Introduction

Much has been written on the topic of family mediation in recent years: mediators have sought to explain and justify their approach and methodology, critics have tried to uncover the risks and traps of this alternative dispute resolution process, while social scientists have attempted to measure and count the relative costs and benefits, both material and social, of mediation. Yet, little research has emerged bringing these schools of thought together, by examining the theoretical and empirical, the supportive and critical approaches, in a manner that seeks to draw broad conclusions. Moreover, unlike the fruitful debates emanating from the United States and England, the family mediation services in Ireland, north and south, have not produced bountiful discussion. To some extent, this work seeks to fill the lacunae in the mediation literature and aims to provide an overview of the debates, while grounding new empirical research on the Irish mediation service in international theoretical and empirical controversies.