Fiona McAuslan, Director of the Family Mediation Service in Ireland, shares a powerful story about how mediation became part of Ireland’s DNA. Her own journey began far from family law—she moved from Scotland to Ireland to play with the National Symphony Orchestra, where involvement in industrial relations first introduced her to a unique culture of negotiation and conflict resolution during a time of major social change in the 1990s. That experience led her to train as a mediator and ultimately dedicate her career to the field.
Fiona explains that Ireland’s approach to mediation is deeply shaped by its history. The Family Mediation Service opened in 1986 as a fully publicly funded service, at the same time that the Glencree Peace and Reconciliation Centre was contributing to the peace process. Long before divorce was legal, mediation was already helping families separate—what Fiona calls “an Irish solution to an Irish problem.”
At the heart of Ireland’s mediation culture is a belief in conversation and storytelling. Fiona describes a society that understands conflict as part of life, where resolution comes not from focusing on issues alone, but from listening to people. Mediation, she says, works alongside the legal system—but remains a stand-alone profession, centred on human relationships rather than legal battles.
Drawing on Ireland’s history as a colonized country, shaped by civil conflict on a small island, Fiona reflects on a simple truth: people ultimately have to find a way to live together. Mediation exists because, in the end, it’s people who resolve issues, and not issues that define people.
🎥 Watch the interview to hear Fiona reflect on Ireland’s unique mediation culture and why conversation is always at the heart of resolution.
