Northern Ireland

In the wake of the killing of Robert McCartney in Belfast earlier this year, I decided that I should educate myself about the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland.

Up until now I have understood the basics and have known that Elizabeth the First in all her glory could have handled Ireland (the first English colony) better and saved us a lot of trouble. A friend of mine who was visiting just recently, grew up in Belfast and he obviously had fairly well formed thoughts on the subject, as I sat and listened to him I realised that I actually did know very little about the subject and decided that the time had come to educate myself.

Before I had a chance to go and settle down in the library and start my education, a second hand paperback crossed my desk - Fifty Dead Men Walking by Martin McGartland. So I started reading...in summary....Martin McGartland was a Catholic growing up in Belfast, as a kid he was involved in petty crime, as he got older he became an RUC informer and also worked for the IRA, his work with the IRA gave him the information that he fed to the RUC. Eventually the IRA realised what he was doing and there follows a fairly dramatic escape and a move to England and anonymity. I realise that books like this must be read with caution and preferably with background reading which I have done. However, even with the background reading, this book is quite an eye opener into the workings and thoughts of the IRA and is a simple account of the trials of life in Belfast during the 1980s and '90s.

My reading and education will continue, but this was a interesting way to start.