Fifty Years of The Troubles: Northern Ireland's Ongoing Struggle for Change

The Troubles, a period of paramilitary warfare between republicans and loyalists, marked its 50th anniversary in August 2019. This eruption of armed violence in Northern Ireland transformed a time of street protest over civil rights into decades of conflict. One fateful night of street gun battles led to the British army being deployed to maintain order. For an entire generation growing up in Belfast, the city would resemble a battlefield.

In this evocative memoir, Malachi O'Doherty recounts his personal experiences of living through the three decades of the Troubles and the subsequent peace process. By incorporating interviews with political, professional, and paramilitary figures, he draws a vivid profile of this era, characterized by violent trauma. O'Doherty's work compares and contrasts the past with the present, raising questions about the fragility of the current peace as Brexit approaches, political deadlock persists, and simmering violence continues in both republican and loyalist camps.

The Troubles, a period of intense conflict in Northern Ireland, began with a night of street gun battles that prompted the British army's intervention to keep the peace. This event set the stage for decades of paramilitary warfare between republicans and loyalists, which had been preceded by a time of street protest over civil rights. For an entire generation growing up in Belfast, the city's landscape would be forever scarred by the violence of this era.

In his evocative memoir, Malachi O'Doherty shares his personal experiences of navigating the three decades of the Troubles and the subsequent peace process. By incorporating interviews with a diverse range of figures, including political, professional, and paramilitary representatives, O'Doherty paints a comprehensive picture of this tumultuous period. His work not only recounts the violent trauma of the past but also compares and contrasts it with the present, raising urgent questions about the fragility of the current peace as Brexit looms, political deadlock persists, and simmering violence continues to simmer in both republican and loyalist camps.

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