A Place Apart: Northern Ireland in the 1970s

By Dervla Murphy

Book Overview

At the height of The Troubles, Dervla Murphy bicycled to Northern Ireland to try to understand the situation by speaking to people on either side of the divide. She also sought to interrogate her own opinions and emotions. As an Irishwoman and traveller who had only ever spent thirty-six hours of her forty- four years over the border to the north, why had she been so reluctant to engage with the issues?

Despite her own family connections to the IRA, she travelled north largely unfettered by sectarian loyalties. Armed instead with an indefatigable curiosity, a fine ear for anecdote, an ability to stand her own at the bar and a penetrating intelligence, she navigated her way through horrifying situations, and sometimes found herself among people stiff with hate and grief. But equally, she discovered an unquenchable thirst for life and peace, a spirit that refused to die.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1780600119
• ISBN13: 9781780600116
• Release Date: August 2015
• Publisher: Eland Publishing
• Length: 317 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Essential reading for anyone seeking to understand NI

Anyone who has ever been baffled by the seemingly mindless intransigence of politics in 'Norn Iron' (and, let's face it, who hasn't?) should beg, borrow or steal this superb book. Politicians are a product of their society and this is the most brilliantly insightful book I have ever read on Northern Irish society. What other writer would sit through the tedium of EIGHT Free Presbyterian services in various locations so as to ensure she had a proper understanding of that peculiarly Ulster phenomenon? Who else has attempted to get to know what South Armagh is really like behind the facile 'bandit country' cliches?Most of those who hold forth on the subject either lack a real understanding of the North or bring a Unionist/Nationalist agenda to bear on their writings. Murphy manages to be both harshly critical of some sectors of Northern society (Orangemen, Provos) whilst retaining sympathy for them as individuals and attempting to understand how they come to hold the beliefs they do. Only one figure becomes uglier the more closely she observes him - Ian Paisley. Her description of the near hypnotic power which his sermons exerted on his listeners was chilling.Dervla Murphy's combination of thoroughness and keen insight, together with her fluid writing style, make this an enthralling read. Now well over 20 years old, it is still the best portrait of Northern society yet written. Highly recommended. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------