Clingen Conversations: Historical Memory and Public Policy in Modern Ireland

In 2020, the Clingen Family Center for the Study of Modern Ireland launched a new series of moderated events entitled Clingen Conversations in the humanities, culture, and policy. Intended to contribute to the debates, questions, and issues of the present day, these regular conversations focus on topics of interest to contemporary Ireland.

Our first conversation took as its starting point the recently published Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation report and the Commission’s subsequent destruction of audio recordings of its 550 witness interviews. How should historians and archivists contribute to tribunals of inquiry? What is the role of documentary evidence in such inquiries, and how should investigators handle controversial witness testimonies?

Join Dr. Colin Barr, director of the Clingen Family Center, as he moderates a lively and informative discussion. Panelists include Ms. Elaine Loughlin, Deputy Political Editor for the Irish Examiner, Dr. Laura McAtackney, Associate Professor of Archaeology and Heritage at Aarhus University, Prof. Barry McCrea, Keough Family Chair of Irish Studies, and Prof. Bríona Nic Dhiarmada, Thomas J. & Kathleen O’Donnell Chair of Irish Studies.

The Clingen Family Center for the Study of Modern Ireland is part of the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies and the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame.