The Belfast Project

The Podvocate

In this episode, I explore the investigation into the murder of Jean McConville, and the broader context of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. I begin with an exploration of origins of the Troubles, the gruesome conflict that tore Northern Ireland apart and pitted neighbor against neighbor, that ultimately led to the death of thousands. I then move on to discuss Gerry Adams and Dolores Price, two high-level IRA operatives who would be implicated in the murder of Ms. McConville some 30 years after her disappearance in 1972. I then discuss the Belfast Project, a clandestine oral history project at Boston College. Conducted by Bob O’Neil and Ed Maloney, the Belfast Project sought to create an oral history of the Troubles from the perspective of those who fought in it. O’Neil and Maloney promised the interviewees that the content of their interviews would be sealed until their death and thought that the fact that the tapes of the interviews were to be housed in the United States would shield these interviews from the authorities in the United Kingdom. But they never thought to check the relevant caselaw, or the status of Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties between the US and the UK. What resulted was a legal battle over the tapes that would show in no uncertain terms that the duty of law enforcement, even foreign law enforcement, trumps academics ability to give assurances of anonymity to their sources. This episode was inspired by “Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland” by Patrick Radden Keefe, and I relied on the book heavily when creating this podcast. If you are interested in this subject matter, I highly recommend the book. It is a very well-written and gripping read.  Errata: In the episode, I sometimes refer to Jean McConville as “Jane McConville”.