BC hosts conference on the U.S. and Ireland, North and South
The past, present, and uncertain future of the American-Irish relationship will be the subject of a daylong conference next week, through a recently formed collaboration between the Boston College Irish Institute, the University of Galway, and Queen’s University Belfast.
“Peace, Prosperity, and Future Relations: The United States and Ireland, North and South,” which takes place on March 19 in Gasson 100, will feature talks by prominent political and governmental figures from Ireland and Northern Ireland as well as distinguished experts in Irish and Northern Ireland politics and history.
A closing fireside chat with Massachusetts Congressman Richard Neal will add further perspective to the conversation, according to organizers.
Mary Murphy (Caitlin Cunningham)
Irish Institute Director and Professor of Political Science Mary C. Murphy said the conference offers a welcome opportunity to examine the trajectory of United States-Ireland relations. Areas of focus will be the U.S. contributions to peacebuilding and reconciliation on the island of Ireland; new details about recent history and politics of U.S.-Ireland/Northern Ireland relations; and—given changing domestic politics in the U.S. as well as Ireland, north and south—what role the U.S. might play in the future.
“Typically, the U.S.-Ireland relationship has been girded in the Northern Irish peace process and more recently Brexit,” said Murphy, co-author of A Troubled Constitutional Future: Northern Ireland After Brexit. “With time and other factors, new issues and challenges have come to the fore, some of which are linked to the legacy of the Northern Ireland conflict, and others which are a consequence of domestic and international political developments and geopolitical instability. The second Trump administration seeks a return to protectionism and isolationism, with above all else an emphasis on keeping the U.S. strong in trade and security components. This is problematic, because Ireland has a trade surplus with the U.S. and is militarily neutral, and also sympathetic to Gaza.
“It seems as if the U.S., Ireland, and Northern Ireland are on different playing fields, and there are many big, difficult-to-answer questions about what it all means. So at this event, we will take a close look at the intricacies of the U.S.-Ireland-Northern Ireland connection to determine what challenges are ahead and how they might be best mediated.”
Murphy will be part of a 10:45 a.m. panel discussion, “Academic Perspectives,” that includes Queen’s University Belfast Senior Lecturer Peter McLoughlin, an expert on the Northern Ireland conflict and peace process and the political history of Ireland; University of Galway Professor Niall Ó Dochartaigh, a researcher on areas such as conflict, negotiations, and peace processes, and author of a book examining the secret negotiations and back channels in resolving the Northern Irish conflicts; and panel chair Cera Murtagh, assistant professor of comparative politics and Irish politics at Villanova University.
“As Ireland confronts new domestic and political challenges, and a greatly altered relationship with the U.S., the need to unite and pool resources has never been greater. ”
A key facet of the conference will be on-the-ground insights from speakers with extensive experience in the Irish and Northern Ireland administrations. A 9:30 a.m. fireside chat will spotlight Simon Coveney, former deputy leader of Fine Gael, who served as Irish minister for foreign affairs and trade with special responsibilities for Brexit, and in other ministerial portfolios. A “Practitioners Perspective” talk at 1:45 p.m. will bring together former Social Democratic and Labour Party leader Mark Durkan; ex-Democratic Unionist Party Director of Policy Lee Reynolds, who was a special advisor to Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster; and former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Claire Cronin.
Neal, whose fireside chat begins at 3 p.m., has been an advocate for Irish concerns throughout his congressional career, and strongly supported an American role in the peace process culminating in the Good Friday Agreement.
“Peace, Prosperity and Future Relations” represents an important benchmark in the BC-University of Galway-Queen’s University Belfast collaboration that launched last fall, said Murphy. To underscore the alliance, senior administrators representing the three institutions—Boston College Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley; Queen’s University Belfast Vice Chancellor and Professor Sir Ian Greer; and University of Galway Vice President Helen Maher—will deliver opening remarks.
“This partnership represents a coming together of both parts of Ireland—Galway in the south, Queen’s University in the north—with Boston College representing the U.S.-Ireland transatlantic dimension, which has been so important to Irish history and culture,” she explained. “As the U.S. and the island of Ireland confront new domestic and political challenges, the need to continue our institutional and research cooperation is as important as ever.
“Thankfully, our collaboration enjoys support at the highest level of our respective institutions, and this will be reflected in the presence of three top-level officials offering welcomes at the conference.”
This event is free and open to the public; full details and registration, which is required, are available via the Irish Institute website.