The conflict in Northern Ireland since 1969 has cost over 3,600 lives and about 100,000 people in Northern Ireland live in a household where someone has been injured in a troubles-related incident. This has been a key issue in British and Irish politics and the recent peace process in Northern Ireland and the current ‘War on Terrorism’ has stimulated international involvement and a desire to ‘learn the lessons’ of ‘the troubles’.
Although Northern Ireland has a population of just 1.5 million people it is one of the most researched territories of the world. There is considerable controversy over the interpretation of the history of Northern Ireland, not least since 1969. This new addition to the Seminar Studies in History Series provides a comprehensive introduction to the difficult topic, reviewing different perspectives on the recent history of the conflict in Northern Ireland while at the same time providing an authoritative overview.
Each book in the Seminar Studies in History series provides a concise and reliable introduction to complex events and debates. Written by acknowledged experts and supported by extracts from historical Documents, a Chronology, Glossary, Who’s Who of key figures and Guide to Further Reading, Seminar Studies in History are the essential guides to understanding a topic.
Publisher’s acknowledgements
Chronology
Who’s who
Glossary
Maps
Part one Analysis and assessment
1 Perspectives on the Northern Ireland conflict
2 The outbreak of the Troubles
3 The power-sharing experiment, 1972–74
4 Searching for solutions, 1974–82
5 The Anglo-Irish Agreement 1983–85
6 The origins of the peace process, 1985–94
7 From ceasefire to the Good Friday Agreement, 1994–98
8 The endgame? Implementing the agreement, 1998–2010
9 Conclusion: the peace process and the future of Northern Ireland
Part two Documents
1 ‘The Men Behind the Wire’
2 A loyalist song
3 UK Cabinet’s sub-committee minutes
4 The death of Bernard McGuigan on Bloody Sunday
5 IRA training manual
6 The death of Jean McConville
7 Proposals of the SDLP
8 Green Paper on the future of Northern Ireland
9 A unionist view on the future of Northern Ireland
10 White Paper on Northern Ireland Constitutional Proposals
11 Harold Wilson’s ‘Spongers Speech’
12 IRA ‘Staff Report’
13 The Glover Report
14 Ian Paisley calls for the extermination of the IRA
15 The Anglo-Irish Agreement 1985
16 A unionist MP on the Anglo-Irish Agreement
17 The UDA’s analysis of the conflict
18 John Hume criticises Sinn Féin
19 An SLDP view of republicans
20 Peter Brooke’s ‘Whitbread Speech’
21 The ‘TUAS’ Document
22 Gerry Adams on demands for IRA decommissioning
23 The Mitchell Principles
24 Tony Blair reassures unionists
25 The Good Friday Agreement
26 The Alliance Party sets out its principles for a settlement
27 Loyalists clash: the DUP and the PUP
28 David Trimble on peacemaking, Nobel Peace Prize Speech
29 Tony Blair’s ‘Belfast Harbour Speech’
30 Tony Blair’s scepticism that the DUP want power-sharing
31 Ian Paisley declares he will not share power with republicans
Guide to further reading
References
Index
Biography
Paul Dixon is a Reader in Politics and International Studies at Kingston University. He is the author of Northern Ireland: The Politics of War and Peace (2nd edition, 2008).
Eamonn O'Kane is Senior Lecturer in Politics and War Studies at the University of Wolverhampton. He is the author of Britain , Ireland and Northern Ireland Since 1980 (2007, paperback 2010).
