Remembering the Troubles in Britain

‘The Northern Ireland Troubles in Britain: Impacts, Engagements, Legacies and Memories’ examines the impacts of the conflict on individual lives, political and social relationships, communities and culture in Britain. It also explores how British people, including its Irish communities, have responded to and engaged with the conflict.

Contributors include activists, victims, survivors and scholars from personal, political, and academic backgrounds.

Professor Graham Dawson, the University of Brighton’s Professor of Historical Cultural Studies, said: “The book aims to demonstrate that 'unfinished business' from the conflict persists unaddressed in Britain.

“It advocates the importance of acknowledging legacies, understanding histories and engaging with memories in the context of peace-building and reconciliation. By challenging the lack of serious public engagement in Britain with the peace process, and the widespread sense among people in Britain that ‘the Troubles are nothing to do with us and are better left alone’, it hopes to encourage further research and public debate.”

From left to right: Professor Graham Dawson, Dr Stephen Hopkins, Jo Dover and Ambassador Mulhall

Ireland’s ambassador to the UK, Dan Mulhall, spoke at the book’s launch at the University of Notre Dame’s London campus along with co-editors Dr Stephen Hopkins from the University of Leicester and Jo Dover who worked for 14 years at the Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace in Warrington.

Ambassador Mulhall, a member of the Irish delegation which took part in the Good Friday Agreement, urged those attending to keep in mind the bond and common purpose between the two countries that has been forged at the highest levels of government and the State and has sustained the peace in Northern Ireland.

The Northern Ireland Troubles in Britain: Impacts, Engagements, Legacies and Memories, Manchester University Press, 2017. ISBN: 978-0-7190-9632-7. 
Available from Manchester University Press.