Dr Gallen contributes chapter to OUP handbook on religion in Ireland
The new collection published by Oxford University Press brings together thirty-six leading experts for an interdisciplinary account of religion in Ireland: including those on identity, secularisation, everyday religion, and gender. Gallen's chapter covers the legal aspects of abuse crises. The handbook charts a chronological, all Island course, providing a comprehensive up to date account.
Gallen was previously been appointed as an expert adviser to assist the Commission on Mother and Baby Homes. He provided a model of ‘transitional justice’ as a means of giving voice to former residents of Mother and Baby Homes and County Homes.
Dr Gallen’s expertise in transitional justice helped to develop an approach which acknowledged the experiences of former residents and further enhance public awareness and understanding of this part of our history.
Gallen later authored a book on the subject. Published by Cambridge University Press in March 2023, it provides an in-depth evaluation of the responses of Western states and churches to their historical abuses from a transitional justice perspective. Using a comparative lens, this book examines the application of transitional justice to address and redress the past in Ireland, Australia, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.