This highly readable exploration of the central issues and debates about Northern Ireland sets these in the historical context of hundreds of years of conflict. It tackles many questions, such as: What accounts for the perpetuation of ethnic and religious conflict in Ireland? Why has armed violence proven so hard to control? Who are the major figures and issues in the conflict? Can we expect more "Northern Irelands" in the future?
Review
`a useful little handbook with some easy-to-access basic information'
Irish Democrat
`a brief and helpful introduction to the Troubles. . . . The Volume's great value is that it offers a lucidly and lightly written, short introduction to a subject that will continue to haunt many people for a very long time'
TLS
`a masterly feat of compression . . . excellent on the paradoxes of political developments since the ceasefires.'
Financial Times
`Mulholland writes with unusual sensitivity and fairness. He understands the problem: in Northern Ireland, neither Nationalist nor Unionist feels they may rest easy.'
Paul Bew, Queen's University Belfast
