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Only the Rivers Run Free: Northern Ireland, the Women's War
NORTHERN IRELAND THE WOMAN'S WAR
- GenresHistory
343 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1984
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57 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 25, 2019
Finally finished this. Had to take a step back a few times as it's angering, infuriating and heart breaking. It is amazing though. It explains so much of why this little country is still so hurt, still dealing with so much pain.
It touch's everything from internment to abortion, civil rights to women's lib, class war to sex, poverty to grief. The unfairness and unequalness is still here to a degree. We've been ruled by a sectarian unionist government for too long, held to outdated laws and wishes. We are faced with UVF flags hung in town centres for 2 months of the year. We have unsafe bonfires built on council land that when court ordered to be removed, the police can't or won't move in to deal with. Removal companys are threatened by the UVF. We have banners promoting support of paras killing unarmed, innocent civilians yet We can't have green in st Patrick's day parades. We are shown daily that we still aren't equal in the eyes of law and government.
Fortunately, the gap is getting smaller, communities are uniting and the tide is turning.
Anyway, if you're in anyway interested in the North this is a must read. There are no answers or conclusions in this book, but it will help you understand.
It touch's everything from internment to abortion, civil rights to women's lib, class war to sex, poverty to grief. The unfairness and unequalness is still here to a degree. We've been ruled by a sectarian unionist government for too long, held to outdated laws and wishes. We are faced with UVF flags hung in town centres for 2 months of the year. We have unsafe bonfires built on council land that when court ordered to be removed, the police can't or won't move in to deal with. Removal companys are threatened by the UVF. We have banners promoting support of paras killing unarmed, innocent civilians yet We can't have green in st Patrick's day parades. We are shown daily that we still aren't equal in the eyes of law and government.
Fortunately, the gap is getting smaller, communities are uniting and the tide is turning.
Anyway, if you're in anyway interested in the North this is a must read. There are no answers or conclusions in this book, but it will help you understand.
April 14, 2023
Good book, especially given it was written and published in the early 80s. Would like to have heard more from than the one chapter from the Protestant perspective but whatevs. I enjoy how much of the book is verbatim transcripts of interviews with women. Not sure how I feel with the ringing endorsement Dolours Price offers on the back cover.
February 4, 2024
Definitely a book to read in small doses but every single word is worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews