There are no set texts for this module; i.e. there are no works that you have to purchase in order that you consult them continuously throughout the whole semester. However, below are listed a number of works that would come in handy as reference works and introductions to the period and themes tackled.
The list that follows is by no means exhaustive; a great deal has been written about Nationalism and Northern Ireland – increasingly so in recent years – and for reasons of space a lot of material has been omitted. However, a good deal is listed below, so as to try and ensure that everyone has an increased chance of being able to access material that is relevant to each topic. Nevertheless, the library has other valuable materials, and you are encouraged to explore the relevant sections of the library for yourself. If, however, you want further suggestions for reading on any of the topics covered in this course, then please e-mail me at conor.mulvagh@ucd.ie, I will be happy to suggest other secondary texts.
A lot of material will be available on Brightspace but there are also important internet sources that you can use for this course:
www.cain.ac.uk (Conflict Archive on the Internet): this website contains information and course material on the ‘troubles’ and politics in Northern Ireland from 1968 to the present. There is also some material on society in the region. You will find a lot of the reading available here.
PRONI Records on CAIN: a list of key historical documents from the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland relating to the Northern Irish Troubles and other topics (1960s-1990s) can be browsed by year of creation at: https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/proni/list-year.html
www.ark.ac.uk: a resource providing access to social and political material on Northern Ireland that informs social and political debate in the region and raises the profile of social science research
www.incore.ulst.ac.uk (INCORE (International Conflict Research Institute): is a joint project of the United Nations University and the University of Ulster. Combining research, education and comparative analysis, INCORE addresses the causes and consequences of conflict in Northern Ireland and internationally and promotes conflict resolution management strategies.
www.margaretthatcher.org (Margaret Thatcher Foundation): massive online archive with thousands of text searchable documents relating to all aspects of Thatcher’s political career. Includes House of Commons debate content, cabinet minutes, press briefing documents.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/learning/history/stateapart/ (BBC NI – A State Apart): includes fact files, oral history interviews, a brief overview of the conflict, and very short introductions to the key political and paramilitary organizations involved.
http://www.iwm.org.uk/ (Imperial War Museum): extensive photographic and text archive relating to the conflict in Northern Ireland from governmental, military, and personal perspectives
http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/ (Hansard House of Commons and House of Lords debates online): 1803-2005 fully searchable records of all speech content in the British houses of parliament.
http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/en.toc.dail.html (Dáil/Seanad debates online): as above for all Oireachtas debates from 1919 to present.
http://stormontpapers.ahds.ac.uk/stormontpapers/index.html (Stormont Debates, 1920-72): as above for Stormont.
https://www.newulsterbiography.co.uk/: Authoritative biographies of prominent persons from Ulster
https://dib.cambridge.org/: Authoritative biographies documenting over 10,000 lives of Irish persons or persons prominently associated with Ireland ranging from the earliest times to 2010.
https://www.oxforddnb.com/: over 60,000 biographies, 72 million words, 11,000 portraits of significant, influential or notorious figures who shaped British history
Remember, while these internet sources are valuable and provide excellent and reputable research, they should complement secondary sources, not replace them
Background reading: For those not familiar with Irish or British history, Marc Mulholland, Northern Ireland: a very short introduction (Oxford, 2003) is a recommended introduction.
Essential reading:
• McAtackney, Laura and Maírtín Ó Cathaín (eds), The Routledge handbook of the Northern Ireland conflict and peace (London, 2024)
• Hennessey, Thomas, A History of Northern Ireland, 1920-1996 (Dublin, 1997)
• Staunton, Enda, The Nationalists of Northern Ireland, 1918-1973 (Dublin, 2001)
• English, Richard, Irish Freedom: The History of Nationalism in Ireland (London, 2006)
• McKitterick, D., and McVea, D., Making Sense of the Troubles (Belfast, 2000)
• Wichert, S., Northern Ireland since 1945 (2nd ed.) (London, 1999)
• Bew, P., Gibbon, P., and Patterson, H, Northern Ireland 1921-94: Political Forces and Social Classes (London, 1996)
General
Bew, P., and Gillespie, G., Northern Ireland: A Chronology of the Troubles, 1968-99 (2nd ed.) (Dublin, 1999)
Boyce, D.G., Nationalism in Ireland (2nd ed.) (London, 1991)
Brewer, J.D., & Higgins, G.I., Anti-Catholicism in Northern Ireland, 1600-1998: The Mote and the Beam (Basingstoke, 1998)
Bruce, S., God Save Ulster: The Religion and Politics of Paisleyism (Oxford, 1986)
Coogan, T.P., Ireland Since the Rising (London, 1966)
Cruise-O’Brien, Conor, States of Ireland (London, 1972)
Darby, John, Conflict in Northern Ireland: the development of a polarised community (Dublin, 1976)
Della Porta, D., ‘Life Histories in the analysis of social movement activists’, in Diani, M., & Eyerman, R. (eds.), Studying Collective Action (London, 1992)
De Paor, Liam, Divided Ulster,(2nd ed.) (Harmonsworth, 1971)
Dixon, P., Northern Ireland: The Politics of War and Peace (Basingstoke, 2001)
Elliot, M., The Catholics of Ulster – A History (London, 2000)
English, R., Armed Struggle – The History of the IRA (London, 2003)
English, R., Unionism and Modern Ireland (Dublin, 1996)
Farrell, Michael, Northern Ireland: The Orange State (2nd ed.) (London, 1980)
FitzGerald, G., Towards a New Ireland (London, 1972)
Flackes, W.D., and Elliot, Sydney, Northern Ireland A Political Directory, 1968-88 (Belfast, 1989)
Gallagher, Frank, The Indivisible Island (London, 1957)
Garvin, Tom, The Evolution of Irish Nationalist Politics (Dublin, 1981)
Gillespie, G., Years of Darkness: The Troubles Remembered (Dublin, 2008)
Hepworth, Jack, The age-old struggle: Irish republicanism from the Battle of the Bogside to the Belfast Agreement, 1969-1998 (Liverpool, 2021)
Horowitz, D., Ethnic Groups in Conflict (London, 1985)
Keogh, Dermot, Twentieth-Century Ireland: Nation and State (Dublin, 1994)
Lijphart, A., ‘The Northern Ireland problem: cases, theories, and solutions’, British Journal of Political Science, 5, no. 1 (Jan., 1975), pp 83-106.
Miller, D. (ed.), Rethinking Northern Ireland: culture, ideology and colonialism (London, 1998)
Patterson, Henry, Ireland Since 1939: The persistence of conflict (Dublin 2006)
Whyte, J.H., Interpreting Northern Ireland (Oxford, 1991)
McGarry, J., and O’Leary, B., Explaining Northern Ireland: Broken Images (Oxford, 1995)
McKitterick, D., et al., Lost Lives: The Stories of the Men, Women and Children who Died as a Result of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Edinburgh, 1999)
Nelson, S., Ulster’s Uncertain Defenders: Protestant Political, Paramilitary and Community Groups and the Northern Ireland Conflict (Belfast, 1984)
O’Malley, Pádraig, The Uncivil Wars: Ireland Today (3rd ed.) (Boston, 1997)
Rose, Richard, Governing Without Consensus: An Irish Perspective (London, 1971)
Ruane, J., and Todd, J., The Dynamics of Conflict in Northern Ireland: power, conflict and emancipation (Cambridge, 1996)