"I'm Not Too Sure what I Told you the Last Time": Methological Notes on Accounts from High-Risk Activists in the Irish Republican Movement

Abstract

Social movement research often draws on intensive interviews with activists to provide rich, detailed information on recruitment processes. Intensive interview data, however, are subject to misunderstandings between researchers and respondents, poor memories, the possibility that respondents will intentionally mislead in their presentation of self, and other threats. Veterans or members of the Provisional IRA and Provisional Sinn Féin were interviewed twice, approximately a decade apart in time. The interviews suggest that accounts from activists are relatively consistent over time, but that this consistency varies with differences in the recruitment process. Activists recruited into Irish Republicanism through their family background have the most consistent accounts. Those recruited in response to a key event and who were recruited by one key individual also have consistent accounts. Those who follow a more generic path of recruitment that occurs over time offer the least consistent accounts. This variation has important implications for understanding involvement in social movements.