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Northern Ireland: The Reluctant Peace
In this thoughtful and engaging book, Feargal Cochrane looks at Northern Ireland’s “Troubles” from the late 1960s to the present day. He explains why, a decade and a half after the peace process ended in political agreement in 1998, sectarian attitudes and violence continue to plague Northern Ireland today. Former members of the IRA now sit alongside their unionist adversaries in the Northern Ireland Assembly, but the region’s attitudes have been slow to change and recent years have even seen an upsurge in violence on both sides. In this book, Cochrane, who grew up a Catholic in Belfast in the ’70s and ’80s, explores how divisions between Catholics and Protestants became so entrenched, and reviews the thirty years of political violence in Northern Ireland—which killed over 3,500 people—leading up to the peace agreement. The book asks whether the peace process has actually delivered for the citizens of Northern Ireland, and what more needs to be done to enhance the current reluctant peace.
- GenresIrelandHistoryNonfiction
368 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 11, 2013
Feargal Cochrane manages what few other authors investigating the Troubles achieve: a reasonable and balanced representation of the issues.
Objectivity is hard to find, even in scholarly tomes on this topic. What sets Cochrane apart is that he takes to trouble to connect cause and effect, where possible, and to illuminate, when it is not. Where others selectively allude to parallel issues or largely ignore those that do not support their own particular themes, Cochrane seems to have no agenda other than to inform. He gives us authenticity in place of dogma.
At points, he does insert himself into the narrative, lending a personal perspective. And he is honest about the influences on that perspective. He does not, however, cast himself on one side or the other in the over-arching telling of events, outcomes, controversies, counter-controversies, denials, obfuscations, one-upmanship, sectarianism and self-aggrandizement that typifies these times.
We are now fifteen years on from the Good Friday/Belfast Accord. We are half a generation away from being totally removed from the violence and horror of the Troubles, the sacrifice and courage of its participants. We can only hope the people of Northern Ireland have the fortitude to appreciate and understand, as best they can, how they got to where they are. Cochrane offers something on which to pin that hope.
Objectivity is hard to find, even in scholarly tomes on this topic. What sets Cochrane apart is that he takes to trouble to connect cause and effect, where possible, and to illuminate, when it is not. Where others selectively allude to parallel issues or largely ignore those that do not support their own particular themes, Cochrane seems to have no agenda other than to inform. He gives us authenticity in place of dogma.
At points, he does insert himself into the narrative, lending a personal perspective. And he is honest about the influences on that perspective. He does not, however, cast himself on one side or the other in the over-arching telling of events, outcomes, controversies, counter-controversies, denials, obfuscations, one-upmanship, sectarianism and self-aggrandizement that typifies these times.
We are now fifteen years on from the Good Friday/Belfast Accord. We are half a generation away from being totally removed from the violence and horror of the Troubles, the sacrifice and courage of its participants. We can only hope the people of Northern Ireland have the fortitude to appreciate and understand, as best they can, how they got to where they are. Cochrane offers something on which to pin that hope.
April 23, 2019
I'll try to be as in depth as possible with Northern Ireland: The Reluctant Peace because I think it's important I justify why I gave it 3 stars.
Coming in not knowing a ton about Northern Ireland's history, I wish I had some kind of knowledge prior to reading this. I think watching a Youtube series, or listened to a podcast would have benefited me tremendously because I found this to be a challenging read, both on a literary level and an emotional level.
The book is obviously well researched, meticulously so. Cochrane knows what he's talking about, and writes from an unbiased standpoint, as far as I can tell. I THINK history fans, or buffs of Irish/Northern Irish history would welcome this book with open arms.
However.
I found the pacing quite slow. Cochrane covers a TON of material, but I think if I had gone in with the mindset of this being a textbook, I would have appreciated it more. Perhaps a historical fiction novel, or something in the vein of Studs Terkel would have led me to enjoying it more.
The good stuff is REALLY good, however - I really enjoyed the quotes from primary sources. When Cochrane dips into his own childhood experiences, the book came alive - I wish he had done more of that, but it's likely that he didn't want to rely on this too much since he's covering hundreds of years of insanely complicated, bloody history of a country that's experienced seemingly nothing but trauma on a political scale since its inception, not a memoir.
On an emotional level, it's so heartbreaking to learn about how many bombs destroyed buildings, cars, people, lives, communities every single day. To read about the horrific mismanagement from the English, the murderous tactics by the IRA, the pressure from both the Catholic and Protestant communities to become more inwardly focused, walls built (even in graveyards!)...it's overwhelming and you feel just awful for everybody involved. Halfway through the book, I kept thinking ok SURELY now they're going to sit down, admit faults and talk? But no.
So, 3 stars for it's excellent content, first hand accounts and author's authenticity. I can't rate it any higher because it's a difficult read and too slowly paced for my liking.
Coming in not knowing a ton about Northern Ireland's history, I wish I had some kind of knowledge prior to reading this. I think watching a Youtube series, or listened to a podcast would have benefited me tremendously because I found this to be a challenging read, both on a literary level and an emotional level.
The book is obviously well researched, meticulously so. Cochrane knows what he's talking about, and writes from an unbiased standpoint, as far as I can tell. I THINK history fans, or buffs of Irish/Northern Irish history would welcome this book with open arms.
However.
I found the pacing quite slow. Cochrane covers a TON of material, but I think if I had gone in with the mindset of this being a textbook, I would have appreciated it more. Perhaps a historical fiction novel, or something in the vein of Studs Terkel would have led me to enjoying it more.
The good stuff is REALLY good, however - I really enjoyed the quotes from primary sources. When Cochrane dips into his own childhood experiences, the book came alive - I wish he had done more of that, but it's likely that he didn't want to rely on this too much since he's covering hundreds of years of insanely complicated, bloody history of a country that's experienced seemingly nothing but trauma on a political scale since its inception, not a memoir.
On an emotional level, it's so heartbreaking to learn about how many bombs destroyed buildings, cars, people, lives, communities every single day. To read about the horrific mismanagement from the English, the murderous tactics by the IRA, the pressure from both the Catholic and Protestant communities to become more inwardly focused, walls built (even in graveyards!)...it's overwhelming and you feel just awful for everybody involved. Halfway through the book, I kept thinking ok SURELY now they're going to sit down, admit faults and talk? But no.
So, 3 stars for it's excellent content, first hand accounts and author's authenticity. I can't rate it any higher because it's a difficult read and too slowly paced for my liking.
June 17, 2014
* * * * 1/2 rounded up
December 10, 2018
Absolutely masterful work of scholarship. One of the only truly objective books out there on the Troubles. Cochrane manages to start you off at the very beginning of Protestant/Catholic tensions back in 1690, and take you through 2013. Yet, for the massive time span that the book covers, I never felt as though I was drowning in details; he keeps his chapters to the point. His last chapter, "Looking to the Future", is very applicable today. However, as this book is now five years old (I write this in December of 2018), there is of course no discussion of Brexit or its implications.
If you're looking to understand anything about the Catholic/Protestant divisions in Northern Ireland, the Troubles, the Good Friday Agreement, or the (relatively) current situation the country faces, I highly recommend this book.
If you're looking to understand anything about the Catholic/Protestant divisions in Northern Ireland, the Troubles, the Good Friday Agreement, or the (relatively) current situation the country faces, I highly recommend this book.
September 8, 2018
This is an excellent dive into the origins of sectarian division in Northern Ireland and how greatly at odds political parties came together to create a lasting peace. It's a great book for anyone interested in how two sides in one of the most intractable conflicts on the planet decided through diplomacy to stop killing each other and to form a government.
April 23, 2018
Author did a great job of including public surveys, personal accounts, and even his own history into this textbook, providing a multidimensional view of The Troubles and Northern Ireland's rich history.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews