New Publication: Catholic Sisters, Conflict and Peace in Northern Ireland, 1968-2008

Dr Briege Rafferty, Research Fellow of the Las Casas Institute and a key part of our Women Religious Project, will publish an in-depth study of Catholic sisters in Northern Ireland during the Troubles later this month.

The book investigates the experiences of sisters as they negotiated a changing religious and social landscape alongside the demands of a hierarchical institutional structure and visceral, incessant violence. Drawing on interviews with sisters from 14 religious institutes, Dr Rafferty examines the challenging ministries of those who were educators, nurses, parish sisters and peacemakers, and places their activism within the context of Catholic social teaching and their response to the call of Vatican II (1962-1965) to ‘read the signs of the time’ and ‘aid humanity effectively’. By engaging in debate surrounding oral testimony, identity, feminism and trauma, their life stories are integrated into the cultural and political climate in which the sisters lived and worked, exposing the complexities of societies at war and the personal and social transformation that comes with peace. The book enriches our understanding of religious life in Northern Ireland during the latter part of the twentieth century and will be of interest to scholars of Catholic studies, peace and conflict studies, oral history, gender studies and Irish studies.

To pre-order a copy, please see the publisher’s website. A book launch will be held later this year.

Dr Briege Rafferty is a Research Fellow at the Las Casas Institute. Since 2014, her academic research has focused on recovering the voices of religious sisters whose lived experiences have been largely ignored in the historiography of the Catholic Church and the Northern Ireland Troubles (1968-1998). Specifically, her work uncovers the diversity and scope of sisters’ ministries in the areas of social activism, education, healthcare, and peace and reconciliation. Prior to commencing this research, Briege worked as a nurse in various areas of healthcare for more than twenty years. She completed her MRes. in the Arts (with distinction) in 2016 and was awarded her PhD from Queens University, Belfast, in 2022.