Abstract

Using the Latin American concept of ‘testimonio’ as a suitable tool of analysis,
this article explores the narrative experiences of former detainees who ‘went
public’ with accounts of State brutality and torture relating to the conflict in
Northern Ireland. Referring directly to these historical narratives alongside the
findings of a series of contemporary interviews with Republican former
detainees, the article argues that the core aspects of testimonio – collective
struggle, resistance, audience and action – can all be observed in the accounts
of those who were subjected to State violence in the detention system of
Northern Ireland and that these accounts represent particular ways of
challenging the official discourse around the conflict, its historiography and its
legacy.