Olwen Pu due*
T oubling Pas s: Teaching Public His o y in
No he n I eland
h ps://doi.o g/10.1515/iph-2021-2017
Published online July 14, 2021
Abs ac : This a icle explo es he challenges and oppo -
uni ies p esen ed o he eaching and p ac ice o public
his o y in a pos -con lic socie y ha emains deeply di ided
o e i s pas . I examines some o he nega i e ways in which
his o y is used in he public a ena, bu also he po en ial o
public his o y ini ia i es o building a mo e cohesi e and
o wa d-looking socie y. I examines how s uden s can use
he ich cul u al landscape o No he n I eland and engage
wi h a wide ange o expe ienced p ac i ione s o lea n mo e
abou he ways in which his o y di ides; how we can
nego ia e hese di isions o e in e p e a ions; how di e en
communi ies unde s and, ep esen , and engage wi h hei
pas ; and why his ma e s.
Keywo ds: public his o y, No he n I eland, pos -con lic ,
museums, di ided socie ies
In sp ing 2021, Bel as once mo e appea ed on people’s
news eeds a ound he wo ld as io ing in some pa s o
he ci y o e se e al nigh s made headline news. Fo many
in No he n I eland, his b ough a a he pain ul sense o
déjà u – ha amilia combina ion o despai ha such
scenes we e playing ou on ou s ee s and us a ion a
ha ing o explain once mo e o conce ned acquain ances
ha his was e y localized io ing, confined o a small
numbe o neighbo hoods, and ha he ci y emained a
sa e and iendly place. Bu hese scenes also b ough a
deepe sense o disquie as he con ex in which No he n
I eland’sla es spa eo ‘ ec ea ional io ing’occu ed has
shi ed. B exi – he UK’s depa u e om he Eu opean
Union –has, p edic ably, p o ed o be a des abilizing and
dis up i e influence in No he n I eland. E en he ques-
ion o whe he he e should be a ‘ha d’cus oms bo de on
he island o I eland o an I ish Sea bo de be ween
No he n I eland and he es o he UK has b ough he
cons i u ional posi ion o No he n I eland back in o
sha p, and un o gi ing, ocus. A he same ime, we a e
as app oaching he hund ed h anni e sa y o he
es ablishmen o No he n I eland when he Go e nmen
o I eland Ac c ea ed wo sepa a e de ol ed na ions on
he island –‘Sou he n I eland’which quickly decla ed
independence and became he I ish F ee S a e, la e he
Republic o I eland, and ‘No he n I eland’which has
emained a pa o he Uni ed Kingdom and will do as long
as he slowly-dec easing majo i y wishes i o do so. Calls
o a bo de poll om no he n epublicans ha e, also
p edic ably, s a ed o come hick and as while no he n
unionis s ha e anxiously sough assu ances om he UK
go e nmen ha he na ion’s posi ion wi hin he union
emains secu e.
Ye , despi e he cu en challenges, and he uphill
ba le No he n I eland socie y has aced as i has mo ed
ou o con lic and sough o es ablish a ai and inclusi e
o m o go e nmen , he pas decade has seen i expe ience
a booming ou is ade as in e na ional isi o s lock o he
egion, a ac ed by i s iendly people, s unning coun y-
side, li ely cul u e, and, o cou se, i s edgy pas . Fo while
he egion’s ancien he i age, i s his o ic s a ely homes, o
he s o y o he RMS Ti anic old so success ully by Ti anic
Bel as undoub edly con inue o d aw hund eds o hou-
sands each yea , many mo e a e d awn by he egion’s
‘conflic he i age’o da k ou ism associa ed wi h i s mo e
ecen , iolen pas . Black cab ou s, many o hem un by
o me comba an s, anspo eage ou is s a ound Bel-
as ’s o me flashpoin s, egaling hem wi h he s o ies o
mu de and iolence ha hese spo s wi nessed. Mean-
while, he ci y’s‘peace walls,’ he high walls ha we e
h own up o sepa a e i al communi ies a he ci y’s
in e ace a eas du ing he heigh o he conflic , and which
emain he e, ha e become a majo a ac ion o pen-
wielding isi o s, keen o lea e some hing o hemsel es on
he isual cul u e o he ci y [Figu e 1]. While he abili y o
i s iolen pas o a ac an e e -inc easing numbe o
c uise ships o he ci y is undoub edly good o he econ-
omy, i does, as Sa ah McDowell poin s ou , aise majo
e hical issues abou uses o he pas in he public sphe e.
1
In his con ex , he p ac ice o public his o y is no hing
i no in e es ing. “Pe o ming I ish his o y in public,”as
*Co esponding au ho : Olwen Pu due, Queen’s Uni e si y, Bel as ,
UK, E-mail: [email p o ec ed]
1Sa ah McDowell, “Selling Conflic He i age h ough Tou ism in
Peace ime No he n I eland: T ans o ming Conflic o Exace ba ing
Di e ence?,”In e na ional Jou nal o He i age S udies 14, no. 5 (2008):
405–21. doi:10.1080/13527250802284859.
In e na ional Public His o y. 2021; 4(1): 67–75
Open Access. © 2021 Olwen Pu due, published by De G uy e . This wo k is licensed unde he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional
License.
Thomas Cau in and Cia an O’Neill w i e, “can be h illing,
ene a ing and anxie y-laden, and ha is a guably he
p ice we pay o an engaged public ha is any hing bu
apa he ic abou he elling o i s own s o y.”
2
How much
mo e so, hen, in a No he n I eland whose s o ies o he
pas con inue o esona e so s ongly in he p esen .
Indeed, i is impossible o escape he pas –aspec s o he
egion’s his o y, and my hology, a e emblazoned on hi y-
oo -high mu als on he gable walls o houses and
embedded deep wi hin he indi idual and collec i e psy-
che. Bu his is no a collec i e his o y: a he , i is a bina y
o ‘us’and ‘ hem;’o pas w ongs and blood sac ifices on
opposing sides; one pe son’s he o being ano he ’s e o is
o y an . Pas e en s a e equen ly called upon and used
by di e en g oups o explain and jus i y hei posi ions on
a ange o issues, and hei a i udes owa ds each o he ,
bu so o en his is in ways ha a e educ ionis , o selec-
i e; ha pick he pa icula pa s o he his o ical canon
ha fi he na a i e hey emb ace, ha ail o g asp o
engage wi h he complexi ies and nuance o his o y as i
ac ually was.
Take o example he ways in which e sions o his o y
a e used on gable walls ac oss he ci y o Bel as o ep e-
sen iden i y, o o ma k e i o y. Common in loyalis
wo king-class a eas is he ep esen a ions o he P o es an
William III o O ange who de ea ed he Ca holic James II a
he Ba le o he Boyne in 1690 [Figu e 2]. His ba le was jus
one iny pa o a e y complex Eu opean wa be ween
many sides. Bu in No he n I eland oday he na a i e is
kep simple: King Billy, as he is gene ally known, is lauded
in loyalis ci cles as ha ing been he de ende o I ish
P o es an ism agains he machina ions o Ca holic King
James, and his ic o y a he Boyne ep esen ed as he
decisi e momen in es ablishing he P o es an ai h in
I eland. While mu als o King Billy ha e g adually dis-
appea ed in many pa s o he coun y, eplaced by ep-
esen a ions o he Ba le o he Somme, o Bel as ’s
indus ial pas , i is no su p ising ha he a eas in which
hey emain mos p e alen and a e mo e ca e ully main-
ained a e hose whe e P o es an s eel a hei mos
ulne able, among ma ginalized u ban wo king-class
males and emo e u al a eas close o he bo de . In
na ionalis wo king-class pa s o Bel as , he G ea Famine
o 1845–49 ea u es on se e al gable walls. Sides epping
he o uous his o iog aphic deba es o e causa ion,
impac , and he ole o ideology, hey simply p esen he
Famine, as An Go a Mó , he G ea Hunge , ‘I eland’s
genocide by he English’[Figu e 3]. P esen ed hus, he
Famine speaks o he opp ession unde which he I ish
ha e su e ed a he hands o he English, some hing ha
con inues o esona e in I ish epublicanism oday. I is in
his ex eme o e -simplifica ion o he pas ha i s sym-
bolic capi al lies. Momen s, e en s, and cha ac e s om
his o y a e app op ia ed and depic ed in monoch oma ic
ones in o de o ein o ce iden i y, o deno e communi y
and belonging o hose on he inside, o he ‘o he ness’o
hose on he ou side, o legi imize a pa icula p esen iew
o socie y, cul u e, and poli ics.
As I eland, no h and sou h, lu ches owa d he end o
a‘decade o cen ena ies’in which he poli ical and cul u al
sec o s ha e sough o deal wi h he hund ed-yea
commemo a ion o a se ies o seismic e en s, mos o
hem deeply di isi e, as No he n I eland aces he
hund ed-yea anni e sa y o i s c ea ion, and as we begin
Figu e 1: One o Bel as ’s peace walls (image, au ho ).
2Thomas Cau in and Cia an O’Neill, “Nego ia ing public his o y in
he Republic o I eland: collabo a i e, applied and usable p ac ices o
he p o ession,”His o ical Resea ch 90, no. 250 (2017): 810–28, quo e
on 810. doi:10.1111/1468-2281.12192.
68 O. Pu due
Figu e 2: Mu al o King William o O ange h ps://upload.wikimedia.o g/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Loyalis _Mu al%2C_Donegall_Pass%
2C_Bel as _%282%29_-_geog aph.o g.uk_-_768197.jpg.
Figu e 3: Mu al o An go a Mo h ps://commons.wikimedia.o g/wiki/File:An_go a_Mo .jpg.
Teaching Public His o y in No he n I eland 69
he p ocess o engaging wi h he public his o y o he 30
yea s o iolen con lic known as ‘ he T oubles,’we need o
ask wha ole can public his o y play in a con ex whe e he
undamen al unde s andings o he pas a e so deeply
di ided? How can museums, he i age o ganiza ions,
communi y ini ia i es, e c. begin o ep esen he pas o a
place whe e he undamen al unde s andings o ha pla-
ces’his o y emain deeply con es ed? Is i possible o he
public his o y sec o o engage di e se public audiences in
ways ha a e bo h meaning ul and inclusi e, ha engages
all pe spec i es in ways ha b ing healing a he han
u he di ision?
Challenging as hese issues a e o p ac i ione s o
public his o y, hey p o ide an inc edible oppo uni y o
s uden s o public his o y o explo e a i s hand he issues
a ound ‘doing’public his o y in di ided socie ies. As we
a e all oo awa e, No he n I eland is a om being he
only socie y deeply di ided along issues o iden i y, eli-
gion, cul u e, class, o ace, and whe e public engagemen
wi h, and ep esen a ions o , he pas emain deeply
con en ious. Indeed, many o he issues ha public his o-
ians ace in No he n I eland a e magni ied in o he na-
ional con ex s. The e o e, No he n I eland p o ides a
aluable oppo uni y o public his o y s uden s – he
public his o ians o he u u e – o explo e ways in which
his o y and i s ep esen a ion di ide; how we can nego ia e
hese di isions o e in e p e a ions; how di e en com-
muni ies unde s and, ep esen , and engage wi h hei
pas ; and why his ma e s. I allows us o explo e how, in a
socie y in which he pas is con es ed, public his o y in-
s i u ions decide which na a i es o adop and p esen ; o
ask whe he we un he isk o confi ming p e ailing dis-
cou ses, o whe he we can challenge hese by p esen ing
mo e nuanced o dis up i e in e p e a ions o he pas . And
in he con ex o s ill di ided socie ies such as No he n
I eland, o ask how we balance he impe a i es o
explo ing and p esen ing plu alis and inclusi e his o ical
na a i es wi h he need o engage wi h e y di isi e issues
in an hones manne .
These impo an issues ha e shaped he de elopmen
o public his o y as an academic subjec in No he n
I eland. I has been an impo an aspec o he Cul u al
He i age and Museum S udies MA p og am a Uls e
Uni e si y and has been o he o e in he de elopmen o
he MA in Public His o y a Queen’sUni e si yBel as .
‘Di ficul public his o ies’is also a cen al esea ch heme
o Queen’s Uni e si y’s Cen e o Public His o y, whe e
annual con e ences and symposia ha e add essed a ange
o issues om impe ialism, sla e y, and he legacies
o conflic h ough o his o ical ins i u ional abuse in
I eland’s indus ial schools o Magdalene laund ies, o
he public his o y o majo disas e s. This p o ides a ich
esea ch con ex wi hin which s uden s can engage wi h
di ficul issues, mo ing om he local o he global and
applying hei lea ning and skills ac oss a ange o con-
ex s. In my own expe ience o unning he MA in Public
His o y a Queen’s, I ha e been imp essed, and humbled,
by he hough ul, insigh ul, and sensi i e esponses o
ou s uden s, who come om many di e en coun ies
and cul u al backg ounds, o he complex public his o y
landscape ha hey encoun e in No he n I eland. In
pa icula I ha e wa ched wi h in e es hei engagemen
wi h policy make s, communi y g oups, he i age o gani-
za ions, and cul u al ins i u ions as hey explo e a whole
ange o issues ega ding he p ac ice and expe ience o
public his o y in a specifically No he n I ish con ex and
hen applying ha ou o a whole ange o o he con ex s.
One o he g ea benefi s o No he n I eland, as many
ou side s ha e obse ed, is ha i is a small place –
‘e e ybody knows e e ybody else.’Fo s uden s and
eache s o public his o y, his p o ides unpa alleled
access o a ich and di e se body o public his o y p ac-
i ione s and he oppo uni y o ‘lea non hejob’ h ough
placemen s and in o mal engagemen wi h ep esen a-
i es om he egion’s na ional museums, a chi es and
he i age o ganiza ions, b oadcas and media p oduc-
ion companies, a s and cul u al o ganiza ions, local
museums, and communi y ini ia i es.
I has been pa icula ly in e es ing o hea s uden s’
esponses o he di e en ways in which he ecen con lic
in No he n I eland is being ep esen ed o and by he
public. One o hese is wha migh be desc ibed as he
‘o icial’ ep esen a ion o he T oubles hough he pe -
manen his o y exhibi ion a he Uls e Museum. Pa o
Na ional Museums o No he n I eland, he Uls e Museum,
si ua ed in a lea y subu b igh nex o Queen’s Uni e si y’s
main campus, has a mission o ep esen he en i e com-
muni y in an inclusi e and balanced manne , some hing
ha has p e iously had a significan impac on he ep e-
sen a ion o pe iod o his o y ha is bo h deeply di isi e
and has ouched so many people’s li es in pain ul ways.
Fo many yea s, he museum’s esponse was one o
a oidance. As Elizabe h C ooke has poin ed ou , his has,
o a long ime, been he de aul posi ion o how museums
and he i age si es in No he n I eland ha e deal wi h he
egion’s his o y o conflic . She poin s o he example o
Fe managh Coun y Museum in Enniskillen, a own ocked
in 1987 by an IRA bomb a he Rememb ance Day ce emony
ha killed 11 and inju ed ano he 64 people. Despi e he
huge impac his had on he communi y, mo e han a
70 O. Pu due
decade la e he e en s ill had no been eflec ed in he
museum’s collec ions in ha own.
3
I was no un il 2009
ha he Uls e Museum made i s fi s a emp o ackle he
his o y o he conflic wi h he opening o a galle y on he
T oubles, and, when i did, he esul was e y hea ily
c i icized. The conflic was ep esen ed only h ough black
and whi e pho og aphs o key e en s accompanied by
minimal ac ual ex , wi h no a emp a p esen ing an
in e p e i e na a i e and no use o a e ac s. I was, as
Fionnuala O’Conno pi hily w o e in The I ish Times, a case
o “ he pas de ea ing he p esen … o ea o gi ing
o ence [o ] causing con o e sy.”
4
O , in he wo ds o
ano he I ish Times e iew, i was “bland, sa e and s en-
uously non-con o e sial.”
5
S uden s who isi ed his gal-
le y (un il i was eplaced in 2018) commen ed on he ex en
o which, in ying o main ain a balanced and neu al
ep esen a ion, i ended up being bland, s e ile, and
la gely ailed o engage public audiences in any mean-
ing ul way.
As a means o explo ing a e y di e en public his o y
landscape, ou s uden s spend a ew days in No he n
I eland’s second la ges ci y, he se en een h-cen u y
walled ci y o De y o Londonde y whe e he ocus is on
he dissonan he i age ep esen ed by he a ea a ound i s
his o ic walls [Figu e 4]. The dep h o di ision o e his
ci y’s his o y is e en eflec ed in he con o e sy o e i s
name. The Ci y o Londonde y was ounded in he 1620s by
he English go e nmen nea he ancien monas ic si e o
Doi e, o De y. This was pa o he la ge ‘Plan a ion o
Uls e ’which in ol ed colonizing he a ea by English and
Sco ish se le s, becoming wha B endan Mu agh, Philip
Boland, and Pe e Shi low desc ibe as “a p o o ype o he
G and Colonial model o B i ish plan a ion planning.”
They explain ha
Backed by inance om he Guilds in he Ci y o London, he
small se lemen a De y was enamed as Londonde y, ia a
Royal Cha e and de ended by P o es an se le s agains
ebellions and sieges, especially in he las pa o he 17 hC.
These e en s a e now emembe ed in annual O ange pa ades and
in a new Siege museum ha ela es he expe iences o he P o -
es an se le s o hei unce ain place in he con empo a y ci y.
6
While he popula ion o De y may ha e been p edomi-
nan ly P o es an in he 17 h and 18 h cen u ies, he nine-
een h cen u y saw a apid g ow h o i s Ca holic popula ion
as people mo ed om su ounding u al coun ies, a ac ed
by employmen in i s bu geoning ex ile indus y. By he
ime No he n I eland was c ea ed, Londonde y, which
now sa jus inside he new s a e, was p edominan ly
Ca holic and na ionalis ; howe e he manipula ion o
poli ical bounda ies and disc imina ion in housing alloca-
ion helped main ain unionis , P o es an , and p o-B i ish
con ol o he own’s poli ical ep esen a ion.
7
The la e
1960s saw p o es s escala e o e issues such as he alloca-
ion o housing and access o jobs, bu he eme gence o he
I ish Republican A my and he collapse o he No he n
I eland go e nmen led o a apid descen in o 30 yea s o
iolence. Fo De y/Londonde y, as Mu agh, Boland, and
Shi low explain, “a pi o al momen was ‘Bloody Sunday,’
when on he 30 Janua y 1972, B i ish soldie s sho 26
una med ci ilians, lea ing 14 people dead, du ing a p o es
ma ch agains in e nmen wi hou ial in he Bogside a ea
o he ci y.”
8
Today, hese wo e y di e en his o ies o he ci y
co-exis bu a ely mee . The go e nmen - unded Towe
Museum, un by he local au ho i y, has ied o ead a
neu al pa h, elling he his o y o he ci y om a ange o
pe spec i es; howe e , i has s uggled o e he yea s o
a ac much a en ion o i s wo k. Ra he , he e y ou-
bled his o y o his ci y is la gely in e p e ed o and
ep esen ed o public audiences h ough local museums
un by and, p edominan ly o , a pa icula communi y.
S uden s ha e he oppo uni y o isi and mee he cu a-
o s o he Museum o F ee De y in he Bogside whe e he
his o y o Bloody Sunday is p esen ed in a aw and unfil-
e ed way. The museum, un by he Bloody Sunday T us
and si ua ed on he si e whe e he e en s o Bloody Sunday
ook place, ells he people’s s o y o he e en s leading up
o and ollowing ha a e ul day h ough ideo oo age,
eco dings, images, and a e ac s.
9
They hen isi he
3Elizabe h C ooke, “Con on ing a oubled his o y: which pas in
No he n I eland’s museums?,”In e na ional Jou nal o He i age
S udies 7, no. 2 (2001): 120. doi:10.1080/13527250120060169.
4Fionnuala O’Conno , “T oubles display highligh s p oblem o
con es ed pas ,”The I ish Times, Decembe 24, 2009, h ps://www.
i ish imes.com/opinion/ oubles-display-highligh s-p oblem-o -
con es ed-pas -1.795295.
5Fionola Me edi h, “Minimal T oubles a Uls e Museum,”The I ish
Times, Oc obe 4, 2009, h ps://www.i ish imes.com/news/minimal-
oubles-a -uls e -museum-1.761670.
6B endan Mu agh, Philip Boland, and Pe e Shi low, “Con es ed
he i ages and cul u al ou ism,”In e na ional Jou nal o He i age
S udies 23, no. 6 (2017): 507. doi:10.1080/13527258.2017.1287118.
7Da id McKi ick and Da id McVea, Making sense o he T oubles: a
his o y o he No he n I eland conflic (London: Penguin Books, 2018).
8Mu agh, Boland, and Shi low, “Con es ed he i ages,”507.
9Fo a ull discussion o he Museum o F ee De y see Elizabe h
C ooke, “Memo y poli ics and ma e ial cul u e: Display in he me-
mo ial museum,”Memo y S udies 12, no. 6 (2019): 617–29. doi: 10.1177/
2F1750698017727805.
Teaching Public His o y in No he n I eland 71
Siege Museum un by he App en ice Boys o De y, a
P o es an , loyalis o ganiza ion da ing back o he se en-
een h cen u y Plan a ion. He e hey hea and expe ience
a e y di e en na a i e, elling he s o y o how he
app en ice Boys closed he ci y’s ga es on King James
and hei ole in he subsequen siege, bu also o he ole
he App en ice Boys ha e played in he ci y up o he p e-
sen day.
Mo ing om he highly egula ed and con olled
con ex o s a e- unded museums h ough hese ins i u ions
whe e he his o ical na a i e is con olled and p esen ed by
one pa icula g oup o o ganiza ion, s uden s hen conside
he o ally un egula ed o m o public his o y ep esen ed by
mu als in a ious pa s o he ci y [Figu e 5]. Taken oge he ,
his gi es hem plen y o ood o hough abou issues o
owne ship and in e p e a ion o public memo y and public
his o y, abou place and space, and abou app oaches o
con es ed pas s. Howe e , hey also ha e he oppo uni y o
hink in c ea i e and c i ical ways abou he possibili ies,
and challenges, o in e p e ing he ich he i age ep esen ed
by De y’s se en een h-cen u y walls o public audiences in
a cohe en and compelling way, highligh ing hei signifi-
cance in he con ex o o he Eu opean walled ci ies such as
Dub o nik, Ca cassonne, o Yo k, ye in a way ha does no
igno e he deeply con en ious na u e o hese pa icula
walls. Mee ing wi h ep esen a i es om a ange o he i age
and communi y g oups based in a ound he walls and dis-
cussing wi h hem wha hey see as he ba ie s o and
po en ial ways o de eloping a cohe en and compelling
in e p e a ion o he si es, s uden s gain fi s -hand knowl-
edge o he challenges and oppo uni ies o engaging
wi h di ided pas s in ways ha a e ue o hose pas s bu
ha find new spaces o sha ed his o ies and meaning ul
collabo a ion.
S uden s a e, he e o e, challenged by he ques ion: is
he e a middle g ound be ween a bland, neu al, la gely
ine ec i e ep esen a ion o he T oubles, o else he e y
pa isan, communi y- un ep esen a ions o a single
na a i e? Is he e a posi i e ole o public his o y in
di ided socie ies? Many conclude ha public his o y has a
Figu e 4: De y/Londonde y (image, au ho ).
72 O. Pu due
hugely impo an pa o play in pos -con lic o con lic -
a ec ed socie ies. In No he n I eland, o example, we a e
beginning o see some eally in e es ing wo k being ca ied
ou in he public his o y sphe e which is helping o dis up
some o he simplis ic o exclusi e na a i es and c ea ing
space o dialogue and engagemen wi h sha ed, and
opposing, senses o he pas . As we mo e away om bina y
and selec i e uses o he pas o a deepe , mo e nuanced
explo a ion o social issues and human cos , he e is a
g owing awa eness ha communi ies do no ha e di e en
pas s bu sha e a common pas . The Wa e T auma Cen e,
o example, has ecen ly launched i s ‘S o ies om
Silence’ini ia i e, in which i collec s and makes a ail-
able o al his o y es imonies om hose who los lo ed
ones as a esul o he T oubles.
10
Meanwhile he P isons
Memo y A chi e, de eloped by esea che s a Queen’s
Uni e si y, has collec ed film and o al his o y om a b oad
ange o people connec ed wi h he p ison sys em du ing
he conflic and is now wo king wi h he Public Reco ds
O fice o make his ma e ial a ailable o public audiences.
11
And he Uls e Museum is now se ing he agenda in e ms
o how museums can deal wi h conflic , wo king collabo-
a i ely bo h wi h academics and wi h he communi y,
adop ing new app oaches in i s collec ing, in e p e a ion,
and p og amming s a egies, and e hinking he ole ha
museums can and should be playing in di ided socie ies.
Impo an ly, whe e i once sough neu ali y abo e all else,
i is now clea ly s a ing ha a museum is no a neu al
Figu e 5: A bomb disposal obo used by he
B i ish A my o ca y ou con olled
explosions on ca bombs plan ed by he IRA
du ing he ‘T oubles’(image, au ho ).
Figu e 6: Jacke wo n by G eg Cowan om The Ou cas s, a No he n
I ish-based punk band o med in he la e 1970s (image, au ho ).
10 “S o ies om Silence,”Wa e T auma Cen e, accessed Feb ua y
15, 2020, h ps://wa e aumacen e.o g.uk.
11 “Wha is he PMA?”P isons Memo y A chi e, accessed May 6, 2021,
h ps://p isonsmemo ya chi e.com.
Teaching Public His o y in No he n I eland 73
space. Ra he i a space ha p o okes; one whe e ideas,
p econcep ions and p ejudices a e challenged a he han
a oided o ein o ced; one ha encou ages dialogue, dis-
cussion, e en dissen ion; and one ha p o ides a sa e
space in which o ace up o di ficul pas s.
Today, s uden s ha e he oppo uni y o engage in
a ious ways wi h he cu a o s o he ‘T oubles and Beyond’
galle y in he Uls e Museum. Opened in 2018, his galle y
ep esen s an impo an addi ion o he g owing numbe o
exhibi ions and museums eme ging globally in esponse o
conflic , iolence, and auma, such as he Na ional Cen e
o His o ical Memo y which opened in Bogo á in 2015, he
Museum o Memo y and Human Righ s in San iago, Chile,
and, in he Uni ed S a es, he Uni ed S a es Holocaus
Memo ial Museum and he Na ional Museum o A ican
Ame ican His o y and Cul u e in Washing on, o he
Na ional Sep embe 11 Memo ial & Museum in New Yo k
Ci y.
12
Whe e he museum’s old T oubles galle y was
monoch oma ic and wo dimensional, he new ‘T oubles
and Beyond’galle y is collec ion-basedand ich in he social
his o y o he pe iod. I has been de eloped in collabo a ion
wi h academics h ough an Academic Ad iso y Commi ee,
and wi h local communi ies h ough an ex ensi e p og am
o communi y engagemen and collec ion which has sough
o ex end he museum’s exis ing collec ion and o ake i
beyond he walls o he museum. The ocus o he p og am
and o he esul ing galle y was, in cu a o , Ka en Logan’s
wo ds, abou “going beyond he poli ical na a i e o
ep esen b oade social, cul u al and economic his o y as
well as explo ing he impac o conflic on e e yday li e,
people and communi ies.”
13
The public esponse o he museum has been o e -
whelmingly posi i e. Some i ems on display such as
weapons, uni o ms, banne s e c., ela e speci ically o he
con lic , while o he s such as maps o no-pa king zones o
Figu e 7: Mu al in Glen ada Pa k, si e o he Bloody Sunday killings (image, au ho ).
12 Amy Soda o, Exhibi ing A oci y: Memo ial Museums and he Poli ics
o Pas Violence (New B unswick: Ru ge s Uni e si y P ess, 2018).
13 Ka en Logan, “Collec ing he T oubles and Beyond: The ole o he
Uls e Museum in in e p e ing con es ed his o y,”in Di ficul Issues:
p oceedings o he ICOM Ge many and ICOM No d con e ence 2017, eds.
Bea e Rei enscheid and ICOM Deu schland (Heidelbe g: Heidelbe g
Uni e si y Lib a y, 2019), 167.
74 O. Pu due
icke s o a conce o he local punk ock band S i Li le
Finge s allude o he sha ed e e yday li e o he people o
No he n I eland. All a e exhibi ed alongside poli ical
pos e s and epheme a and a e accompanied by a w i en
na a i e which p o ides he con ex o he objec s and
images on display. Some o he i ems speak o he hu and
g ie ances o one communi y o he o he . O he s bea
es imony o he uni e sali y o he auma. Some o he
images and objec s speak o indi iduals’o communi ies’
e y speci ic memo ies o expe iences, while o he s d aw
in people o all backg ounds in o a sha ed emembe ing.
Some o he objec s on display a e ea i ming in hei a-
milia i y; o he s, which speak o a di e en expe ience o
he con lic , challenge and dis u b, c ea ing a sense o
discom o and possibly s onge emo ions in he isi o
[Figu es 6 and 7]. Bu i is in his capaci y o u n he
spo ligh on pas and ongoing auma in an e hical way,
and o p o ide he space o people o eflec on hei
esponses as hey b ing hei pa icula pe spec i es o he
objec s on display, ha he powe o he galle y lies.
Public his o y, he e o e, has a hugely impo an pa o
play in oday’s socie y, and pa icula ly so in socie ies whe e
he pas con inues o esona e in di isi e and pain ul ways.
Engaging wi h he public in de eloping a iche , mo e
nuanced, unde s anding o such pas s, and communica ing
hese pas s o public audiences, is challenging. Bu i is also
i ally impo an . Public his o y in No he n I eland b ings
i s own se o challenges, including nego ia ing di e se and
o en con lic ing his o ical na a i es. Bu i also b ings
unique oppo uni ies in e ms o s udying how his o y
wo ks in public, how i can be used by di e en publics,
pa icula ly in di ided socie ies, and he challenges, and
oppo uni ies, acing public his o y p ac i ione s as hey
seek o engage public audiences in a mo e nuanced,
meaning ul, and o wa d-looking unde s anding o hei
pas and ha o o he s.
Teaching Public His o y in No he n I eland 75
