2018 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the seminal events of Northern Ireland's 1968: a mileston... more 2018 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the seminal events of Northern Ireland's 1968: a milestone offering up an opportunity to reassess a pivotal moment in the province's recent past. This article will argue that the civil rights period has fitted into a common model of the past being used to perpetuate the divisions at the heart of Northern Irish society. It will go on to demonstrate how an innovative methodological and theoretical approach, based on oral history, education and-most crucially-agonism, has facilitated the unearthing and integration of complex and hitherto marginalised Ulster Protestant perspectives.
This article focuses on the controversial figure of Gusty Spence, who was key to the emergence of... more This article focuses on the controversial figure of Gusty Spence, who was key to the emergence of two artists from an Ulster Loyalist paramilitary background: George Morrow and Bobby Niblock, both of whom fell under Spence’s guidance in Long Kesh/the Maze prison. The article charts the environment Spence presided over in jail, the importance of his philosophical challenge to Loyalist inmates, and how this spurred creative spirit. It illustrates opposing Republican attitudes to him and considers the work of both painter Morrow and dramatist Niblock.
to address one of the most pressing challenges posed by the Troubles for our society, and particu... more to address one of the most pressing challenges posed by the Troubles for our society, and particularly for individuals and families directly affected by the conflict over 23 years after the Belfast Good Friday Agreement was made. This is the question of how to obtain some meaningful degree of truth and justice for victims/survivors, and some form of reconciliation with former combatants outside a criminal justice system that has signally failed so many in the past. This question has assumed a new urgency in the wake of the controversial proposals by Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland Secretary of State, for a blanket amnesty covering all those involved in the conflict, as well as an end to Troubles related inquests and civil actions. There has been almost universal condemnation of the proposals from critics, including the Irish government, political parties and organisations representing victims and survivors in Britain and the Republic, as well as Northern Ireland.
This article investigates "Rotten Prods" (Protestants) through an archival and historiographical ... more This article investigates "Rotten Prods" (Protestants) through an archival and historiographical survey of the shipyard expulsions of the summer of 1920. The historical background to the "insult" is discussed, as is racial violence in British cities and industrial unrest in 1919. It charts the development of the original Home Rule-supporting Protestants to the more radical, working-class "Rotten Prods" of a later era. It explains the political dynamics of violence in 1920 and considers the predicament of "Rotten Prods" per se in the early years of Northern Ireland and beyond. Finally, it frames and assesses three exemplars of the tradition: Belfast Labour counsellor James Baird, the Communist Party of Ireland's Betty Sinclair, and trade unionist Joe Law.
Interventions: International Journal of Postcolonial Studies, 2020
South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is an internationally-regarded-if contes... more South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is an internationally-regarded-if contested-touchstone for transitional justice, but it functioned above all as exemplary theatre, bringing together thousands of disparate voices. Like the theatrical space generally, it provided a forum for differing narratives about the past to be aired in post-Apartheid South Africa. In Ireland, on the other hand, there has not been – nor are we likely to see – any truth commission. It is this essay’s contention that drama is the nearest the society will get to exploring the past, with the theatre a safe space in which storytelling and debates are taking place beyond the impasse of the political culture. This article approaches this through four plays: Athol Fugard’s The Train Driver and Owen McCafferty’s Quietly (both 2012) and David Ireland’s Cyprus Avenue and Mongiwekhaya’s I See You (both 2016). All reflect complications of dialogue(s) taking place on the past, and themes of reconciliation, in their respective territories.
Entry on Glenn Patterson (1961-), in Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 386, edited by Micha... more Entry on Glenn Patterson (1961-), in Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 386, edited by Michael R. Molino.
The British left needs to start taking Ulster Unionism seriously, listening and engaging with its... more The British left needs to start taking Ulster Unionism seriously, listening and engaging with its concerns, history, and political character.
Drawn from newspapers and interviews with political colleagues, relatives, and conflict intermedi... more Drawn from newspapers and interviews with political colleagues, relatives, and conflict intermediaries, this article concerns the late Loyalist political leader David Ervine – an ideal vector through which to explore the recent history and struggle for progressive Loyalism within Protestant working-class East Belfast. It outlines the vital influence of his father, as well as Ervine’s ability to find mentorship in others. It covers his imprisonment in Long Kesh, early political awakening, and later success as a representative of the Progressive Unionist Party. It argues that Ervine’s chief political opposition eventually came from establishment and hard-line Unionism, and that his primary achievement was to articulate Ulster Loyalist positions and demands against this culture. Ervine’s duality as a political representative who was close to the militarism of his former career is shown as being central to his political persona. Ervine’s premature passing is shown to be connected to the pressures arising from pursuing progressive policies and stances from a Loyalist background, frequently under fire from other Unionists.
2018 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the seminal events of Northern Ireland's 1968: a mileston... more 2018 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the seminal events of Northern Ireland's 1968: a milestone offering up an opportunity to reassess a pivotal moment in the province's recent past. This article will argue that the civil rights period has fitted into a common model of the past being used to perpetuate the divisions at the heart of Northern Irish society. It will go on to demonstrate how an innovative methodological and theoretical approach, based on oral history, education and-most crucially-agonism, has facilitated the unearthing and integration of complex and hitherto marginalised Ulster Protestant perspectives.
This article focuses on the controversial figure of Gusty Spence, who was key to the emergence of... more This article focuses on the controversial figure of Gusty Spence, who was key to the emergence of two artists from an Ulster Loyalist paramilitary background: George Morrow and Bobby Niblock, both of whom fell under Spence’s guidance in Long Kesh/the Maze prison. The article charts the environment Spence presided over in jail, the importance of his philosophical challenge to Loyalist inmates, and how this spurred creative spirit. It illustrates opposing Republican attitudes to him and considers the work of both painter Morrow and dramatist Niblock.
to address one of the most pressing challenges posed by the Troubles for our society, and particu... more to address one of the most pressing challenges posed by the Troubles for our society, and particularly for individuals and families directly affected by the conflict over 23 years after the Belfast Good Friday Agreement was made. This is the question of how to obtain some meaningful degree of truth and justice for victims/survivors, and some form of reconciliation with former combatants outside a criminal justice system that has signally failed so many in the past. This question has assumed a new urgency in the wake of the controversial proposals by Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland Secretary of State, for a blanket amnesty covering all those involved in the conflict, as well as an end to Troubles related inquests and civil actions. There has been almost universal condemnation of the proposals from critics, including the Irish government, political parties and organisations representing victims and survivors in Britain and the Republic, as well as Northern Ireland.
This article investigates "Rotten Prods" (Protestants) through an archival and historiographical ... more This article investigates "Rotten Prods" (Protestants) through an archival and historiographical survey of the shipyard expulsions of the summer of 1920. The historical background to the "insult" is discussed, as is racial violence in British cities and industrial unrest in 1919. It charts the development of the original Home Rule-supporting Protestants to the more radical, working-class "Rotten Prods" of a later era. It explains the political dynamics of violence in 1920 and considers the predicament of "Rotten Prods" per se in the early years of Northern Ireland and beyond. Finally, it frames and assesses three exemplars of the tradition: Belfast Labour counsellor James Baird, the Communist Party of Ireland's Betty Sinclair, and trade unionist Joe Law.
Interventions: International Journal of Postcolonial Studies, 2020
South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is an internationally-regarded-if contes... more South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is an internationally-regarded-if contested-touchstone for transitional justice, but it functioned above all as exemplary theatre, bringing together thousands of disparate voices. Like the theatrical space generally, it provided a forum for differing narratives about the past to be aired in post-Apartheid South Africa. In Ireland, on the other hand, there has not been – nor are we likely to see – any truth commission. It is this essay’s contention that drama is the nearest the society will get to exploring the past, with the theatre a safe space in which storytelling and debates are taking place beyond the impasse of the political culture. This article approaches this through four plays: Athol Fugard’s The Train Driver and Owen McCafferty’s Quietly (both 2012) and David Ireland’s Cyprus Avenue and Mongiwekhaya’s I See You (both 2016). All reflect complications of dialogue(s) taking place on the past, and themes of reconciliation, in their respective territories.
Entry on Glenn Patterson (1961-), in Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 386, edited by Micha... more Entry on Glenn Patterson (1961-), in Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 386, edited by Michael R. Molino.
The British left needs to start taking Ulster Unionism seriously, listening and engaging with its... more The British left needs to start taking Ulster Unionism seriously, listening and engaging with its concerns, history, and political character.
Drawn from newspapers and interviews with political colleagues, relatives, and conflict intermedi... more Drawn from newspapers and interviews with political colleagues, relatives, and conflict intermediaries, this article concerns the late Loyalist political leader David Ervine – an ideal vector through which to explore the recent history and struggle for progressive Loyalism within Protestant working-class East Belfast. It outlines the vital influence of his father, as well as Ervine’s ability to find mentorship in others. It covers his imprisonment in Long Kesh, early political awakening, and later success as a representative of the Progressive Unionist Party. It argues that Ervine’s chief political opposition eventually came from establishment and hard-line Unionism, and that his primary achievement was to articulate Ulster Loyalist positions and demands against this culture. Ervine’s duality as a political representative who was close to the militarism of his former career is shown as being central to his political persona. Ervine’s premature passing is shown to be connected to the pressures arising from pursuing progressive policies and stances from a Loyalist background, frequently under fire from other Unionists.
Groundbreakers: In The Shadow of the Shipyard sees Dan Gordon – an east Belfast native – consider... more Groundbreakers: In The Shadow of the Shipyard sees Dan Gordon – an east Belfast native – considering how the four writers absorbed the experiences of Belfast’s working class communities and brought their voices to a wider audience.
This book approaches Ulster Protestantism through its theatrical and cultural intersection with p... more This book approaches Ulster Protestantism through its theatrical and cultural intersection with politics, re-establishing a forgotten history and engaging with contemporary debates. Anchored by the perspectives of ten writers - some of whom have been notably active in political life - it uniquely examines tensions going on within. Through its exploration of class division and drama from the early twentieth century to the present, the book restores the progressive and Labour credentials of the community's recent past along with its literary repercussions, both of which appear in recent decades to have diminished. Drawing on over sixty interviews, unpublished scripts, as well as rarely-consulted archival material, it shows - contrary to a good deal of clichéd polemic and safe scholarly assessment - that Ulster Protestants have historically and continually demonstrated a vigorous creative pulse as well as a tendency towards Left wing and class politics. St. John Ervine, Thomas Carnduff, John Hewitt, Sam Thompson, Stewart Parker, Graham Reid, Ron Hutchinson, Marie Jones, Christina Reid, and Gary Mitchell profoundly challenge as well as reflect their communities. Illuminating a diverse and conflicted culture stretching beyond Orange Order parades, the weaving together of the lives and work of each of the writers highlights mutual themes and insights on their identity, as if part of some grander tapestry of alternative twentieth-century Protestant culture. Ulster Protestantism's consistent delivery of such dissenting voices counters its monolithic and reactionary reputation.
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