The Northern Ireland Troubles in Britain : Impacts, Engagements, Legacies and Memories

For the three decades of the Northern Ireland ‘Troubles’ (1968–98), the United Kingdom experienced within its borders a profound and polarizing conflict. Yet relatively little research has addressed the complex effects, legacies and memories of this conflict in Britain. It occupies a marginal position in British social, cultural and political history, and the experiences and understandings of those in or from Britain who fought in it, were injured or harmed by it, or campaigned against it, have been neglected both in wider scholarship and in public policy. In the peace process since 1994, British initiatives towards ‘post-conflict’ remembering have been limited and fragmented.This ground-breaking book provides the first comprehensive investigation of the history and memory of the Troubles in Britain. It examines the impacts of the conflict upon individual lives, political and social relationships, communities and culture in Britain; and explores how the people of Britain (including its Irish communities) have responded to, and engaged with the conflict, in the context of contested political narratives produced by the State and its opponents. Setting an agenda for further research and public debate, the book demonstrates that ‘unfinished business’ from the conflicted past persists unaddressed in Britain; and advocates the importance of acknowledging legacies, understanding histories, and engaging with memories in the context of peace-building and reconciliation. Contributors include scholars from a wide range of disciplines (social, political and cultural history; politics; media, film and cultural studies; law; literature; performing arts; sociology; peace studies); activists, artists, writers and peace-builders; and people with direct personal experience of the conflict. Front matter Contents List of figures List of tables List of contributors Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction: The Northern Ireland Troubles in Britain: impacts, engagements, legacies and memories Part I Perspectives from the British State, politics and the military ‘The truth, the whole truth ...’: some British political and military memoirs of the Troubles ‘I got shot through the head with an Armalite round’ ‘A real stirring in the nation’: military families, British public opinion and withdrawal from Northern Ireland The memoir writing of the Wilson and Callaghan governments: the Labour Party and constitutional policy in Northern Ireland British questions ‘The coach never arrived back at its destination’ Serving in troubled times: British military personnel’s memories and accounts of service in Northern Ireland Part II Anti-state activisms Something in the air: the rise of the Troops Out Movement Memories of Sinn Féin Britain, 1975–85 Policing the Irish community in Britain ‘Not our cup of tea’: Irish and British feminist encounters in London during the Troubles Political delegations of women from Britain to the North of Ireland and the campaign against strip searching in the 1980s Part III Culture and the representation of the Troubles ‘Every man an emperor’: the British press, Bloody Sunday and the image of the British Army Suspect stories: William Trevor’s portrayals of the Irish in London during the Troubles Writing as survival The ‘oxygen of publicity’ and the suffocation of censorship:national newspaper representations of the British broadcasting ban (1988–94) ‘The Troubles we’ve seen’: film, television drama and the Northern Irish conflict in Britain Part IV Memory, peace building and ‘dealing with the past’ Responding to the IRA bombing campaign in mainland Britain: the case of Warrington ‘There’s no way out but through’ The Birmingham pub bombings, the Irish as a ‘suspect community’ and the memories of the O’Reilly family ‘Truth recovery’ and the role of the security forces in the Northern Ireland Troubles Commemorating bonds of Union: remembering the Ulster Special Constabulary at the National Memorial Arboretum ‘I’d find a way to contribute to peace’ Performance practices and conflict resolution: Jo Berry and Patrick Magee’s Facing the Enemy Index This ground-breaking book provides the first comprehensive investigation of the history and memory of the Northern Ireland Troubles in Britain. It examines the impacts of the conflict upon individual lives, political and social relationships, communities and culture in Britain, and explores how the people of Britain (including its Irish communities) have responded to, and engaged with the conflict, in the context of contested political narratives produced by the State and its opponents. Setting an agenda for further research and public debate, the book demonstrates that'unfinished business'from the conflicted past persists unaddressed in Britain, and advocates the importance of acknowledging legacies, understanding histories and engaging with memories in the context of peace-building and reconciliation. This book investigates the history of responses to, engagements with and memories of the Northern Irish conflict in Britain, exploring the lessons to be learned from post-conflict efforts to 'deal with the past' in Northern Ireland and providing a starting point for wider academic and public debate in Britain on the significance of this history. -- . Investigating the history of responses to, engagements with and memories of the Northern Irish conflict in Britain, this title explores the lessons to be learned from post-conflict efforts to 'deal with the past' in Northern Ireland, providing a starting point for wider academic and public debate in Britain on the significance of this history