Margaret Scull, The Catholic Church and the Northern Ireland Troubles 1968-1998, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019, pp. xii + 236, £65, ISBN: 9780198843214

one official report had it, condemning them as ‘very demanding, ungrateful and even obstreperous (pp. 70–71). Tony Gallagher, despite a couple of misstatements, gives a splendid account of the role of Catholic schools not only for the Catholic community but in the context of the general structure of Northern Ireland society. There are also interesting chapters on sport, Catholicism and politics and a splendid piece, despite its dig at ‘dogmatic Catholicism’ (p. 161), by Niall Gilmartin on the position of women in the Republican movement and the IRA. Aimee Smith ends the collection with a survey of young Catholics and their sense of belonging in a post-conflict world. In general this is a useful collection, but at times it is simply too disparate. There is little attempt by some of the contributors to carefully excavate the raison d’être of the Ulster Catholic community and to address what we are promised in the title: Catholic identities in Ulster. In this regard Tommy McKearney’s piece is outstanding. The index is woefully inadequate and the price will put off all but the more ardent readers. A somewhat cheaper paperback has recently been issued.