SDLP Foyleside Councillor Mary Durkan
This will secure the long-term protection of the invaluable resource for researchers, academics and historians all around the world.
Said Miss Durkan: “There has been uncertainty surrounding the website of international acclaim due to lack of secure funding over the past couple of years.
“Last year Irish government funding of over €66,000 brought short-term reprieve, helping to protect the future of CAIN.”
Miss Durkan added: “CAIN is a vital source of information about the Troubles, and it has been utilised and valued by historians across the globe.
“When Ulster University’s proposal to close the website was put out for public consultation in 2019, the universal response was loud and clear.
“Hundreds of researchers and representatives of various learning institutions signed petitions. High-profile academics wrote letters and made public statements calling for the facility to remain open.
“CAIN’s presence in Derry, along with the UN Conflict Resolution Centre, INCORE, represented John Hume’s lasting legacy in Derry.
“The relocation of the latter from Derry to Belfast was a blow to that legacy.
“It has therefore been all the more important to protect CAIN’s presence, and the jobs therein, in our city.”
