Our Troubles: Stories of Catholic Belfast during the Troubles of 1968-1998 - Hardcover

Canavan, Anthony

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1908420340 ISBN 13: 9781908420343

Publisher: Phaeton Publishing Limited, 2024

Synopsis

Gripping stories, high in atmosphere and tension, of what passed for "ordinary" life in the besieged world of North Belfast during the Troubles of 1968 to 1998: house raids, searches, checkpoints, State blackmail, arrests, murders, informers, "say nothing" - a world of survival by camaraderie, courage, and caution in the face of absolute power.

Our Troubles is a collection of compelling and honest stories about the Troubles in the North of Ireland - particularly the hot spot of North Belfast, from where the author hails and which accounted for one in six of the deaths in the Troubles. Two of his uncles were killed in the conflict. A great strength of the stories is the author's focus on what he knows personally and the passion he feels on the subject. He does not fall into the trap (which has become something of a convention in writing about the Troubles) of looking at the conflict from every point of view, but writes with a deep understanding of what he knows intimately: the Catholic experience of the Troubles. This was terrible as the conflict was ongoing, but even after it was over, a sense of grievance lingered because of what was perceived as a political lack of respect for what Catholics had suffered.

"...Automatically, Finn added Kevin Myler to the mental list of people he knew who had died in the troubles: Uncle Christy, Uncle Jimmy, Terry Morgan, other neighbours from home. Kevin's death didn't seem exceptional. ...As they filled in the blanks - Paddy and Colm were much better at keeping track of people than Finn was - it became clear that of the forty-two boys in their year, only about half had ordinary lives. Some had just dropped off the radar, the rest were in prison, on the run, or dead. So there was nothing special about Kevin. ..."

About this title

About the Author

Anthony Canavan grew up in North Belfast during the Troubles, in which he lost both family members and friends through violence. He attended St Malachy's College before going on to Queen's University Belfast, where he studied history and politics. After graduating from QUB, he began his career as the Curator of Newry Museum in County Down. While there, he wrote "Frontier Town, an illustrated history of Newry", which was shortlisted for an Irish Book Award in 1990. On his marriage in 1996, he moved to Dublin, where he began work as a freelance editor and reviewer before joining Books Ireland magazine. He is currently Consultant Editor with Books Ireland, after serving as the magazine's editor for a number of years. He is also a regular contributor to History Ireland magazine, and over the years he has written articles for academic books and other publications on history, culture, film, and literature.

Edition details

• Publisher: Phaeton Publishing Limited
• Publication date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1908420340
• ISBN 13: 9781908420343
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 158