‘Vernacular Institutional Memory’: Emerging Narratives on a Contested Past and How They Adhere (or Not) to the ‘Proper Use of Memory’ Within Transitional Justice

Todorov reasoned that memorialisation can invoke two forms of collective remembrance. The first is ‘literal remembrance’, where the meaning derived from memorialisation does not intend to lead anywhere beyond itself and those assembled are bonded by a sense of recognition between survivors and witnesses. The second is ‘exemplary remembrance’ which seeks to capture the complexity of effects of an experience beyond individual memories to communicate a shared– if not always explicated– meaning of the experience itself. The latter form is one reason why communities routinely turn to memorialisation to communicate their devastating experiences of an armed conflict. The ability to convey the devastating impact of past harms naturally brings memorialisation within the ambit of transitional justice (TJ), with UN Special Rapporteur Fabian Salvioli’s 2020 report formally recognising memorialisation as the fifth pillar of TJ and outlining that the ‘proper use of memory’ within TJ is to establish the conditions for a ‘debate within society on the causes and consequences of past crimes and violence’. Notably, Salvioli’s report and recommendation is primarily addressed to States and for memorialisation at a wider societal level; this contrasts with the observation of multiple scholars that memory and memorialisation of an armed conflict tend to be organised at a localised level by grassroots actors. This paper will consequently examine grassroots memorialisation to assess if it adheres (or not) to the proper use of memory within TJ as outlined by Salvioli. As the region has witnessed a post-conflict memory boom driven by grassroots actors, Northern Ireland/North of Ireland (NI) has been selected as a case study. Rather than focusing on memorials which project a conflict narrative, the paper will centre on memorials that demonstrate the emergence of ‘vernacular institutional memory’ within NI. Being the collective memory tied to a specific institution, institutional memory is commonly directed from the top-down. In NI, however, there are instances where an institution’s collective memory of the conflict is being organised at a grassroots level. This paper examines two instances of ‘vernacular institutional memory’ of the NI conflict (the Gaelic Athletic Association and news reporters) and assess how they adhere (or not) to the ‘proper use of memory’ within TJ.