The Trouble with Peace: The European Union Programme for Peace and Reconciliation in Northern Ireland and the Border Region of Ireland

Abstract

The European Union Special Support Programme for Peace and Reconciliation in Northern Ireland and the six Border Counties of Ireland (also known as 'Peace') is a peacebuilding initiative which has been operating in the six counties of Northern Ireland and the six Southern border counties of the Republic of Ireland, since 1995. It has consisted of three phases: Peace I, II and III, and is at present in its third phase, ongoing until 2013. Briefly put, the aim of the programme is to work towards a shared future, and to reconcile communities. This research project is an attempt to critically explore how peace and reconciliation is, and has been, approached in Northern Ireland and the border region of the Republic through this Peace programme. It will be undertaken partly through the use of the specific case of Louth, a southern border county, in order to garner more detailed examples, results and insights.