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Boston College Offers To Return Belfast Tapes

BOSTON (AP) — Boston College is offering to return audiotapes of people interviewed for an oral history on the Northern Ireland conflict.

Detectives who fought Boston College for access to the tapes recently used information from them to arrest Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams for questioning about the 1972 IRA killing of a Belfast widow. Adams denied involvement, and has been released.

The school says that since litigation surrounding British subpoenas of some of the Belfast Project material has ended, it's appropriate to return the tapes. The college says it will turn over any original tapes to those who request theirs, and the school won't retain copies or transcripts of any returned tapes.

Subjects agreed to speak about their IRA careers on condition the interviews would remain sealed until their deaths.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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