The Troubles claimed the lives of almost four thousand people in Northern Ireland, most of them civilians; forty-five thousand were injured in bombings and shootings. Relative to population size this was the most intense conflict experienced in Western Europe since the end of the Second World War. The central question posed in this book is fundamental, yet it is one that has rarely been asked: Who was primarily responsible for the prosecution of the Troubles and their attendant toll of the dead, the injured, and the emotionally traumatized? Liam Kennedy, who lived in Belfast throughout most of the conflict, was long afraid to raise the question and its implications. After years of reflection and research on the matter he has brought together elements of history, politics, sociology, and social psychology to identify the collective actors who drove the conflict onwards for more than three decades, from the days of the civil rights movement in the late 1960s to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. The Troubles in Northern Ireland are a world-class problem in miniature. The combustible mix of national, ethnic, and sectarian passions that went into the making of the conflict has its parallels today in other parts of the world. Who Was Responsible for the Troubles? is an original and controversial work that captures the terror and the pain but also the hope of life and the pursuit of happiness in a deeply divided society.

How did terror grip Northern Ireland for three decades, and why did it end?

About the Author
Liam Kennedy is emeritus professor of history, Queen's University Belfast, and a member of the Royal Irish Academy.

Reviews

Kennedy is a leading authority on the Northern Ireland conflict and his book combines rigor with absorbing, elegant prose and a sense of moral purpose that is rare in academic writing." John Connelly, author of From Peoples into Nations: A History of Eastern Europe

Book Information
ISBN 9780228011989
Author Liam Kennedy
Format Paperback
Page Count 296
Imprint McGill-Queen's University Press
Publisher McGill-Queen's University Press