The Boston College Archive

This flow traces the creation of the Belfast Project, the risks created by its confidentiality promises, and the subpoenas that turned testimony into criminal evidence.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

An Oral History Proposal

Recording Former Combatants A project takes shape Ed Moloney proposes that Boston College preserve interviews with republican and loyalist participants in the Troubles. Anthony McIntyre and Wilson McArthur are recruited as interviewers. Secrecy as access Participants are promised that their testimony will remain sealed until after death. The guarantee makes candid conversations possible but rests on legal and institutional assumptions that have not been thoroughly tested.

Recording the Testimony

A Hidden Archive Former militants speak McIntyre interviews former republicans, including Brendan Hughes, while McArthur gathers loyalist accounts. The interviewers’ shared background helps establish trust with participants. Records travel abroad Transcripts and recordings are sent to Boston College under coded identities. The archive gains historical value while potentially preserving admissions about unsolved crimes.

Hughes Goes Public

The Archive Is Revealed A book breaks secrecy Ed Moloney publishes Voices from the Grave using Brendan Hughes’s testimony. The book attributes major decisions and killings to Gerry Adams, prompting a forceful public denial. The project’s exposure Publication reveals that a secret archive exists before all its participants have died. Researchers and collaborators now face threats, disputes about access, and uncertainty over the original promise.

Subpoenas Arrive

Confidentiality Under Challenge A murder investigation reaches Boston The PSNI seeks recordings related to the abduction and murder of Jean McConville through a United States legal-assistance process. The college initially resists, citing confidentiality and academic concerns. A promise without protection The project’s contracts contain no clear qualification for court orders, and university lawyers had not reviewed them. Boston College turns over the Hughes material and contests demands for other interviews.

Price’s Second Interview

Testimony Enters the Case A separate recording Ed Moloney privately records Dolours Price discussing Jean McConville’s disappearance, although she had not named McConville in her recorded Belfast Project sessions with McIntyre. The archive is surrendered The subpoena ultimately reaches Moloney’s recordings as well. Investigators obtain Price’s detailed account, and the evidentiary archive becomes part of a criminal inquiry rather than a protected historical record.

2000

2001–2006

2010

2011–2012

2010–2013