Northern Ireland: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #082

by Marc Mulholland

This highly readable exploration of the central issues and debates about Northern Ireland sets these in the historical context of hundreds of years of conflict. It tackles many questions, such What accounts for the perpetuation of ethnic and religious conflict in Ireland? Why has armed
violence proven so hard to control? Who are the major figures and issues in the conflict? Can we expect more "Northern Irelands" in the future?

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Ireland, Audiobook, Irish Literature, Reference

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 23, 2003

Reviews

[Markel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again, this is no introduction to the subject. In order to understand even the background provided in the first chapters of the book (and not the other way around), one needs to be thoroughly familiar with not only the current context in Northern Ireland, but also with the deeper and extremely complex Anglo-Irish historical ties. The author runs through a myriad of names, characters, places and acronyms, often using synonyms for the same concepts, parties or events, which adds to the general confusion building up chapter after chapter. I especially missed some paragraphs dedicated to a distinct Northern-Irish identity and culture beyond the Unionist/Protestant vs. Nationalist/Catholic dynamics. But perhaps this is a new conception arising later in the XXI century, as the book was published in 2002. Unfortunately, I cannot say I now know more about what I wanted to know regarding Northern Ireland and I had to supplement my reading with Wikipedia 'wisdom', which speaks awfully about how I actually found this book. I am only glad I am over with it, as it took me three attempts over the last four years.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a tiny book, only five chapters. I realize that to minimize the text something would have to be omitted. What actually is lost is the entire meaning of the events of the creation and troubles of Northern Ireland. For one thing, no map to orient yourself. The author clearly adores his thesaurus, and uses obscure words for no reason. His time periods alternate by decades, and while he relates anecdotal events, he doesn't tie them together in any sort of cohesive way so as to make the subject understandable. This was a college textbook for Irish Studies, but Google was much more helpful.

[Pinko Palest · Rating 5 out of 5]

a rather unionist approach to Northern Ireland and the Troubles, but a nuanced and intelligent one. Very readable too, and highly informative in places. It does need bringing up to date though, since it only reaches the early 2000s

[Tobi ﾄﾋﾞ · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review is regarding the second edition which is apparently quite different from the first. I’ve studied Northern Ireland a few times now but I have a seminar coming up with a Northern Ireland peace builder so I thought I’d refresh my memory. I found this book intriguing. The second edition pays extra attention to women’s roles in the conflict, which I’ve never heard about before. It’s an incredibly thorough book.

I read these Oxford A Very Short Introduction series books often and they always tend to be either very good or very bad. This is definitely on the more impressive side of the spectrum. I have no idea how they put so much information into such a small book

[Kristīne Vītola]

DNF - the book does not fulfill its purpose of being a good introduction in the topic as it requires extensive previous knowledge and the overly academic language does not help either.

[Ryan Lally]

A wonderful account of Northern Irish History and a model for what the VSI series purports to do.
Mulholland gives a clear, albeit compressed (that's the point) account of over 400 years of history, largely focused on the late 19th and 20th century. Even-handed in his approach, and without ever reverting to merely citing a compendium of crimes perpetrated by both sides of the sectarian divide, he achieves a level of informed fairness which has proved difficult to obtain on this topic in the past. A more detailed description of the mechanics of the political systems would have been welcomed, however this may be nitpicking.

"Northern Ireland's tragedy is that it's people have not been able to agree upon a common identity". Mulholland never suggests that the conflict is 'primeval' or 'beyond reason', and he does fine job of explaining why.

[Finn · Rating 4 out of 5]

very unionist perspective which was disappointing. do they think we are too stupid to notice? fair amount of information that was interesting enough but definitely a clear bias which is disappointing given the nature. i was having to re read sentences shocked by the bias of what i had just read sometimes. maybe not as obvious of a bias if you are treating this as an introduction, but that makes it more concerning.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for what it was.

[Donna McCaul Thibodeau]

I gave it a try but I found this book to be dry and boring. DNF.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Way to take a confusing subject and make it even more confusing. 🫤 He tried to organize things by subject matter rather than chronologically and while that approach can be interesting it just muddled things and random terminology shows up without illustrating the evolution so context is confusing. Giving it 3 stars cause I must have learned something, just not sure what.

[Oliver Shields · Rating 5 out of 5]

SECOND EDITION: Unbiased, much to learn from all of the different perspectives.

[Troy Parfitt · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the sixth or seventh book I’ve read in this series and for the most part the writing has been exemplary. Not so with this volume. Such an intriguing history, such poor penmanship. There are typos, quite a few for such a short piece. And it’s Oxford, yeah? My goodness, where was the editor? Even where there aren’t typos, there is mechanical, clumsy language. I think I’ll have to look elsewhere to learn about Northern Island. Perhaps you should too.

Troy Parfitt is the author of War Torn: Adventures in the Brave New Canada, and Why China Will Never Rule the World.

[M. Ashraf · Rating 2 out of 5]

Northern Ireland
A Very Short Introduction #82
Marc Mullholland

About the time of the troubles in Ulster / Northern Ireland, from one point of view, it is not an easy subject and it should not be treated this way, yes it is merely an introduction but it should not require that much of google searches to understand the events better.
The further reading section seems interesting!
Not that good of being a short introduction to the subject.

[Brandon Lighty · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction to The Troubles and is best used as a way to familiarize oneself to the different organizations (state and nonstate) as well as establishing a sophomoric foundation on the ideological components of the political and militant struggle. Best read in conversation with deeper dives into specific parts of The Troubles and peace process

[Astrid Johanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good background information book regarding the History of Ireland. However it is written in a very academic language which for me means that it take some time to read

[Maik Arnold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Northern Ireland: A Very Short Introduction is a concise and accessible book written by historian Marc Mulholland, which provides an overview of the complex history, politics, and culture of Northern Ireland. The book traces the historical development from 20th to 21st century. It presents a balanced and informative examination of the key events and issues that have shaped Northern Ireland from the origins and the formation of Northern Ireland, such as the Anglo-Norman invasion, the Protestant Reformation, and the Williamite War. He then discusses the Act of Union in 1801, which united Great Britain and Ireland, as well as enforced the rise of Irish nationalism and unionism. Throughout the book, Mulholland moves on to cover the events leading up to the partition of Ireland in 1921, including the Home Rule crisis, the Easter Rising, and the subsequent War of Independence. Mulholland then examines the period known as "The Troubles", a time of significant violence and conflict between the Protestant and Catholic communities, as well as the involvement of paramilitary groups and the British government. The author highlights the key events, such as Bloody Sunday and the hunger strikes, as well as the various attempts to restore peace, including the Sunningdale Agreement and the Anglo-Irish Agreement. The book concludes with a discussion of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 and its aftermath, including the devolution process and the establishment of a power-sharing government in Northern Ireland. Mulholland also considers the ongoing legacy of The Troubles, the role of identity and culture in contemporary society, and the potential impact of Brexit on the region's future (a solution still needs to be found for this). What I found really remarkable and remarkably is that the book also gives a detailed account of the establishment of Northern Ireland as a separate entity, along with the political and social challenges faced from the nationalists, loyalists, unionists, and all the other parties in the conflict. However, this helped me, as a complete outsider to better understand the conflicting positions and the events in the 20th century. Northern Ireland: A Very Short Introduction is an invaluable resource and starting point for anyone looking to gain a deeper understanding of the historical, social and political complexities of Northern Ireland. The book's clear and concise language makes it worth reading for both academics and general readers alike.

[Peter Colclasure · Rating 2 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook version and man, did I keep tuning out. Had to hit the rewind button constantly but nevertheless I persisted. This is basically a textbook. The prose is dry, academic, dense, and riddled with esoteric vocabulary. Despite being blurbed as a "readable introduction", it is neither readable nor an introduction. Short yes, but short like a PhD thesis. If you're not already familiar with the Troubles, there is no way you are going to understand this book. He'll mention something like Stormont or the UDR, and take no time to explain what it is or who they are. It jumps around in time, as well. There's no coherent narrative.

If you're a poli-sci grad student this might be up your alley as it contains plenty of detail about specific elections and political parties and concludes with the ramifications of Brexit for Northern Ireland, but if you're just looking for a short history of the Trouble you'll find easier reading elsewhere.

[Nicholas Cross · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Brilliant Analysis.

As an old ‘squaddie’ who patrolled the mean streets of Belfast and Londonderry during the seventies I have been impressed by the lucid analysis of the ‘Troubles’ that Marc Mulholland brings.
At the time we were told nothing of the politics of Northern Ireland and bemused by the experience of stones, petrol bombs etc, we squaddies were pro ‘prod’ and increasingly anti Catholic.
I wish we had been given a copy of a book like this then. Perhaps we might have had a bit more humanity if someone had explained the situation to us.

[Nash Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a bit of an intense intro for those who know nothing of Northern Ireland. I am not politically either side (I am an American) but I felt this was relatively unionist leaning but honest of the brutality of the of the Loyalist groups of Northern Ireland. My biggest critique is that it fails to allow any knowledge of anything else about Northern Ireland besides the origin, events, and current events of the Troubles. I don't think that is fair for those that have lived to try to create a culture that is politically diverse there. I wanted to see more than what it gave.

[Titus Hjelm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative, especially with the latest post-Brexit additions. I did wonder, though, whether any other country/region in the VSI series gets treated singularly as a political problem spot. I mean obviously, this is NI history in the last 100 or so years, but I would have loved to hear about society and culture more broadly too (there is a little bit about class cleavages of course). Anyway, a good intro and clarified many things for me.

[Sidonie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5, read this book to get more information on Northern Ireland for my master's dissertation. Found it hard to follow, as others have mentioned, it can hardly be qualified as an "introduction". I also believe that it is a bit outdated and it would benefit from a more recent evaluation of the situation in Northern Ireland (especially in relation with the issues raised with Brexit).

(also, the text was not justified, it is just a detail but it slightly bothered me.)

[astrapi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely not an introduction to Northern Ireland, but to the period of Troubles. And even so, a bad one. Most concepts are too simplified, at the end of the reading you merely learned anything about the origins of the Troubles. Furthermore, I believe there was other things to talk about regarding Northern Ireland than solely the Troubles. It would have been great to have a more extensive chapter on the period from 1920-1960.

[Hari Sood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative but possibly a bit confusing at times - had to back it up with some Wikipedia read throughs to get more of a sense of timelines, organisations etc.

Also just a very sad reality - seems to be that if you colonise long enough, you go through the 'it's complicated' territory into a 'solution that works for everyone'... Learning lots about how the world actually works in all its ugly forms through explorations like this!

[Heather Josephine Pue · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read for those with some background knowledge, but definitely not an introductory text. As a minimum, I'd suggest reading Modern Ireland: A Very Short Introduction first.

[Lukasz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Protokol umowy Brexitowej dotyczacy Irladnii Polnocnej czesto pojawia sie ostatnio w mediach. Postanowilem przyblizyc sobie temat Irladnii Polnocnej. Bardzo ciekawa historia. Nie przypuszczalem iz demokracja tak slabo byla rozwinieta w tym regionie Wielkiej Brytanii. Irlandczycy praktycznie przez dziesiatki lat byli pozbawieni podstawowych praw. 

[Kate Zimmerbaum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good info, but as other reviewers have stated, many unexplained references to persons, places, events; some gaps in background make it hard to contextualize events; some sweeping statements undefended.

Still, worth a read for basics.

[Daniel Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chapter 1: Divided Ulster: from plantation to partition
Chapter 2: Home rule in Ulster: Stormont's record
Chapter 3: Life cheapens: the descent into war
Chapter 4: The long war
Chapter 5: The long 'peace'
Chapter 6: Conclusion

[Kylie Gambrill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thoughts on book: This historical overview of Northern Ireland is dense! Idk if it was the writing style or the repetitive reality but it was hard to keep track of all the entities and conflicts.

Thoughts on content: Depressing.

[Ella Myers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really nice intro the subject - well balanced and good focus on women’s role and the twenty-first century. Gonna be taught by the author of this soon!

[Debbie]

Little refresher before setting off to Ireland this summer!