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22 Sep 2018 | features

Irish Times article by writer/director Alan Gilsenan

Excerpt from a piece in today’s Irish Times by writer/director Alan Gilsenan about making⁩ The Meeting

She said to her sisters one day, I want to meet him. I have questions I want answered. I deserve that much, don’t I? Her two sisters, who love her deeply, thought she was mad. Why would you put yourself through all that?

But she persisted and her sisters listened. One day, one of them said: “You know what that is? That’s restorative justice.” One of them knew a woman who had lectured on it. Her name was Dr Marie Keenan and she knew all about this stuff. Ailbhe emailed her.

Marie Keenan has seen it all; working with monsters of all descriptions, rapists and abusers and paedophiles, the people behind the headlines. While acknowledging the awfulness of their terrible crimes she also sees their broken humanity.

Together, Ailbhe and Marie forged a path. Working with Restorative Justice Services in Dublin – who usually work with less grievous crimes – they sought to arrange the meeting. There was some resistance in official corridors but they persisted and, finally, a plan started to take shape.

Read the full article here on irishtimes.com