Conflict mediation expert at Whitaker sheds light on the role of intermediaries in the Northern Ireland peace process

Dr Niall Ó Dochartaigh leader of the Conflict, Humanitarianism and Security research cluster spoke on the BBC World Service’s Witness programme aired on Friday 6 February about the role of intermediary Brendan Duddy in the Northern Ireland peace process.

Dr Ó Dochartaigh worked with Brendan Duddy between 2006 and 2010 arranging the deposit and cataloguing of Duddy’s private papers which are deposited at NUI Galway, and he carried out extensive interviews with Duddy which have been cited in a review of Jonathan Powell’s Talking to Terrorists (Londond Review of Books) by Owen Bennett-Jones.  Dr Ó Dochartaigh has written a response to this review in the London Review of Books and clarifies any misconceptions around the ‘conflict is over’ note that was a contributing factor in the Northern Irish Peace Process.