O'brien Pocket History Of The Troubles

by Brian Feeney

From the first symptoms of serious unrest - the Divis Street riots of 1964 - to the tortuous political manoeuvrings culminating in the 2003 Assembly elections, the book traces the reality of life in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. It details the motivation behind the IRA 'armed struggle', the Civil Rights movement, the murder campaigns of various loyalist terror groups, the major incidents of violence and the response of the British security forces and the justice system. It describes what it was like to live with bombs, army searches in the dead of night, death threats to politicians, activists and others. A detailed account of the political and personal toll of the Northern Ireland conflict.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ireland

Paperback

First published March 25, 2004

About the author

Brian Feeney, a political columnist with the Irish News, is a leading nationalist commentator and frequent broadcaster on Northern Ireland affairs. He was an SDLP councillor for sixteen years. He is co-author of Lost Lives: the story of the men, women and children killed in the Northern Ireland troubles. In 2001 the book won the Christopher Ewart-Biggs award for its contribution to reconciliation in Ireland and Europe. A historian by profession, he is Head of History at St Mary's University College, Belfast.

Reviews

[Gijs Grob · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is what it says on the tin: a short history of the troubles. Feeney tells some background, but not too much. He gives some depth to underlying processes, but not too much. He analyzes a little, but not too much. The book is therefore a perfect introduction to Northern Island troubled past, but for a deep understanding of the troubles, one should look elsewhere.

Nevertheless, the little book gave me quite a few insights: that the Northern Irish regime was de facto an apartheidsregime until the early seventies; that only for a very short time organizations promoting emancipation of Catholics were not also promoting union with the rest of Ireland; that the peace progress was prolonged by deeply entrenched factions, who weren't able to move an inch towards each other; that Northern Ireland's history was deeply dependent on the political situations in Ireland and Great Britain themselves; that any movement was very much the work of only a few people; and that many of the country's problems still persist today, something that's easy to see when visiting Belfast or Derry.

[Vidhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short and sweet recounting of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, I appreciated the summary this book presented. Giving appreciation to detail when needed while prioritizing the main picture, this was a good introduction to the Troubles as well as a good recap when needed.

I will say this, I do believe the Troubles are nuanced enough I don’t think this under 200 page book does it justice and can definitely be confusing at times, especially if this is your first encounter with the violent political situation in Northern Ireland. Although for a complimentary text, it does the job well. But confusion isn’t can’t be helped, if you think you understand Irish politics, you’re wrong, as my professor says.

Overall, good overview of the Troubles, do also recommend checking out Armed Struggles of the IRA and Northern Ireland’s Lost Opportunity in addition to this text to get a full picture of the Troubles.

[Pablo Colette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Duro jarrón de agua fría de la tensión vivida en Belfast (Northern Ireland, Ulster region) entre republicanos y loyalists.

Un conflicto poco presente para los españoles y a más de uno ni le debe sonar pero que aun no ha cicatrizado.

Como siempre digo, este tipo de libros es para dar un paso más y conocer de raíz el tema. Por no decir al detalle. Pero aun así creo que vale mucho la pena. Aunque no hay mejor manera para entender “The Troubles” (como se les llama a estos conflictos en Northern Ireland) que visitar Belfast y, para los frikis, también Derry.

[Kristen Barenthaler · Rating 3 out of 5]

While grammatically well written, this book is a better read with some previous background on Irish history and The Troubles. If you’re looking for something easy as a beginner historian, look elsewhere. If you’re invested in Irish history and are looking to brush up on your Troubles, give it a go.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read before a trip to Belfast.

[Maya Greally · Rating 2 out of 5]

kind of boring, definitely right leaning, would probably be better spending your time watching a youtube video about this

[Liesje Leest · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a bit hard to rate...
At times the text was hard to follow and sometimes I felt like I was almost reading a list of events instead of a book. I also got a bit lost in all the different parties, especially since the book uses so many abbreviations. But at the same time, this is a short history on a very complicated conflict. The author did do a great job including a lot of information in a small book. I think the book was just a bit to short for what it was trying to tell. Because the book leaves so little room for backgrounds all the events just flow together in one big stream and it makes it hard to remember the different occurrences. I did learn a lot from the book and it gave me a good starting point to look up more online or in other books, but in this case I think short was too short.

[Anthony Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read.