Description
The enduring narrative of the Troubles in Northern Ireland (1968-1998) is one which is centred on Belfast. Recent years have seen increasing scholarship challenge this Belfast-centric narrative to consider how the conflict manifested amongst rural communities and indeed other regional towns and cities. Panellists will consider how political violence played out differently across urban centres drawing on less prominent bombing campaigns, how different regional actors employed ambiguity and confidentiality in peace talks and how policewomen’s experiences of operating across the Province diversify conflict narratives. They will further reflect on how regional legacies of the conflict have been sustained in relation to unit reputations and how cross-border cooperation has inculcated both boundlessness and boundaries. This panel foregrounds the regional nuances to the story of the Troubles and their implications for Northern Ireland today, by disrupting the dominance of the Belfast story and shedding new light on the narratives, narrators, hierarchies and legacies of this conflict.
