‘We turn reluctantly to the North and the sound once again of violence…’: The Late Late Show and The Troubles

By Victoria Anne Pearson- The title of this piece is from an RTÉ broadcast aired not after decades of violence and grief, but by Liam Hourican reporting from Derry's Bogside during the 1969 riots, which for many marked a starting point in the 'Troubles'. The sentiment of this statement captures a general detachment that appeared...

Presidential libraries and the writing of the role of the United States in Northern Ireland

By Andrew Sanders – There are currently thirteen Presidential Libraries in the portfolio of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). These are scattered across the United States, from Yorba Linda and Simi Valley in California (Nixon and Reagan, respectively), to Boston, MA and Hyde Park, NY (Kennedy and Franklin Roosevelt). The first of these...

Spotlight on ‘A Secret History’

By Gareth Mulvenna- secret history a version of historical events which differs from the official or commonly accepted record and purports to be the true version – Collins English Dictionary This is not intended to be a comprehensive review of the recent Spotlight series. I don’t think it is possible to fairly appraise the full...

Audio-describing the Maze and Long Kesh prison

By Sarah McDonagh- A wide panoramic view of the entire Maze, Long Kesh prison. With its extensive concrete walls, wire fences, exercise yards and administration buildings, the prison appears entirely grey. The Maze and Long Kesh prison.   A row of disused and abandoned Nissen huts.   An empty fortified prison gate.[1] The Maze and...

Shopping through the Barricades: Buying Clothes during the ‘Troubles’

By Rachel Sayers- When you think of Northern Ireland’s ‘Troubles’, clothes shopping is not something you would generally consider in the narrative of the conflict. Indeed, you could say that concentrating on such matters is frivolous when compared to the lives lost and irreversible damage wrought by thirty years of inter-communal conflict. However, I argue...

‘Locally, too, the atmosphere brightened’: Kinship among gay rights activists during The Troubles

By Bridget Keown-  Just before 1:00 am on June 3 1979, Anthony McCleave, a thirty-six-year-old Catholic homosexual who worked as a hospital porter, was found lying by a security barrier on Chichester Street by a passer-by.[i] He had severe facial injuries, and despite attempts by the passer-by and the firemen and ambulancemen who eventually arrived...

Irish and Loyal: The Irish Language and Identity in Northern Ireland

By Abigail Wise – Whether or not we realise it, everyone possesses some level of national identity that has been actively constructed. We may not be doing the construction personally, but our choices – and they are choices – to hold a certain passport, profess a certain religion, or speak a certain language often allow...

Voices ‘From Below’ and why we need to start listening

By Kevin Hearty- If we are prepared to tell our own story then we must be prepared to let others do the same... Some months ago a former member of the security forces accosted me over my monograph Critical Engagement: Irish Republicanism, Memory Politics and Policing. I was accused of peddling ‘untruths’, trying to ‘rewrite...

I, Dolours… Broadcasting a Psychopath?

By Dieter Reinisch- The recent RTÉ screening of the I, Dolours documentary, directed by Maurice Sweeney, received much media attention in Ireland and was reviewed by several national newspapers, including the Irish Times, Irish Independent, and Irish Mirror. The documentary is, indeed, a gripping, and at times disturbing, insight into the history of the Northern...