The twentieth century in Ireland saw colonial rule, the nationalist movement, the attainment of independence through a divisive treaty, civil war, poverty, the Northern Irish Conflict, and more recently the Celtic Tiger, the impact of globalization and secularization. Each of these changes brings substantive challenges for police forces. This book critically evaluates how the Irish police force, An Garda Síochána, was influenced by and responded to the substantially changes which Ireland underwent. Incorporating data from oral history interviews, analysis of policing literature, historical documents, government debates and newspapers this book assesses how the police force reacted to the intense social, political, cultural and economic changes.

The Irish criminal justice system is vast, heavily regulated and intensely litigated. In the last ten years alone there has been a plethora of new legislation introduced, significantly impacting on the operation of the system. Within the criminal process, fundamental human rights and core interests of the community and society as a whole come into sharp conflict. As an area of study, criminal justice and procedure is complex, challenging and stimulating. Irish Criminal Justice: Theory, Process and Procedure provides an accessible yet critical analysis of key themes and stages in the Irish criminal process. It begins with an overview of the theoretical framework of the process, and then analyses key issues from initial arrest to sentence and post-sentencing appeals. Controversial questions such as police powers, the role of the prosecutor, victims’ rights, juvenile justice and miscarriages of justice are also addressed in a comprehensive and engaging manner. This book incorporates up-to-date developments in domestic legislation and case-law while integrating the latest developments in human rights law, as they affect the area. As the first directed textbook on the topic, Irish Criminal Justice: Theory, Process and Procedure will be an essential read for all students of criminal justice and procedure, at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. As a comprehensive account of the Irish criminal process, it will also be a useful resource for practitioners in the area. About the Authors Dr Vicky Conway is a lecturer at the School of Law in Queen’s University Belfast and a member of the Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice. She lectures on evidence law, criminology theory and restorative justice and is the author of The Blue Wall of Silence: The Morris Tribunal and Police Accountability in Ireland. Dr Yvonne Daly is a lecturer at the School of Law and Government, Dublin City University and a member of the Socio-Legal Research Centre. She lectures in criminal law, the law of evidence and constitutional law and has published widely on matters of criminal justice and procedure. Jennifer Schweppe is a lecturer at the School of Law at the University of Limerick and a member of the Centre for Criminal Justice Studies. She lectures constitutional law to undergraduate students, and criminal procedure at undergraduate and postgraduate level. She is the course director of the PhD in Criminal Justice at UL.

Presenting findings of an unparalleled study, mapping the extent of restorative practices in Northern Ireland, this article argues that while some examples of the use of restorative justice in Northern Ireland have been researched in detail, it is in fact being employed in a much wider range of contexts, including schools and children’s care homes. This diversity in restorative justice deployment is used to frame arguments for restorative justice to be given stronger footing by government citing the great potential for Northern Ireland to become a ‘restorative society’. Key findings from the mapping research are presented as an explanation for previous growth in restorative practices to date and as a facilitator for further growth both in Northern Ireland and in other jurisdictions. These include recognition that the definition and application of restorative justice must be determined by situation and context, and that the continued expansion of restorative practices is dependent on the cross-fertilisation of ideas both from abroad, but also between organisations within a jurisdiction.

2005 saw the passing of landmark legislation for policing in Ireland-the Garda Siochana Act-which made substantial changes to the structures and operation of governance and accountability. It came on the heels of the greatest scandal ever faced by the Irish police. This paper sets out to assess critically the impact of that legislation. We begin by considering the nature of police reform and the various conditions necessary for successful change. We then contextualise the reforms in Ireland, considering the existing structures of governance and accountability and highlighting the numerous concerns which existed in relation to them. The focus then turns to the Morris Tribunal, which documented gross misconduct and corruption in one Garda division. We examine how this served as a major catalyst for reform in Ireland. The paper then turns to consider the reforms themselves providing an overview of the legislation and critiquing in depth a number of features: the clear centralisation of government control over the police, the limited independence of the new independent police complaints body and the failure to fully embed the reforms in a human rights agenda. We conclude by arguing that insufficient steps have been taken to address police governance and accountability in Ireland and that the best opportunity for such reform may have been missed.

Police accountabiliy structures in the Republic of Ireland have recently undergone fundamental reform in response to international developments and domestic scandals. During the debates as to what shape new measures should take, numerous commentators called for implementation of the Patten Report. This article will evaluate the role which the Patten Report played in the reform debates. It will be argued that by interpreting that report as recommending a series of new mechanisms, rather than reflecling on the theoretical underpinnings, the value which it has for otherjuisdieions has become lost in translation. By analysing the reforms which were introduced in Irelandfrom the theoreticalframework in Patten, the deficienies of the new system in the Republic will be highighted. Through this case study, the potential value of the Patten Report for other jurisdictions, in providing a theoreticaly sound blueprintfor accountability reform, will be elaborated.