There is an interesting article by Ruan O’Donnell in the current issue of History Ireland.

The Boston Archive has vexated bloggers and journalists for a while.

In common with many individuals, Ed Moloney and Anthony McIntyre (thats what I thought too) have interviewed people who were involved in the Troubles. People were frank……perhaps they were even honest…….but the condition of the interviews was that they not be published until the interviewees had died.

Some controversy arises because Brendan Hughes, a former Officer Commanding Belfast Brigade IRA (he had worked his way up from the Second Batallions D Company) mentioned Gerry Adams quite a lot. This gave some succour to dissident Reublicans and other enemies of Adams, including hibernophobic blog sites. Alas despite their worst efforts, not many people in either West Belfast (2010) or County Louth (2011) changed their minds about voting Adams.

The interview archive …..is now held in Boston College.

Frankly I think a grave mistake was made in rushing to publish Hughes’ account after his death. The real value of the archive would be publication after everyone is dead.

I think it was an open secret that just about every historian and journalist and self-styled journalist had taped some interviews. But as is often the case somebody said something unwise. It was reported that one of the Price Sisters (dont ask me which one because I always get them wrong) had told a journalist of the existence of the archive. She herself had contributed. There is some dispute as to whether the interview was properly conducted….but thats not the central issue.

The Police Service of Norn Iron would like access to the tapes. Boston College is making some kinda principled stand on academic fredom and the terms under which the archive was given to them. The PSNI are obliged to follow up leads but I suspect that they are as aware of historians holding on to material as anyone else.

Alas Ed Moloney and Anthony McIntyre are NOT academics. They are journalists.

And lets be frank……there is no WRITTEN amnesty in the Good Friday Agreement. But there is no way that any signatory to the Good Friday Agreement will be charged or imprisoned for an offnce before 1998. “Creative Ambiguity” is the phrase.

There is a completely unnecessary court case being conducted in USA. Should the archive be opened to facilitate PSNI?

The politicians know the score. The historians knew the score. The PSNI knew the score.

It was a journalist who screwed it all up by reporting it.