The impact of the Troubles on the Republic of Ireland, 1968-79: Boiling volcano?

This timely history examines how those in Southern Ireland viewed and responded to the Troubles. With Brexit generating renewed discussion about the Irish border and Irish unity, it vividly highlights the terrible human cost and the underlying tensions that continue to shape Irish politics today.


Brian Hanley draws on a rich vein of archival material looking at the everyday lives of Irish citizens, to show how thousands mobilized in solidarity with northern nationalists over the first four years of the conflict -- beginning with the 1968 Civil Rights March in Derry. He animates the reaction to Bloody Sunday and explains how fear of the conflict spilling over produced a growing estrangement from the North and its problems.
Taking the reader through the battles between successive governments and republicans over security, the experience of northern refugees, the impact of the crisis on southern Protestants and popular views of the IRA, Hanley makes sure to foreground the experience of the communities affected.


This book serves as a stark reminder of how the Northern conflict almost destabilized the southern state.