Between Bottom Up and Top Down: The Truth-Recovery Debate in Northern Ireland

This paper is the final result of my Independent Study Project, a month long research period following three months of study and travel through the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. For three weeks in April 2007 I interned in Belfast with Healing Through Remembering (HTR), a non-governmental organization exploring the question of how Northern Ireland should ‘deal with the past’ in attempts to build a more positive future. I first encountered HTR in early March on my first visit to Belfast. My fellow classmates and I were tasked with examining five options for truth-recovery for Northern Ireland and brainstorming the possible strengths and weaknesses of each model. My brief time at HTR left an impression on me. I wondered how this difficult task of examining the past was occurring on a broader scale in the region, what impact it would have on society, and how it related to other countries faced with similar transitions