Digital Commons Network^™

Bloody Sunday: Death & Press, Joseph Gaffney

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project is a historical paper on Bloody Sunday, a day of violence in Dublin during the Irish War for Independence on November 21, 1920, analyzing primary and secondary sources centered on the subject to answer specific historiographical research questions. The primary objective of this research project is to understand the immediate social and political ramifications of Bloody Sunday in Ireland and England as reflected in the spread of information via the written press. The goal of the written analysis will be to answer a series of historical research questions. How were both the IRA’s killings and the subsequent reprisal …

“Hush Ma Cailín”: Irish Women And Egalitarian Nationalism, Velma Tomasova Lockman

Honors Theses

In October 1997, the members of the Army Executive of the Provisional Irish Republican Army who favored an end to the decades-long insurgency against British rule in the occupied six counties of Ireland outmaneuvered and forced the resignations of those who supported continuing the war. Among those forced to resign was the one woman on the Army Executive. She and her comrades would coalesce around Bernadette Sands McKevitt as the dissidents prepared to fight on under the banner of the Real Irish Republican Army while the majority of the insurgents laid down their arms. The Continuity Irish Republican Army simultaneously …

The Irish Republican Army: An Examination Of Imperialism, Terror, And Just War Theory, Avery R. Barboza

Master's Theses

Analysis of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and their actions in the 1970s and 1980s offer insight into their use of just war theory in their conflict with the British government and ultra-loyalist Protestant forces in Northern Ireland. The historiography of Irish history is defined by its phases of nationalism, revisionism, and anti-revisionism that cloud the historical narrative of imperialism and insurgency in the North. Applying just war theory to this history offers a more nuanced understanding of the conflict of the Troubles and the I.R.A.’s usage of this framework in their ideology that guided their terrorism in the latter …

Women For Ireland: Republican Feminism In The Northern Ireland Troubles, Laura Jacobsen

Theses and Dissertations

This paper studies the involvement of republican women in the Northern Ireland conflict, a struggle which defined life in Northern Ireland from 1969-1998. Too often, the Troubles, as the conflict is known, has been conceptualized as a struggle of men, while women are seen to be little more than suffering wives, girlfriends, and mothers. The image of “Mother Ireland” reinforces this notion: in this trope, Ireland is a woman begging for her sons to save her from British subjectivity. Similarly, contemporary feminist critics did not consider republican women to be equal to men. It was their belief that republican women …

A Call To Peace: How Third-Party Actors And Frameworks Impacted The Peace Processes Of Northern Ireland And Colombia, Esther K. Holm

Channels: Where Disciplines Meet

Northern Ireland and Colombia both serve as excellent case studies on how the end of the Cold War impacted peace processes. Both countries experienced conflicts that begun in the Cold War era and underwent peace processes in the post-Cold War era. As such, studying them reveals characteristics of post-Cold War peace processes. For example, both Northern Ireland and Colombia showcase the important role that third-party actors play in modern conflict mediation. Both countries benefited greatly from mediation conducted by international organization, other countries, and individuals. Furthermore, both countries demonstrate the importance of frameworks in any successful peace negotiation. This paper …

The Dynamics Of Conflict: Transforming Northern Ireland, Ronit Berger

Dissertations - ALL

The main goal of this project is to gain a better understanding of the process of conflict transformation. More specifically, I wish to examine what are the circumstances that push Dual Wing Resistance Organizations (DWRO), and particularly, the Irish Provisional Republican Movement to behave in one of four different ways: convergent towards violence, convergence towards cooperation, divergence and confusion.

My main argument is that in order to understand conflict transformation processes and what pushes an organization to behave in a particular way one must look into the interaction between factors at three levels of analysis: the context, organizational dynamics and …

The Mcgowan Trilogy (Plays), Seamus O'Scanlain

Publications and Research

The McGowan Trilogy is a psychological journey of violence, sorrow and love lost. Set in 1980s Ireland after the Brighton Bombing which targeted Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet it follows the exploits of Victor M. McGowan - a new breed of IRA enforcer - in love with puns, guns and the pogo. The Trilogy won awards for Best Actress, Best Director and Best Production in 2014 and played for 20 nights in New York. In 2015 it played in the UK at the Kino-Teatr, An Taibhdhearc, The Town hall Westport and The Town Hall Galway.

Bobby Sands And Public Perception, Reed Burke

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

This research is going to focus on the 1981 Hunger Strikes during the period of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The focus of this peaceful protest in the media was on Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteer Bobby Sands. He was the first protestor of the hunger strike that started on March 1st, 1981. The focal point of my research is going to be focused on analyzing newspapers from different areas of Ireland and Great Britain to comprehend the differences in sentiments towards Sands and the hunger strike. I will be analyzing Pro-Republican newspapers from Northern Ireland and comparing them to …

As Close As You'll Ever Be, Seamus O'Scanlain

Publications and Research

Short story collection featuring Victor McGowan - set in Galway, Belfast, Boston and New York. Irish crime fiction noir collection.

Historical Accuracy And The Ira Over 70 Years Of Cinema, Eric Scott Elliott

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to examine how the Irish Republican Army has been represented in theatrical cinema since the 1930s. The goal is to demonstrate the necessity for historical accuracy in movies produced for public entertainment, which often neglect historical facts and circumstances in portraying an organization as controversial and complex as the IRA. This has been done by examining five movies produced for wide-distribution and comparing each to the detailed historical record. Upon analysis of these movies, it becomes clear that the films which are the most historically relevant are also the most powerful cinematic productions, both …

The Path To Peace: Conflict Theory And Northern Ireland’S Troubles (1968-1998), Ruairi Wiepking

Master's Theses

This paper is a qualitative historical analysis of Northern Ireland’s Troubles. Over a period of approximately thirty years, sectarian violence in Northern Ireland dominated the headlines of newspapers in both the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. Despite this violent history, Northern Ireland has enjoyed relative peace and stability since the passage of the Belfast Agreement in 1998. This paper aims to better understand why and how Northern Ireland endured a generation of brutal sectarian violence and emerged into a new era of peace and mutual understanding. In doing so, this paper incorporates theories from peace and conflict studies …

Tactics, Politics, And Propaganda In The Irish War Of Independence, 1917-1921, Mike Rast

M. C. Rast

This thesis examines the influences on and evolution of the Irish Republican Army’s guerrilla war strategy between 1917 and 1921. Utilizing newspapers, government documents, and memoirs of participants, this study highlights the role of propaganda and political concerns in waging an insurgency. It argues that while tactical innovation took place in the field, IRA General Headquarters imposed policy and directed the conflict with a concern for the political results of military action. While implementing strategies necessary to effective conduct of the war, this Headquarters staff was unable to reconcile a disjointed and overburdened command structure, leading its disintegration after the …

The Detention Of Suspected Terrorists In Northern Ireland And Great Britain, Brice Dickson

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Long Game: Hamas, The Ira, And The Politics Of Radicalization In Palestine And Northern Ireland, Dan O'Sullivan

Honors Theses

The value of a comparative study of the two conflicts stems from a remarkable similarity in the structural organization of political violence by its most influential practitioners: the IRA and Hamas. At the core, I have merely tried my best to approach a beguiling question in a fresh, dynamic way. The stultifying discourse of conflict that serves as lingua franca for the Israeli‐Palestinian issue has largely reduced strategic debate to how best the conflict can be managed – not ended. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s focus on “economic peace” and unwillingness to commit to a two‐state solution – the consensus that …

Bishops 2005, Carl Milofsky

Northern Ireland Archive

This is the third time the two retired Bishops visited our classes. In the first 15 minutes of each tape Edward Daly, the Catholic Bishop, and James Mehaffey, the Anglican Bishop, briefly tell their life histories. This tape has two significant substantive aspects. First, there is discussion of integrated education in Northern Ireland and how the Bishops view this educational innovation. Bishop Daly is critical of what he considers mechanical procedures to force integration. He thinks to achieve peace in Northern Ireland root political problems must be addressed. The second important content on this tape is Bishop Daly's account of …

Ira Arms Are Likely Stockpiled, Ready For Destruction, Tom Clonan

Articles

The Provisional IRA in its statement yesterday pledges to ‘verifiably put its arms beyond use in a way which will further enhance public confidence and to conclude this as quickly as possible’. Given the size and dispersed nature of the IRA’s arsenal, this task will likely prove a logistical challenge that will take at least several weeks to complete. Over the last four decades, the IRA has taken delivery of a considerable number of consignments of weapons for its armed campaign. The main sources of IRA armament have traditionally been from republican sympathisers in the US and from other anti-establishment …

Civil And Human Rights Violations In Northern Ireland: Effects And Shortcomings Of The Good Friday Agreement In Guaranteeing Protections, Lynn Wartchow

Northwestern Journal of Human Rights

No abstract provided.

Weapons As Weapons: Another Northern Ireland Impasse, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article explores the psychology of weapons possession in the context of political conflict in Northern Ireland.