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Paisley
Book by Moloney, Ed
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
4 people are currently reading
66 people want to read
About the author
Ed Moloney
11 books42 followersEd Moloney is an Irish journalist and author best known for his coverage of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and the activities of the Provisional IRA, in particular.
He worked for the Hibernia magazine and Magill before going on to serve as Northern Ireland editor for The Irish Times and subsequently for the Sunday Tribune. He is currently living and working in New York. His first book, Paisley, was a biography of Unionist leader Ian Paisley, co-authored by Andy Pollak, and published in 1986.
In 2002, he published a best selling history of the Provisional IRA, A Secret History of the IRA. A second edition of the book was published in July 2007. This was followed, in 2008, by a new edition of Paisley: From Demagogue to Democrat?, of which Moloney is the single author.
In 1999, he was voted Irish Journalist of the Year. In March 2010, the book 'Voices from the Grave' was published, which featured interviews with Brendan Hughes and David Ervine, compiled by researchers for Boston College. He based the book on the interviews given by Hughes and Ervine. Excerpts from the book published by The Sunday Times relate to Hughes discussing his role and that of Gerry Adams in the PIRA.
He worked for the Hibernia magazine and Magill before going on to serve as Northern Ireland editor for The Irish Times and subsequently for the Sunday Tribune. He is currently living and working in New York. His first book, Paisley, was a biography of Unionist leader Ian Paisley, co-authored by Andy Pollak, and published in 1986.
In 2002, he published a best selling history of the Provisional IRA, A Secret History of the IRA. A second edition of the book was published in July 2007. This was followed, in 2008, by a new edition of Paisley: From Demagogue to Democrat?, of which Moloney is the single author.
In 1999, he was voted Irish Journalist of the Year. In March 2010, the book 'Voices from the Grave' was published, which featured interviews with Brendan Hughes and David Ervine, compiled by researchers for Boston College. He based the book on the interviews given by Hughes and Ervine. Excerpts from the book published by The Sunday Times relate to Hughes discussing his role and that of Gerry Adams in the PIRA.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 21, 2015
This is a thorough and in-depth look into the long religious and political life of Ian Paisley. Moloney gives a no holds barred approach to Paisley's life and although he is at times biased against he still manages to get across the times when Paisley did good as well as bad. Paisley does not come across well throughout much of the book and is shown to be little more than a religious zealot incapable of listening to logic or reason. His foray into politics shows little change until Boal (in the 70's) and Robinson (in the 90's) turn him into their political puppet. After reading this I can understand why he didn't want to collaborate with the author(s) as he can only be ashamed and embaressed by his earlier behaviour (at least he damn well should be). The change in his views and opinions on power sharing and the DUP's approach to Sinn Fein and the IRA is immense and he should be congratulated for finally seeing sense, however given that the agreement these two factions signed is little different from the Sunningdale Agreement of the 70's one must ask, nay demand, why the hell they couldn't sort themselves out then rather than waiting 30-odd years and 3,526 deaths before getting a grip on themselves.
One very interesting thing that quite suprised me when reading this was the way Paisley managed to get everyone riled up and set the scene for such violence that followed (he was not alone in this I know other people on both sides were just as bad) yet managed to stay out of such trouble himself. As one UDA man, Freddy Parkinson, said he is 'the tarantula who spreads the venom of further conflict around us...has been a major contributor to our prolonged tragedy...he uses words to create violent situations, but never follows the violence through himself'. One must question the motives behind such actions, was it simply religious and political bigotry or something else.
Overall Moloney has done a sterling job describing and explaining the Paisley of then and now and how the turn around in his attitudes and opinions came about, without too much bias on his part. A good read and an important one for anyone who wishes to understand the Troubles and subsequent Peace Process.
One very interesting thing that quite suprised me when reading this was the way Paisley managed to get everyone riled up and set the scene for such violence that followed (he was not alone in this I know other people on both sides were just as bad) yet managed to stay out of such trouble himself. As one UDA man, Freddy Parkinson, said he is 'the tarantula who spreads the venom of further conflict around us...has been a major contributor to our prolonged tragedy...he uses words to create violent situations, but never follows the violence through himself'. One must question the motives behind such actions, was it simply religious and political bigotry or something else.
Overall Moloney has done a sterling job describing and explaining the Paisley of then and now and how the turn around in his attitudes and opinions came about, without too much bias on his part. A good read and an important one for anyone who wishes to understand the Troubles and subsequent Peace Process.
April 20, 2019
There is a poignancy me finishing reading this tome over the Good Friday/Easter weekend 21 years after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, of which Paisley was an implacable opponent and in a week where there has been another victim of violent republicanism, in the form of young journalist Lyra McKee. This biography of Paisley by veteran journalist Ed Moloney builds on the one he did 2 decades before with fellow journalist Andy Pollak, sharing the same central thesis that Paisley and the provos have always had a symbiotic relationship, and arguing that this, together
with a secret desire for power, came to its culmination in Paisley becoming First Minister as one of the "Chuckle Brothers" with Martin McGuinness. It was written just after him taking office and just agreeingto step down from the Moderatorship of the Free Presbyterian Church so it doesn't explore his ultimate political demise or all that came out just before and after his death about what clearly became a genuine friendship with Martin McGuinness. The penultimate chapter begins to explore how the tension of the above motivations ultimately came into conflict with the other central principle of Paisley's life, ie spiritual and political separatism, which was the central thesis of my colleague and church history lecturer Denis Cooke's earlier, slimmer biography of Paisley "Persecuting Zeal". Was there a spiritual epiphany which moved this separatist rabble-rouser to someone who is now frequently (and I believe eroneously) cited as the sort of peacemaker we need today, or was it simply a matter of personal ambition and a desire to be Number 1 instead of a political pariah before he died that got him to finally sign up to a power-sharing deal, the likes of which he had previously lambasted, destroying the political careers of many former Unionist leaders? Perhaps another biography is needed looking at the closing years of his political career and life, which might be argued were the ultimate proof of Enoch Powell's claim that all political careers end in failure." I am not convinced that Paisley was ever authentically a democrat, so the sub-title of this book is disingenuous, but its goes far to demonstrate that for good and ill we would not be where we are today without Paisley.
with a secret desire for power, came to its culmination in Paisley becoming First Minister as one of the "Chuckle Brothers" with Martin McGuinness. It was written just after him taking office and just agreeingto step down from the Moderatorship of the Free Presbyterian Church so it doesn't explore his ultimate political demise or all that came out just before and after his death about what clearly became a genuine friendship with Martin McGuinness. The penultimate chapter begins to explore how the tension of the above motivations ultimately came into conflict with the other central principle of Paisley's life, ie spiritual and political separatism, which was the central thesis of my colleague and church history lecturer Denis Cooke's earlier, slimmer biography of Paisley "Persecuting Zeal". Was there a spiritual epiphany which moved this separatist rabble-rouser to someone who is now frequently (and I believe eroneously) cited as the sort of peacemaker we need today, or was it simply a matter of personal ambition and a desire to be Number 1 instead of a political pariah before he died that got him to finally sign up to a power-sharing deal, the likes of which he had previously lambasted, destroying the political careers of many former Unionist leaders? Perhaps another biography is needed looking at the closing years of his political career and life, which might be argued were the ultimate proof of Enoch Powell's claim that all political careers end in failure." I am not convinced that Paisley was ever authentically a democrat, so the sub-title of this book is disingenuous, but its goes far to demonstrate that for good and ill we would not be where we are today without Paisley.
September 20, 2021
Very readable biography of a key person throughout Northern Irelands move away from conflict
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews