiences.

As part of our ethical commitment to give 'something back' to our research participants we produced a range of practical reports, blogs and podcasts designed to assist victims' advocate organisations and civil society and community groups. We also presented our research at numerous academic and public policy forums including the Knowledge Exchange Seminar Series (KESS) at Stormont Parliament Buildings. Through these dissemination activities our work has directly informed policy makers and politicians tasked with developing public apologies.
Exploitation Route Academic
Our research is beginning to have an impact on the broader socio-legal community (as reflected in recent publications in Legal Studies and under review by the Journal of Law and Society). In particular we have examined the relationship between apologies and restorative justice (see article in International Journal of Restorative Justice) and as a form of reparations in transitional justice (see forthcoming articles in Journal of Human Rights Practice). We have also made a significant contribution to the literature on apologies in the international law/politics and political science community (as reflected in publications Fordham Journal of International Law and in Irish Political Studies). Work on further academic articles and a monograph is under way.

Non-academic
As noted, our work has developed in close consultation with a range of policy, practitioner and victim advocacy groups. It has informed numerous policy reports published on our sister website www.dealingwiththepastni.com and the bespoke apologies project reports and blogs listed on www.apologies-abuses-past.org.uk. As discussed further in the Narrative Impact we were invited by the Archbishop of Canterbury in November 2020 to present our findings on apologies to a select group of stakeholders including the Permanent Secretary of the NIO, the chief legal advisor to the British Army and senior officials from the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs. A number of the attendees subsequently asked for a copy of our apologies template to help inform their organisation's crafting of future apology processes. Our work has also recently garnered the attention of those tasked with crafting a public apology in light of institutional abuse in Northern Ireland and was cited directly by the recent apology from a range of Ministers in the the Northern Ireland Executive on this matter.
Sectors Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections
URL https://apologies-abuses-past.org.uk/
 
Description Impact on 'Dealing with the Past' Debates in Northern Ireland This project was partly inspired by a commitment in the Stormont House Agreement (signed by the British and Irish governments and the five main political parties in Northern Ireland in Dec 2014) to implement a range of mechanisms to deal with the legacy of the past. It included a commitment on the part of the two governments to consider the issue of apologies and statements of acknowledgment. Two members of the 'Apologies, Abuses and Dealing with the Past' team have been directly involved in efforts to inform the outworking of that Agreement, including with reference to the issues of apologies. As part of this advocacy work they have been involved in producing numerous open access policy reports, legal advice, problem solving models to resolve political stand-offs, a draft legislative bill, submissions to parliamentary select committees and a very detailed response to a government bill. These documents have directly influenced the policy positions of the British and Irish government, key local political parties, civil society groups and victims' groups during an extensive period of political negotiation and public consultation on the past. Moreover, the British government's draft legislation to implement the Stormont House Agreement (released in May 2018) draws directly from the Model Bill produced by McEvoy et al. The combined significance of the team's research has been its impact upon the policy, practice and understanding of legal issues related to the past conflict in Northern Ireland including the complex issue of public apologies. Its reach has included civil society, legal and policy actors, politicians, the British and Irish governments and international interlocutors. It was only in the latter stages of the 'Apologies project' that the full scope of its potential impact has come into view. For example, at a 'dealing with the past' roundtable at Lambeth Palace in November 2020 (hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury) Anna Bryson and Kieran McEvoy presented papers on the conflict-related elements of our research on apologies. This included reference to our 'apology template' which details issues such as engagement with victims, timing, delivery, leadership and legal ramifications. The feedback from the diverse key stakeholders present (including the Permanent Secretary of the NIO, senior officials from Irish Department of Foreign Affairs, the chief legal advisor to British army, senior PSNI representatives, as well as loyalist and republican interlocutors) was extremely encouraging. A key element of the discussion focused on the notion of carefully choreographed and sequenced apologies as a 'catalyst for reconciliation' and a means of helping to break the log-jam on 'dealing with the past'. A number of the stakeholders requested a copy of the apologies template presented and indicated that they would welcome further training on our research findings. The team has since secured follow-on impact acceleration funding to further develop that work. Engagement with Special Jurisdiction for Peace in Colombia Following Professor Kieran McEvoy's invited plenary talk in June 2019 at the Presidential Commission for the Establishment and Consolidation of Peace conference in Bogota, Colombia, a team of senior Colombian judges expressed an interest in coming to Belfast to learn more about the implementation of transitional justice measures here, including the development of sincere and effective apologies. The judges are members of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) - the Colombian transitional justice mechanism designed to investigate, prosecute and punish those responsible for the most serious human rights violations committed during the armed conflict in Colombia. That trip was delayed due to COVID but contact is ongoing. He has also been in close contact with the Irish Embassy in Bogota and has been informed by them that the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group used our apology template when crafting the public apology delivered on 14 September 2020. In 2021 the Colombian rebel group FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) used the 'how to apologise' template written by the team when delivering a court ordered apology for the crime of kidnapping during the conflict. Apologies in Transitional Justice: Report for 74th Session of UN General Assembly In 2019 Professor Kieran McEvoy and Dr Anna Bryson were invited by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Guarantees of Non-Recurrence (Fabián Salvioli) to prepare a report on apologies for gross human rights violations and serious violations of international humanitarian law. They designed a questionnaire on public apologies that was circulated to all UN member states. This information was integrated with the findings of the Apologies, Abuses and Dealing with the Past project to produce an analysis of the legal and conceptual framework for crafting an apology, reflections on existing best practice and lessons learned on the issue, as well as recommendations for the design and implementation of future apologies. This report was presented at the 74th session of UN General Assembly in Oct 2019. The report was extremely well received by UN Ambassadors. A selection of the points highlighted at Assembly is set out below: Colombia - appreciated the importance of ensuring dialogue with victims and also the need to ensure positive media engagement. They also welcomed the advice regarding the participation of community and human rights organisations. Argentina - welcomed the opportunity to reflect on the 'right to truth' and on the most effective measures for breaking down barriers to participation of women in an apology process. Ireland - commended the report and noted the helpful examples of both good practice and potential pitfalls. USA - noted that victims needs are indeed paramount and that it is imperative to ensure that reparations programmes are comprehensive. EU - welcomed what they described as a 'thorough and well-structured report' - noted in particular the importance of adopting a gender sensitive approach, the need to understand the motivation for an apology and to take steps to ensure effective 'follow-through'. Switzerland - noted that apologies can be a powerful tool for transitional justice and wanted to learn more about how best to consult effectively with relevant constituencies. Belgium - learned about the importance of 'follow through' as well as the significance of reputation as a variable influencing apologies. Morocco - noted that the report is very relevant to their country. They were particularly interested in the issue of timing and the ways in which the apology process can be harmonised with other transitional justice approaches. China - noted that they learned that public apologies can be an important complement to reparations programmes. Impact on Debates on Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) The strand of work on HIA was motivated in part by the need to meaningfully consider an appropriate form of reparations for victims/survivors of HIA, including apology, in the wake of a string of high-profile public inquiries in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. In particular, more than five years ago, the Hart Inquiry into Historical Institutional Abuse (January 2017) recommended that a 'whole hearted and unconditional' official apology be given to victims of historical abuse in Northern Ireland. Campaigns for this apology have since been ongoing within Northern Ireland and Professor McAlinden has directly fed into these debates. Following the publication of recent reports on Mother and Baby Homes and Magalene Laundries in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (Jan-Feb 2021), Professor McAlinden was approached by several groups including Amnesty International UK, The Commissioner for Survivors of Institutional Childhood Abuse (COVSCIA) (Northern Ireland), and the independent Truth Recovery Design panel into Mother and Baby Institutions, Magdalene Laundries and Workhouses in Northern Ireland to provide an initial outline of the key issues for victims and survivors in thinking about redress, including the importance and form of an apology. This engagement includes a recent presentation at an on-line seminar organised by Amnesty International UK (March 2021) on 'learning the lessons' from previous state responses; and multiple on-line meetings with both the Commissioner for Survivors of ICA; and with the Truth Recovery Design Panel (summer-autumn 2021). The Report of the Northern Ireland Executive by the Truth Recovery Design Panel (October 2021) draws heavily on Professor McAlinden's recent publications in recommending an apology for survivors of Mother and Baby Institutions, Magdalene Laundries and Workhouses. The apologies research by Professor McAlinden related to historical institutional abuse was also cited by the Commissioner in the Northern Ireland Assembly in relation to 'core principles on what makes a good apology' (see Hansard, Committee for the Executive Office, 21 April 2021). In March 2022 the Northern Ireland Executive referred directly to Prof McAlinden's work when apologising on behalf of the state to the victims of institutional abuse. Impact on Debates on Corporate Banking Apologies It proved quite difficult to influence the public debates around addressing the legacies of the Irish banking and financial crisis of 2008. A senior member of the Irish Banking Culture Board, charged with addressing cultural failings within the industry, was due to attend the original closing event in person but this was suspended due to COVID-19. Co-I MacCarthaigh did publish research findings in Irish print media and the early findings presented at our interim event in the Royal Irish Academy were reported in the Irish Times. Contact was also made with banking staff trades unions but there was little interest in the issue. Co-I's MacCarthaigh and Bryson published findings from the three sites of analysis, including the banking sector, in the main Irish political science journal, Irish Politics Studies, in 2022.
First Year Of Impact 2016
Sector Government, Democracy and Justice
Impact Types Societal,Policy & public services
 
Description Invited to prepare report on Apologies for UN General Assembly
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
Impact In 2019, Professor Kieran McEvoy and Dr Anna Bryson were invited by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Guarantees of Non-Recurrence (Fabián Salvioli) to prepare a report on apologies for gross human rights violations and serious violations of international humanitarian law. They designed a questionnaire on public apologies that was circulated to all UN member states. This information was integrated with the findings of the Apologies, Abuses and Dealing with the Past project to produce an analysis of the legal and conceptual framework for crafting an apology, reflections on existing best practice and lessons learned on the issue, as well as recommendations for the design and implementation of future apologies. This report was presented at the 74th session of UN General Assembly in Oct 2019. The report was extremely well received by UN Ambassadors. A selection of the points highlighted at Assembly is set out below: Colombia - appreciated the importance of ensuring dialogue with victims and also the need to ensure positive media enagement. They also welcomed the advice regarding the participation of community and human rights organisations. Argentina - welcomed the opportunity to reflect on the 'right to truth' and on the most effective measures for breaking down barriers to participation of women in an apology process. Ireland - commended the report and noted the helpful examples of both good practice and potential pitfalls. USA - noted that victims needs are indeed paramount and that it is imperative to ensure that reparations programmes are comprehensive. EU - welcomed what they described as a 'thorough and well structured report' - noted in particular the importance of adopting a gender sensitive approach, the need to understand the motivation for an apology and to take steps to ensure effective 'follow-through'. Switzerland - noted that apologies can be a powerful tool for transitional justice and wanted to learn more about how best to consult effectively with relevant constituencies. Belgium - learned about the importance of 'follow through' as well as the significance of reputation as a variable influencing apologies. Morocco - noted that the report is very relevant to their country. They were particularly interested in the issue of timing and the ways in which the apology process can be harmonised with other transitional justice approaches. China - noted that they learned that public apologies can be an important complement to reparations programmes.
 
Description Major Influence on Public Conversation on NI Legacy Issues 2015-2021 - Part of a 4* REF Impact Case Study in REF 2021
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
Impact The combined significance of the research and impact of McEvoy, Mallinder and Bryson is its profound, sustained and multi-layered impact upon the legal, policy and public understanding of dealing with the legacy of the Northern Ireland (NI) conflict. First, their local and international research on amnesties, truth recovery and the value added of oral history to transitional justice has directly influenced efforts to deal with the past in NI since 2014. Second, working in partnership with the local human rights NGO the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), they have produced a substantial body of policy-focused research which has directly impacted political negotiations in NI (2014-2015), UK draft legislation (2018) and the deliberations of parliamentary select committees in the UK (2017/2019/2020) on legacy in NI. Third, from 2017, their research has directly influenced the political and public debate on a statute of limitations for security force veterans who served in NI. The reach of their impact has included the UK and Irish governments, NI political parties, civil society groups (including victims and survivors) and the United Nations
URL https://www.dealingwiththepastni.com/
 
Description Research used by FARC as basis for a court ordered apology for the crime of kidnapping in 2021
Geographic Reach South America 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
 
Description research used by Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive in design and delivery of a state apology to victims of institutional abuse
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Citation in other policy documents
URL https://www.executiveoffice-ni.gov.uk/news/apology-victims-and-survivors-historical-institutional-ab...
 
Description Major Research Fellowship
Amount £181,449 (GBP)
Funding ID MRF-2022-113 
Organisation The Leverhulme Trust 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start 09/2023 
End 09/2026
 
Description Working with United Nations Special Rapporteur on Transitional Justice 
Organisation United Nations Office at Geneva
Country Switzerland 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution Professor McEvoy and Dr Bryson were commissioned to write a report Apologies in Transitional Justice as a result of the ESRC funded project. The latter was presented to the UN General Assembly in 2019 and the 'how to apologise' component was subsequently used by FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) to apologies for the crime of kidnapping in 2021
Collaborator Contribution The partner organisation published the report and and translated it into all the UN languages.
Impact K. McEvoy, A. Bryson and C Placzek (2019) Apologies in Transitional Justice
Start Year 2018
 
Description Accounting for the Banking Crisis: The Role of Public Apologies 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation by CI Professor Muiris Mac Carthaigh at our closing project conference.

More than 100 people attended online including representatives of victims organisations. Feedback was extremely positive with requests for copies of our reports and follow up engagement.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Address to Conference at Stormont Castle organised jointly by QUB Law, the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law and the Committee on the Administration of Justice 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Professor McEvoy addressed an event at Stormont Castle to debate the government's recent proposals on dealing with the legacy of the Troubles. The UN Special Rapporteur for Transitional Justice opened the event and referred directly to the report that we prepared for the UN on apologies. The event was organised jointly by QUB Law, the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law and the Committee on the Administration of Justice. A select number of attendees (including the NI Human Rights Commissioner, a former RUC Special Branch officer, a victims representative, a former advisor to the British army and local politicians) were joined by dozens more online.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description 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 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Dr Anna Bryson and Dr Muiris MacCarthaigh presented a paper at the Political Studies Association of Ireland (PSAI) at Maynooth University on 19 October 2019. This paper was presented to an audience of approximately 35 attendees and the presentation was followed by a question and answer session which prompted a discussion amongst conference delegates.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://psai2019.wordpress.com/
 
Description Anna Bryson and Muiris MacCarthaigh: 'Public Apologies, Accountability and Blame-acceptance' 115th American Political Science Association's Annual Meeting & Exhibition, August 29 - September 1, 2019 Washington, DC, 'Populism and Privilege' 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact 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 Ireland' on 31 August 2019. The event was chaired by Professor Gail Mc Elroy from Trinity College Dublin. The panel scrutinised political crises in Ireland including the recession and Brexit; and the paper examined public apologies in the context of the banking crisis in Ireland. Following the presentations, the panel included a question and answer session allowing the audience to engage with the presenters and their respective research.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://convention2.allacademic.com/one/apsa/apsa19/index.php?cmd=Online+Program+View+Session&select...
 
Description 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 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact 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 presented at an international conference with an audience of approximately 30 people comprised of local, national and international academics. The presentation of the paper was followed by a question and answer session and lively panel discussion.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL http://historicaldialogues.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Final-Conference-Program-December-1-2.pdf
 
Description Apologies and Transitional Justice - Podcast 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact LawPod is a weekly podcast, based in the Law School at Queen's University Belfast, that provides a platform to explore law and legal research in an engaging and scholarly way. It provides reflective commentary on current events, insights into the current research being conducted within the school, and a forum for staff and students to share ideas and learn from each other. Staff and students collaborate in its creation, with students taking the leading roles.

In this episode, Prof Kieran McEvoy and Dr Anna Bryson discuss the findings of their ESRC-funded research project, Apologies, Abuses and Dealing with the Past. Focusing on apologies for harms related to the Northern Ireland conflict, they consider what makes a good apology, some of the specific apologies that have been made in relation to the conflict, and the relationship between apologies and other transitional justice mechanisms. You can learn more about the project here and access the report the project team prepared for the UN here.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description Apologies, Abuses and the National Imagination: Dealing with the Past in Northern Ireland 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Study participants or study members
Results and Impact 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.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Apologies, Acknowledgment and Dealing with the Past 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Kieran McEvoy and Anna Bryson were invited by Archbishop of Canterbury to present research on Apologies and Dealing with the Past to select stakeholders including the Permanent Secretary of the NIO, the chief legal advisor to the British Army, a Chief Constable and senior officials from the Irish government .
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description Blog post for SLSA website (L Dempster) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Dr Lauren Dempster authored a blog post for the Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA) blog. The SLSA blog is contributed to and followed by socio-legal scholars. Lauren's blog developed the ideas from her presentation given at the annual SLSA conference, and is entitled, 'Apology, the IRA, and the 'Disappeared.'
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL http://slsablog.co.uk/blog/blog-posts/apology-the-ira-and-the-disappeared/
 
Description Conference presentation (Anna Bryson, ESC, Cardiff) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Dr Anna Bryson presented a paper to an audience of approximately 25 people at the European Society of Criminology conference in Cardiff, UK, in September 2017. The purpose of this activity was to disseminate project findings and gather feedback from conference participants.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Conference presentation (Anna Bryson, LSA) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Dr Anna Bryson presented a paper entitled, 'Apologies, Acknowledgement and Symbolic Reparations in Transitional Justice,' at the Law and Society Association's annual conference in Toronto in June 2018. The presentation was attended by approximately 35 people, a mix of academics, postgraduate students and legal practitioners. The presentation was well-received, prompting a number of questions from the floor.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Conference presentation (Anna Bryson, SLSA, Bristol) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Dr Anna Bryson presented on 'Hearing, Seeing, Believing: Public Perceptions of Apologies for Past Harms in Ireland,' at the Social and Legal Studies Association conference in Bristol in March 2018. This presentation drew in particular on data collected during general population focus groups completed for the Apologies, Abuses, and Dealing with the Past project, and disseminated some early findings from these focus groups to an audience comprising of postgraduate students and academics from the UK and beyond. Anna's presentation sparked a number of questions and comments from the floor, and provided the basis for a reflective discussion of the project's emerging findings.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Conference presentation (Anna Bryson, SLSA, Newcastle) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Dr Anna Bryson presented a paper at the Social and Legal Studies Association conference in Newcastle, UK to an audience of approximately 30 people. The paper was presented to disseminate project progress and findings, and to gather feedback on how the project might be improved or developed as it progresses.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Conference presentation (Anne-Marie McAlinden, Columbia University) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Anne-Marie McAlinden presented paper on 'Apologies and Victims of Institutional Child Abuse', at the 'Present Past: Time, Memory & The Negotiation of Historical Justice', 6th Annual Conference of the Dialogues on Historical Justice and Memory Network', Columbia University, New York, 7-9 Dec 2017. The paper sparked a number of questions from the audience. The purpose of this presentation was to disseminate project findings.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Conference presentation (Anne-Marie McAlinden, Georgetown University) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Prof Anne-Marie McAlinden presented a paper entitled, ''Apologies in the Aftermath of Historical Child Abuse in Ireland' at Georgetown University, Washington DC, as part of their conference on 'Legacies of the Past: Apologies & Memorialisation.' The presentation was well-attended and prompted an interesting and useful discussion with the audience.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Conference presentation (Anne-Marie McAlinden, SLSA, Bristol) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Prof Anne-Marie McAlinden presented on 'Apologies and Institutional Child Abuse in Ireland' at the Social and Legal Studies Association conference in Bristol in March 2018. This presentation disseminated some of the early findings from the Apologies, Abuses and Dealing with the Past project to an audience of about 15 people, comprising UK-based and international academics and postgraduate students. The presentation sparked questions from the floor, and useful discussion.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Conference presentation (Kieran McEvoy, Columbia University) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Prof Kieran McEvoy presented a paper to approximately 30 conference attendees at the Historical Dialogues conference in New York, December 2017. This paper generated questions from conference participants and a useful discussion. The purpose of the activity was to disseminate research findings and gather feedback from conference participants as to how the project and project outputs might be developed or improved.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Conference presentation (Kieran McEvoy, ESC, Cardiff) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Professor Kieran McEvoy presented a paper at the European Society of Criminology Conference in Cardiff. The paper was presented to an audience of 25-30 people. This paper was presented in order to disseminate project findings and gather feedback from conference participants on how the research might be improved or enhanced.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Conference presentation (Kieran McEvoy, SLSA, Bristol) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Prof Kieran McEvoy presented a paper on 'Apologies, Acknowledgement and the National Imagination: Dealing with the Past in Ireland' at the Social and Legal Studies Association conference in Bristol in March 2018. The audience comprised approximately 15 academics and postgraduate students, and the presentation introduced some early findings from the Apologies, Abuses, and Dealing with the Past project, prompting questions and discussion points from the audience.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Conference presentation (Kieran McEvoy, SLSA, Newcastle) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Kieran McEvoy presented a paper at the Social and Legal Studies Association Conference in Newcastle to approximately 30 attendees. The paper was presented to disseminate project progress and findings, and to gather feedback on how the project might be improved or developed as it progresses.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Conference presentation (Lauren Dempster, SLSA, Bristol) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Dr Lauren Dempster presented on 'Apology, Acknowledgement, and the 'Disappeared' of Northern Ireland to an audience of approximately 15 individuals at the Social and Legal Studies Association Conference in Bristol in March 2018. This presentation drew on literature gathered for the Apologies, Abuses and Dealing with the Past project, and introduced some preliminary findings from the general population focus groups. The presentation invited questions from UK-based and international academics and postgraduate students, and a useful discussion was had.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Conference presentation (Muiris MacCarthaigh, Lausanne) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Dr Muiris MacCarthaigh presented a paper entitled 'Organisational Accountability and Reputation: The Role of Blame Acceptance' at the European Group for Public Administration Annual Conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, in September 2018. The presentation was given to an engaged audience as part of a panel on governance in public sector organisations. A number of useful questions and comments were made, which Muiris will take into account as he develops further research outputs.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Designing and Delivering a Legitimate Apology 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation by PI Professor Kieran McEvoy at our closing project conference.

More than 100 people attended online including representatives of victims organisations. Feedback was extremely positive with requests for copies of our reports and follow up engagement.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Expert evidence to Irish Parliament 'Legacy Issues and Victims/Survivors of Violence: Benchmarks for Legitimacy in the SHA Legislation. 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Expert legal analysis on legacy issues related to pending legislation on dealing with the past. Presentation and report also referred to role of lawyers in same.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Feature Article in Belfast Telegraph 'Is the price of an amnesty for the security forces just too high to contemplate?' June 19th 2017 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact This was a feature article on the legality of amnesties in dealing with the past and implications of same for the peace process
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Feature Article in the Guardian 'Investigations into the Troubles are vital - and that includes ex-soldiers.' 11th May 2018 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact This was a feature article in the guardian newspaper addressing key issues related to dealing with the past in Northern Ireland concerning viability of an amnesty for soldiers and its relationship to truth recovery.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Feature article in Belfast Telegraph 'Stormont legacy issues impasse can be overcome with legal imagination.' 5th April 2017 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact This was a feature article in the main Unionist paper in Northern Ireland proposed some legally imaginative solutions to the political impass on dealing with the past
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Feature newspaper article in the Irish Times The Legacy of the Troubles and the Law March 30th 2018 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact This was a feature article in the Irish Times, the most respected broadsheet newspaper in Ireland on the role of lawyers and law in dealing with the past in Northern Ireland
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description First Stakeholder Seminar - Nov 2016 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact This was the first in a series of stakeholder seminars associated with our project. Using Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland as a case-study, the event explored the relationship between apologies, abuses and dealing with past harms across three separate and discrete sites of analysis (paramilitary violence, institutional child abuse and the economic crisis). In contrast to existing theoretical and state-centric research on apologies, this seminar focused on the views of apologisers, victims and the general public.
We began with an overview of our approach to this work and then explored in groups a range of text-based and audio-visual apologies. Anonymous feedback was facilitated by hand-held audience response devices. The first draft of our universal template for the construction of a 'legitimate' apology was then circulated and discussed.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
 
Description Human Rights, Legacy and Cultures of Violence in Northern Ireland. Plenary address at Conference, Hebrew University Law School 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact This was an invited plenary address on the role of lawyers in engaging in research and activism on dealing with the past.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Interview with Barney Rowan for UTV 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Interview on the role of apologies and other transitional justice mechanisms with regard to the legacy of the Northern Ireland conflict
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description K McEvoy 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact 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.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/defence-committee/i...
 
Description KESS seminar presentation on Apologies and Dealing with the Past in Northern Ireland (Kieran McEvoy and Anna Bryson) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Prof Kieran McEvoy and Dr Anna Bryson presented on 'Apologies, Abuses and Dealing with the Past' at Stormont Assembly's Knowledge Exchange Seminar Series (KESS). This presentation focused on apologies in relation to the conflict in and about Northern Ireland. The seminar was well-attended by around 70 people, including politicians, policy makers, third sector organisations, professionals working in various areas of legacy issues in Northern Ireland, and civil servants. KESS is aimed at providing a platform for connecting academics with policy-makers and the team received valuable feedback from the audience, with a number of attendees requesting further information about the project. The KESS website hosts a video of the presentation, along with the presentation slides and a policy report written by Kieran and Anna in advance of the seminar. The video of the presentation has received over 50 views on YouTube, increasing the reach of this presentation.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/assembly-business/research-and-information-service-raise/knowledge-exch...
 
Description Kieran McEvoy 'What is Transitional Justice' at Civil Unrest in Hong Kong Conference 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact 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 was moderated by Alex Schwartz (Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong). The presentation was well-received a sparked an interesting and engaging debate amongst conference attendees.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.law.hku.hk/events/civil-unrest-in-hong-kong-conference/
 
Description MPod Podcast Episode 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact 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. The outcome of the podcast was that more students could engage with McEvoy's teaching outside the classroom. It opened up knowledge on transitional justice to non-academic audiences beyond the university.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/qub-mitchell-institute/mpod
 
Description Muiris MacCarthaigh: 'Accountability, Reputation and Apologies' University of Utrecht 7 February 2020 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Dr Muiris MacCarthaigh was invited to give a talk for the Accountable Governance research project at Utrecht University. His talk was followed by a question and answer session which sparked lively dialogue and debate.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://accountablegovernance.sites.uu.nl/the-research-team/
 
Description Muiris MacCarthaigh: 'The Role of Apologies in Dealing with the Past in Ireland' The 69th Political Studies Association Annual International Conference '(Un)Sustainable Politics in a Changing World' 15- 17 April 2019, Nottingham. 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact 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 MacCarthaigh presented on the impact of apologies in the context of the Irish banking crisis Northern Ireland in the session entitled: 'Northern Ireland: Dealing With the Past and Discussing the Future' chaired by Dr Alan Greer (University of the West of England). The presentation was followed by a question and answer session.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.psa.ac.uk/sites/default/files/PSA19%20Conference%20Brochure%20FINAL.pdf
 
Description Paper Presented to Conference organised by Amnesty International UK 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Professor Anne-Marie McAlinden presented a paper (30 March 2021) titled 'A HYBRID MODEL OF TRUTH AND JUSTICE' at an online conference organised by Amnesty International UK on 'Learning the Lessons': Co-designing the Inquiry into Mother and Baby and Magdalene Laundry Institutions in Northern Ireland.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Plenary Address, 'Apologies, Reparations and Non-State Armed Groups', Geneva Reparations Week Conference, Kieran McEvoy 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact 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. It sparked a lively debate in the following question and answer session.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.geneva-academy.ch/news/detail/241-experts-and-practitioners-discuss-reparations-by-non-s...
 
Description Plenary Address, 'Restorative Justice and Dealing With the Past After Conflict.' The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), Bogota Colombia 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Professor 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 assist victims of violence, mass atrocity and human rights violations. The conference was entitled 'Restorative Justice and Dealing With the Past After Conflict'. Following on from that conference a delegation of Senior JEP judges will visit Northern Ireland in May 2020 to learn more about the role of restorative justice in conflict resolution in that jurisdiction.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description Plenary by Kieran McEvoy (Leeds University) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Prof Kieran McEvoy was invited to give a Plenary Talk at a conference at the Centre for Criminal Justice Studies at Leeds University in September 2017.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Plenary by Shadd Maruna (Leeds University) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Prof Shadd Maruna was invited to give a plenary talk at a conference hosted by the Centre for Criminal Justice Studies at Leeds University, in September 2017.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Podcast for International Women's Day Series 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Professor Anne-Marie McAlinden delivered a podcast for QUB LawPod as part of the International Women's Day Series.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Podcast on Historical Institutional Child Abuse as part of 2022 International Women's Day Series 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Professor Anne-Marie McAlinden delivered a podcast for QUB LawPod as part of the International Women's Day Series (8 March 2022).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Presentation at 'Women as Legal Changemakers Conference' Queen's University Belfast 29 September 2021 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Professor Anne-Marie McAlinden presented a paper on 'HISTORICAL INSTITUTIONAL ABUSE' at the Women as Legal Changemakers Conference, Queen's University Belfast, 29 September 2021
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Presentation at Irish Studies Seminar, Columbia University 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Professor Anne-Marie McAlinden presented a paper titled APOLOGIES FOR HISTORICAL INSTITUTIONAL ABUSE IN IRELAND: SHAME, GUILT AND MORAL AND LEGAL RESPONSBILITY at the Irish Studies Seminar organised by Columbia University on 3 December 2021.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Presentation at University of Utrecht (Muiris MacCarthaigh) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Undergraduate students
Results and Impact Muiris MacCarthaigh gave a presentation titled 'Apologies, Accountability and Organizational Reputation' at a meeting of the Accountable Governance research network in the University of Utrecht on 6 November. The event was attend by ten PhDs and staff from the University's School of Governance. Muiris led an insightful and thought-provoking discussion with the students and staff, who were eager to learn more about the role of apologies in the context of the Irish banking crisis.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://accountablegovernance.sites.uu.nl
 
Description Presentation at workshop (Muiris MacCarthaigh at University of Nicosia) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Dr Muiris MacCarthaigh presented a paper on 'Apologies, Accountability and Organisational Reputation' in a Session on 'Accountability and Reputation' at the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) Joint Sessions hosted by the University of Nicosia. He presented to a group of 22 accountability experts and the paper provoked an interesting discussion.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://ecpr.eu/Events/EventDetails.aspx?EventID=112
 
Description Professor Kieran McEvoy (PI) Plenary Address, Presidential Commission for the Establishment and Consolidation of Peace Conference, Bogota, Colombia 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact In June 2019 Professor Kieran McEvoy (PI) was invited to deliver a plenary address title '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 Ireland.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description QPol blog post by Muiris MacCarthaigh 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Dr Muiris MacCarthaigh wrote a blog for QPOL - Queen's University Belfast's policy engagement blog - on 'Ten Years on from the Banking Crisis' to mark 10 years since the Irish bank bailout. This blog is viewed by academics, policy makers and the wider public who are interested in how academic research is addressing and responding to current social, economic, political and cultural issues.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL http://qpol.qub.ac.uk/ten-years-on-from-the-banking-crisis/
 
Description SHAME, GUILT AND LEGAL RESPONSBILITY: APOLOGIES FOR HISTORICAL INSTITUTIONAL ABUSE 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation by CI Professor Anne-Marie McAlinden at our closing project conference.

More than 100 people attended online including representatives of victims organisations. Feedback was extremely positive with requests for copies of our reports and follow up engagement.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Stakeholder seminar: The Banking Crisis a Decade On: Victim and Public perspectives on Apologies in Ireland 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact The Apologies project team hosted a stakeholder seminar at the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin on 27th September 2018. The event was attended by a mix of academics, public sector workers, practitioners from the banking sector, the general public, media and a small number of research participants. Presentations were given by the team and external speakers, and a lively and enthusiastic discussion followed. A number of participants mentioned that the presentations had encouraged them to think more about the role of apology. Following the event, The Irish Times newspaper ran an article on the event and the project ('Study of Apologies Shows a Sorry State, 29 September 2018). At the event, the team launched three policy reports drawing on data collected for the project.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/study-of-apologies-shows-a-sorry-state-1.3645066
 
Description Stakeholder seminar: Truth and Reconciliation Platform 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact The Apologies, Abuses and Dealing with the Past project team hosted the Truth and Reconciliation Platform for an afternoon of storytelling by survivors followed by a discussion on issues of apology and acknowledgement. The event was held at Queen's University Belfast on 17 October 2018 and attended by approximately 60 people. Attendees included victims and survivors of the Northern Ireland conflict, representatives of NGOs, university students and staff, and members of the general public. During the discussion a range of views were heard form victims and survivors and form other members of the audience with regards their views on apologies. This was a valuable opportunity for the team to hear a diverse range of views on the value of apology in a post-conflict context, and a number of audience members fed back to the team that they found the event valuable.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description The Role of Apologies in Dealing with the Legacy of Conflict 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation by CI Dr Anna Bryson at our closing project conference.

More than 100 people attended online including representatives of victims organisations. Feedback was extremely positive with requests for copies of our reports and follow up engagement.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description What do the Public Want from Public Apologies? 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation by CI Professor Shadd Maruna at our closing project conference.

More than 100 people attended online including representatives of victims organisations. Feedback was extremely positive with requests for copies of our reports and follow up engagement.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description conference presentation (Anna Bryson, Columbia University) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Dr Anna Bryson presented a paper at the Historical Dialogues conference at Columbia University, New York, in December 2017. This paper was presented to an audience of approximately 30 and was well-received, sparking questions and discussion with conference delegates. The paper was presented to disseminate project progress and findings, and to gather feedback on how the project might be improved or developed as it progresses.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017