SONGS OF THE PEOPLE Traditional & contemporary culture in Northern Ireland When: 7 December 2015 at 8:00pm Where: Aether & Echo, Lower Garfield Street, Belfast In Northern Ireland, cultural identity is a lively topic of debate. What is culture but simply the way we live out our lives? It’s the food we eat, the news […]
Author: Donal Kearney
Time to Deal with the Past
Thursday 12th September 2013 has been a busy day for human rights in Northern Ireland. It has reminded us that events such as the 1971 McGurk’s Bar bomb and the 1998 Omagh bombing remain relevant today; not only to the victims and their families, but to the broader citizen-state relationship in the UK. While investigation into […]
Compliance with human rights judgments
The UK’s Investigative Obligation In order to comply with human rights judgments, especially concerning article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the UK must effectively investigate the killings of civilians by state. The requisite standards have been highlighted as: promptness, impartiality and thoroughness. Investigative bodies in Northern Ireland have been described as […]
What does “National Security” actually mean?
The Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) published a report in late 2012 entitled “The Policing You Don’t See”. It highlighted the ‘parallel justice system’ currently operating in Northern Ireland. This consists of a police force accountable to local mechanisms and another “force outside a force” responsible for national security issues, operating from within […]
Cultivating identity, Depoliticising culture
The flag protests have largely died out and now the parading season looms. Amid such tensions, it is an apt time to consider the compatibility of Northern Ireland’s peace process with the internationally recognised freedoms of expression and assembly. This blog will address only the flying of a national flag and parading as aspects of […]