Reviews: The Prisons Memory Archive: A Multi-Disciplinary Lens on Northern Ireland’s Peace Process

Northern Ireland, its conflicted past, and its peace process since 1998 have been at the center of a variety of publications.At the 25 th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, the peace treaty bringing a formal end to over three decades of violence, The Prisons Memory Archive: A Case Study in Filmed Memory of Conflict offers new insights into the topic.It is a refreshing book presenting a variety of different angles on what can seem like a messy and entangled post-conflict environment.Due to Northern Ireland's contested memory landscape, the adopted piecemeal approach to reconciliation and dealing with the past has resulted in a plethora of different legal and non-legal mechanisms that frequently have not been successful in bringing conflicted communities together.The Prisons Memory Archive (PMA) constitutes a societally beneficial exception.The project successfully combined the filmed testimonies of ex-prisoners, prison officers, university tutors, chaplains, and others associated with the contested prison sites of Armagh Gaol and Maze Prison/Long Kesh in one place.By adopting an approach based on the pillars of inclusivity, co-ownership, and life-storytelling, interviewees were able to freely recall their memories of the prison sites, most of them whilst walking through them.Participants from all groups of society were then allowed to retain the rights over their own recordings.As a final product, the project has created an accessible archive allowing anyone to access memories and evaluate their own experiences without judgment or privilege.Fifteen years after the filming of the project, this book, edited by Jolene Mairs Dyer, Conor McCafferty, and Cahal McLaughlin, allows for a reflection on the project's many impacts.The editors have all worked on the project and the book often reads like an intimate self-reflection.As such, it is also a commentary on the on-going debates around dealing with the past in Northern Ireland, showcasing the current state of play as much as contemplations on the recent past and possible future avenues.