Queen's University Belfast - Constitutional Futures

Episode 18: Legacies of Conflict and Constitutional Change In this episode, Colin Harvey discusses the legacies of conflict and the implications for constitutional change on the island of Ireland with Dr Anna Bryson, QUB School of Law and Andrée Murphy, Deputy Director, Relatives for Justice.

Episode 17: Climate Justice and Constitutional Change In this episode, Colin Harvey is joined by QUB colleagues John Barry, Amanda Slevin, Peter Doran and Seán Fearon to discuss climate justice and constitutional change.

In this episode, Prof Colin Harvey speaks with Ben Collins. Ben Collins has worked in communications and public affairs across the UK and Ireland for more than twenty years. He comes from a unionist background in Belfast and has previously been involved with both Conservative and Liberal political parties. His book Irish Unity: Time to Prepare published in October 2022 by Luath Press, sets out his thinking on why we should prepare now in advance of a border poll on a united Ireland.

In this episode, Prof Colin Harvey speaks with Oran Doyle. Oran Doyle is Professor in Law at Trinity College Dublin. He also holds a dual appointment as a research professor at the Academia Sinica in Taipei. Prof Doyle is an expert in comparative constitutional law, with a particular focus on the issues of constitutional amendment, territory and Irish unification. He is the author of 'The Irish Constitution: A Contextual Analysis' and (with Tom Hickey) 'Constitutional Law: Text, Cases and Materials'. Prof Doyle is a regular contributor to public debates on issues of constitutional law in Ireland.

In this episode, Prof. Colin Harvey speaks with Sipho Sibanda. Sipho Sibanda is a leading human rights and equality activist in N. Ireland. She is currently the Vice Chair of the Black and Minority Ethnic Women's Network - which works to enhance knowledge and awareness of gender and racial equality issues for BME women in N. Ireland. She has worked with Participation and the Practice of Rights and is also a Fellow with the Social Change Initiative.

Dr Anne Devlin is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). Her research interests include labour economics and the economics of disability as well as a particular interest in economic inactivity in Ireland, North and South. In April 2022 she was a co-author of the research report: ‘A North-South Comparison of Education and Training Systems: Lessons for Policy’, produced as part of a joint research programme between the ESRI and the Shared Island Unit of the Department of the Taoiseach on ‘The Economic and Social Opportunities from Increased Cooperation on the Shared Island’.

In this episode Prof Colin Harvey speaks with Tony Connelly. Tony Connelly is Europe Editor for RTÉ. He is the recipient of two ESB National Media awards, a European Journalism Award and a New York Festivals radio award. He has received the Outstanding Achievement Award from the UCD Smurfit Graduate School journalism awards, and an Irish Law Society Justice Media Award for his coverage of the Brexit negotiations. Tony is the author of Brexit and Ireland, nominated Irish non-fiction book of the year in 2018, and Don’t Mention the Wars: A Journey Through European Stereotypes, published in 2014.

In this episode, Professor Colin Harvey talks to Frank Connolly about his new book “United Nation: The Case for Integrating Ireland”. Frank Connolly is one of Ireland’s most distinguished investigative journalists. His previous books include Namaland (2017) and Tom Gilmartin: The man who brought down a Taoiseach (2014), both published by Gill Books. He has also published a novel, A Conspiracy of Lies (Mercier, 2019). He is Head of Communications with SIPTU and lives in Dublin.

In this episode, Prof Colin Harvey speaks with Eilish Rooney. Eilish Rooney is an Emeritus Scholar at Ulster University’s Transitional Justice Institute in the School of Law. Her research and community activist interests include intersectionality theory, women’s lives in conflict and grassroots transitional justice.

In this episode Prof Colin Harvey speaks with Martina Devlin and Tanya Ward about civic society and its views and inputs into the ongoing debate about a referendum on Irish unity. Martina Devlin is an author of 11 books and a journalist as well as being a board member of Ireland’s Future. She has been shortlisted three times for the Irish Book Awards Tanya Ward is Chief Executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance and previously worked with the Irish Council for Civil Liberties. She has lectured and published widely on human rights.