Pub Date : 2021-01-02DOI: 10.1080/07907184.2021.1877892
J. Coakley
ABSTRACT Analysis of the flow of demographic trends and the evolution of political forces in Northern Ireland has long had a predominantly binary focus. The many studies of the fall and rise of nationalism, and of the rise and fall of unionism, are based on a sometimes explicit but more often unspoken narrative of competition between two communities. This article considers an issue in relation to which a much smaller literature has appeared: the steady growth of an apparent middle ground. This is made up in part of those who were born outside Northern Ireland. But it also includes people who have exited from affiliation to the two dominant communities defined by religious background, or perhaps never belonged to either; of those who do not see themselves unambiguously as British or as Irish, but rather report a dual or alternative identity; and of those who identify with neither the unionist nor the nationalist community. Using census and survey data, the article tracks the evolution of this expanding section of the population, and assesses its implications for political choice and for the future constitutional path of Northern Ireland.
{"title":"Is a middle force emerging in Northern Ireland?","authors":"J. Coakley","doi":"10.1080/07907184.2021.1877892","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07907184.2021.1877892","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Analysis of the flow of demographic trends and the evolution of political forces in Northern Ireland has long had a predominantly binary focus. The many studies of the fall and rise of nationalism, and of the rise and fall of unionism, are based on a sometimes explicit but more often unspoken narrative of competition between two communities. This article considers an issue in relation to which a much smaller literature has appeared: the steady growth of an apparent middle ground. This is made up in part of those who were born outside Northern Ireland. But it also includes people who have exited from affiliation to the two dominant communities defined by religious background, or perhaps never belonged to either; of those who do not see themselves unambiguously as British or as Irish, but rather report a dual or alternative identity; and of those who identify with neither the unionist nor the nationalist community. Using census and survey data, the article tracks the evolution of this expanding section of the population, and assesses its implications for political choice and for the future constitutional path of Northern Ireland.","PeriodicalId":45746,"journal":{"name":"Irish Political Studies","volume":"36 1","pages":"29 - 51"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2021-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/07907184.2021.1877892","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46981503","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-01-02DOI: 10.1080/07907184.2021.1877897
Niall Ó. Dochartaigh
ABSTRACT For almost a century, unionists won a majority of seats in every election to Northern Ireland's regional parliament or assembly. That unbroken run came to an end in March 2017 when unionists became a minority in the Northern Ireland Assembly for the first time. Much scholarly analysis of this new dispensation characterises it as part of a long-term shift away from the binary politics of ethnonational division and majoritarianism as support grows for parties aligned with neither unionism nor nationalism. This paper offers an alternative analysis that emphasises the persistent importance of constitutionally related majorities. It argues that the emergence in 2017 of a non-unionist majority in the Assembly removed the last vestiges of a dominant party system that had endured in one form or another since the establishment of Northern Ireland. It marks the birth of a new party system, bringing about a much more fundamental shift in the dynamics of political competition than is generally understood. Rather than moving the politics of Northern Ireland beyond constitutional questions, it brings those questions to the forefront, with profound implications for the long-term relationship between Northern Ireland on one hand and the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain on the other.
{"title":"Beyond the dominant party system: the transformation of party politics in Northern Ireland","authors":"Niall Ó. Dochartaigh","doi":"10.1080/07907184.2021.1877897","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07907184.2021.1877897","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT For almost a century, unionists won a majority of seats in every election to Northern Ireland's regional parliament or assembly. That unbroken run came to an end in March 2017 when unionists became a minority in the Northern Ireland Assembly for the first time. Much scholarly analysis of this new dispensation characterises it as part of a long-term shift away from the binary politics of ethnonational division and majoritarianism as support grows for parties aligned with neither unionism nor nationalism. This paper offers an alternative analysis that emphasises the persistent importance of constitutionally related majorities. It argues that the emergence in 2017 of a non-unionist majority in the Assembly removed the last vestiges of a dominant party system that had endured in one form or another since the establishment of Northern Ireland. It marks the birth of a new party system, bringing about a much more fundamental shift in the dynamics of political competition than is generally understood. Rather than moving the politics of Northern Ireland beyond constitutional questions, it brings those questions to the forefront, with profound implications for the long-term relationship between Northern Ireland on one hand and the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain on the other.","PeriodicalId":45746,"journal":{"name":"Irish Political Studies","volume":"36 1","pages":"7 - 28"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2021-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/07907184.2021.1877897","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45652227","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-01-02DOI: 10.1080/07907184.2021.1877895
S. Malešević
ABSTRACT This paper compares different strategies of legitimation deployed by the nationalist movements in the Balkans and Ireland in the 19th and early twentieth century. In contrast to the traditional accounts that posit nations and empires as mutually exclusive projects, I show how imperial and nationalist discourses can reinforce one another. The paper zooms in on the changing dynamics of imperial and national legacies by exploring how specific social movements strategically deploy concepts such as the ‘small’ or ‘greater’ nation to facilitate different nationalist projects. By contrasting the historical experiences of the Balkan states and Ireland I show how geopolitical and historical contexts shape the complex and contradictory relationships between imperial and the national projects.
{"title":"‘Small’ and ‘greater’ nations: empires and nationalist movements in Ireland and the Balkans","authors":"S. Malešević","doi":"10.1080/07907184.2021.1877895","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07907184.2021.1877895","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper compares different strategies of legitimation deployed by the nationalist movements in the Balkans and Ireland in the 19th and early twentieth century. In contrast to the traditional accounts that posit nations and empires as mutually exclusive projects, I show how imperial and nationalist discourses can reinforce one another. The paper zooms in on the changing dynamics of imperial and national legacies by exploring how specific social movements strategically deploy concepts such as the ‘small’ or ‘greater’ nation to facilitate different nationalist projects. By contrasting the historical experiences of the Balkan states and Ireland I show how geopolitical and historical contexts shape the complex and contradictory relationships between imperial and the national projects.","PeriodicalId":45746,"journal":{"name":"Irish Political Studies","volume":"36 1","pages":"132 - 148"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2021-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/07907184.2021.1877895","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45261542","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-01-02DOI: 10.1080/07907184.2021.1877896
D. Blaylock, Clifford Stevenson, Aisling T. O’Donnell, S. Reicher, Dominic Bryan, F. Neville, O. Muldoon
ABSTRACT In Ireland, ritual events and parades have been a central part of civic and public life. However, there is limited understanding of the identity processes at work at these collective events. The present research aims to examine how participants attending collective events come to recognise shared social identification and the impact that this awareness is reported to have on intragroup processes. Interview data were collected over the course of two years at the St Patrick’s Day parade and 1916 Easter Rising commemorations in Dublin and Belfast with both participants and attendees at the events. Thematic analysis revealed that to the extent that individuals saw the event as an identity event, they used attendance as their primary indication of shared identity, along with visual identity markers, shared experiences, and shared affects. Participants’ accounts of the experience of shared identity focused upon a range of cognitive, affective, and social variables which together suggested a relational transformation in the crowd. These findings suggest that shared identity is an emergent state which plays a critical role in transforming social relations within the collective.
{"title":"From I to we: participants’ accounts of the development and impact of shared identity at large-scale displays of Irish national identity","authors":"D. Blaylock, Clifford Stevenson, Aisling T. O’Donnell, S. Reicher, Dominic Bryan, F. Neville, O. Muldoon","doi":"10.1080/07907184.2021.1877896","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07907184.2021.1877896","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT In Ireland, ritual events and parades have been a central part of civic and public life. However, there is limited understanding of the identity processes at work at these collective events. The present research aims to examine how participants attending collective events come to recognise shared social identification and the impact that this awareness is reported to have on intragroup processes. Interview data were collected over the course of two years at the St Patrick’s Day parade and 1916 Easter Rising commemorations in Dublin and Belfast with both participants and attendees at the events. Thematic analysis revealed that to the extent that individuals saw the event as an identity event, they used attendance as their primary indication of shared identity, along with visual identity markers, shared experiences, and shared affects. Participants’ accounts of the experience of shared identity focused upon a range of cognitive, affective, and social variables which together suggested a relational transformation in the crowd. These findings suggest that shared identity is an emergent state which plays a critical role in transforming social relations within the collective.","PeriodicalId":45746,"journal":{"name":"Irish Political Studies","volume":"36 1","pages":"92 - 108"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2021-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/07907184.2021.1877896","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45135658","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-17DOI: 10.1080/07907184.2020.1857511
Conor J. Kelly
Conversely, though, there are also occasional blank spaces in Kenny’s research which seem rather surprising. Roy Foster’s Vivid Faces, for instance, is a striking omission from the bibliography. Still, there remains much to enjoy here: and in the final analysis Kenny does succeed in offering a lively portrait of an elusive, though towering, figure in the creation of the modern Irish state. The Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 cemented Griffith’s reputation; and demolished that of O’Brien. As Irish independence nears its 100th birthday, it is good to see them finally sharing the same stage again: a timely, if edgy, reunion.
{"title":"Breaking peace: Brexit and Northern Ireland","authors":"Conor J. Kelly","doi":"10.1080/07907184.2020.1857511","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07907184.2020.1857511","url":null,"abstract":"Conversely, though, there are also occasional blank spaces in Kenny’s research which seem rather surprising. Roy Foster’s Vivid Faces, for instance, is a striking omission from the bibliography. Still, there remains much to enjoy here: and in the final analysis Kenny does succeed in offering a lively portrait of an elusive, though towering, figure in the creation of the modern Irish state. The Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 cemented Griffith’s reputation; and demolished that of O’Brien. As Irish independence nears its 100th birthday, it is good to see them finally sharing the same stage again: a timely, if edgy, reunion.","PeriodicalId":45746,"journal":{"name":"Irish Political Studies","volume":"37 1","pages":"157 - 159"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2020-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/07907184.2020.1857511","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48170457","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-09DOI: 10.1080/07907184.2020.1847418
M. Kenny, Jack Sheldon
ABSTRACT An unusual combination of factors meant that Northern Ireland featured prominently in British Conservative thinking during the course of the extended efforts by the UK governments led by Theresa May and Boris Johnson to implement Brexit, following the 2016 referendum. Opposition among Conservative backbenchers to the differential treatment of Northern Ireland under the proposed ‘backstop’ arrangement contributed to the defeat of the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated with the EU by May. However, after Johnson became Prime Minister, a deal involving greater divergence between Great Britain and Northern Ireland secured overwhelming support from these same Conservative MPs. This paper explores the origins of, and influences upon, these debates on Northern Ireland within the parliamentary Conservative Party. Drawing on interviews with decision-makers and advisers, it identifies the lines of thinking that shaped Conservative positions on Northern Ireland after the party returned to government in 2010. It argues that two distinct modes of thinking about Northern Ireland co-exist within the party's collective mind: the notion it constitutes a ‘place apart’ from Great Britain, and the belief it remains integral to the UK. The circumstances of 2018–19 meant Conservative MPs were forced, reluctantly, to choose between the implications of these ultimately incommensurable perspectives.
{"title":"‘A place apart’, or integral to ‘our precious Union’? Understanding the nature and implications of Conservative Party thinking about Northern Ireland, 2010–19","authors":"M. Kenny, Jack Sheldon","doi":"10.1080/07907184.2020.1847418","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07907184.2020.1847418","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT An unusual combination of factors meant that Northern Ireland featured prominently in British Conservative thinking during the course of the extended efforts by the UK governments led by Theresa May and Boris Johnson to implement Brexit, following the 2016 referendum. Opposition among Conservative backbenchers to the differential treatment of Northern Ireland under the proposed ‘backstop’ arrangement contributed to the defeat of the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated with the EU by May. However, after Johnson became Prime Minister, a deal involving greater divergence between Great Britain and Northern Ireland secured overwhelming support from these same Conservative MPs. This paper explores the origins of, and influences upon, these debates on Northern Ireland within the parliamentary Conservative Party. Drawing on interviews with decision-makers and advisers, it identifies the lines of thinking that shaped Conservative positions on Northern Ireland after the party returned to government in 2010. It argues that two distinct modes of thinking about Northern Ireland co-exist within the party's collective mind: the notion it constitutes a ‘place apart’ from Great Britain, and the belief it remains integral to the UK. The circumstances of 2018–19 meant Conservative MPs were forced, reluctantly, to choose between the implications of these ultimately incommensurable perspectives.","PeriodicalId":45746,"journal":{"name":"Irish Political Studies","volume":"36 1","pages":"291 - 317"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2020-12-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/07907184.2020.1847418","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41872582","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-11-06DOI: 10.1080/07907184.2020.1828365
Mack D. Mariani, Fiona Buckley, Claire McGing, Austin L. Wright
ABSTRACT This study examines how Ireland’s political parties responded to the implementation of legislative gender quotas for the first time at the 2016 Dáil election. Using a dataset that includes biographical and electoral information on all candidates for the 2007, 2011 and 2016 general elections, we assess whether the profile of candidates nominated in 2016 differed from previous elections. Although many parties ‘balanced the books’ by nominating fewer inexperienced male candidates, the evidence suggests that some parties engaged in ‘sacrificial lamb’ strategies when it came to the selection of women candidates. In 2016, women non-incumbents nominated by Fine Gael were significantly less experienced and less able to raise funds than in previous elections. In addition, women non-incumbents nominated by both Fine Gael and Labour in 2016 were significantly more likely to run non-competitive races even after controlling for party, experience, funding support and other factors. The paper concludes that political parties are not homogenous and respond differently to gender quotas depending on the available political opportunity structure (POS). In 2016, this POS was shaped by electoral context, party resources, male incumbency and resistance to gender quotas.
{"title":"(Gender) balancing the books: how did Irish political parties respond to the first ‘gender quota’ election in 2016?","authors":"Mack D. Mariani, Fiona Buckley, Claire McGing, Austin L. Wright","doi":"10.1080/07907184.2020.1828365","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07907184.2020.1828365","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This study examines how Ireland’s political parties responded to the implementation of legislative gender quotas for the first time at the 2016 Dáil election. Using a dataset that includes biographical and electoral information on all candidates for the 2007, 2011 and 2016 general elections, we assess whether the profile of candidates nominated in 2016 differed from previous elections. Although many parties ‘balanced the books’ by nominating fewer inexperienced male candidates, the evidence suggests that some parties engaged in ‘sacrificial lamb’ strategies when it came to the selection of women candidates. In 2016, women non-incumbents nominated by Fine Gael were significantly less experienced and less able to raise funds than in previous elections. In addition, women non-incumbents nominated by both Fine Gael and Labour in 2016 were significantly more likely to run non-competitive races even after controlling for party, experience, funding support and other factors. The paper concludes that political parties are not homogenous and respond differently to gender quotas depending on the available political opportunity structure (POS). In 2016, this POS was shaped by electoral context, party resources, male incumbency and resistance to gender quotas.","PeriodicalId":45746,"journal":{"name":"Irish Political Studies","volume":"36 1","pages":"235 - 262"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2020-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/07907184.2020.1828365","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44432929","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-11-06DOI: 10.1080/07907184.2020.1841480
T. Wilson
{"title":"Art O’Brien and Irish Nationalism in London, 1900–25/The enigma of Arthur Griffith","authors":"T. Wilson","doi":"10.1080/07907184.2020.1841480","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07907184.2020.1841480","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45746,"journal":{"name":"Irish Political Studies","volume":"37 1","pages":"155 - 157"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2020-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/07907184.2020.1841480","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45339823","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-10-20DOI: 10.1080/07907184.2020.1833822
R. White, Tijen Demirel-Pegg, Vijay O. Lulla
ABSTRACT Authors have argued that counterterrorism must be consistent with ‘the rule of law.’ Often associated with this approach is the assumption that plural political structures limit the state’s response to terrorism and that state agents will be held accountable if their response is excessive. Scholars who focus on social movements reject this assumption. We examine the state’s response to anti-state violence in Northern Ireland between 1969 and 1994. In 1982, Sinn Féin did much better than expected in an election to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Following the election, it is alleged that state agents followed a ‘shoot-to-kill’ policy and shot dead Irish republican paramilitaries instead of arresting them. We find evidence suggesting such a policy and consider the implications.
{"title":"Terrorism, counterterrorism and ‘the rule of law’: state repression and ‘shoot-to-kill’ in Northern Ireland","authors":"R. White, Tijen Demirel-Pegg, Vijay O. Lulla","doi":"10.1080/07907184.2020.1833822","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07907184.2020.1833822","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Authors have argued that counterterrorism must be consistent with ‘the rule of law.’ Often associated with this approach is the assumption that plural political structures limit the state’s response to terrorism and that state agents will be held accountable if their response is excessive. Scholars who focus on social movements reject this assumption. We examine the state’s response to anti-state violence in Northern Ireland between 1969 and 1994. In 1982, Sinn Féin did much better than expected in an election to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Following the election, it is alleged that state agents followed a ‘shoot-to-kill’ policy and shot dead Irish republican paramilitaries instead of arresting them. We find evidence suggesting such a policy and consider the implications.","PeriodicalId":45746,"journal":{"name":"Irish Political Studies","volume":"36 1","pages":"263 - 290"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2020-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/07907184.2020.1833822","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45789380","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-10-01DOI: 10.1080/07907184.2019.1688786
Patrick Mulroe
ABSTRACT Levels of violence on the Irish border escalated significantly during the years 1971–1974. Frequently, the British government alleged that the IRA was using the territory of the Republic of Ireland as a base from which to launch attacks. This paper will examine the southern border town of Lifford, which featured prominently in British complaints. Despite the significance of border violence, there has been a tendency for research on the Northern Ireland Troubles to focus on the urban centres. Evidence presented shows that the IRA was extremely active in the Lifford area. The Irish security forces were ill-equipped to deal with the threat and there are allegations that low-level collusion occurred. The Irish government was under diplomatic pressure to act with regard to the situation for some time. The IRA eventually over-escalated its campaign, engaging in military activity south of the border, prompting a significant security response from the Irish state and a subsequent decline in violence. It is concluded that failings by the Irish security forces were due to a range of factors including sympathy for northern nationalists, lack of resources, organisational weakness, and a fear of acting in case violence spread to the Republic of Ireland.
{"title":"‘The most notorious trouble spot along the entire border’: exploring the dynamics of political violence in an Irish border town, 1971–1974","authors":"Patrick Mulroe","doi":"10.1080/07907184.2019.1688786","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07907184.2019.1688786","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Levels of violence on the Irish border escalated significantly during the years 1971–1974. Frequently, the British government alleged that the IRA was using the territory of the Republic of Ireland as a base from which to launch attacks. This paper will examine the southern border town of Lifford, which featured prominently in British complaints. Despite the significance of border violence, there has been a tendency for research on the Northern Ireland Troubles to focus on the urban centres. Evidence presented shows that the IRA was extremely active in the Lifford area. The Irish security forces were ill-equipped to deal with the threat and there are allegations that low-level collusion occurred. The Irish government was under diplomatic pressure to act with regard to the situation for some time. The IRA eventually over-escalated its campaign, engaging in military activity south of the border, prompting a significant security response from the Irish state and a subsequent decline in violence. It is concluded that failings by the Irish security forces were due to a range of factors including sympathy for northern nationalists, lack of resources, organisational weakness, and a fear of acting in case violence spread to the Republic of Ireland.","PeriodicalId":45746,"journal":{"name":"Irish Political Studies","volume":"35 1","pages":"566 - 584"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2020-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/07907184.2019.1688786","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48669475","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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