Irish America

Irish America

The Troubles

Belfast Court Finally Rules on 1972 Springhill/Westrock Belfast Killings

By Brian Dooley

IA Newsletter May 16, 2026

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The last few minutes waiting for the verdict in the Belfast court were excruciating. Relatives of five people shot dead by British soldiers in west Belfast one night in July 1972 sat at the back of the huge courtroom. Some of us invited by the families sat behind the glass screen that separated our benches from the judge, listening to his ruling through speakers. By four … [Read more...] about Belfast Court Finally Rules on 1972 Springhill/Westrock Belfast Killings

Ourselves Alone: An Interview with Gerry Adams

By Patricia Harty, Editor-in-Chief
April 1991

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The Sinn Féin office is located in a what could hardly be called a luxury building in what seems to be a mostly deserted area of West Belfast. In the room where I sit, there is a one-bar electric fire, a couple of mismatched chairs and little else. Somewhere on the outside a band is practicing, the drums that one usually associates with Loyalists are getting a fair belting from … [Read more...] about Ourselves Alone: An Interview with Gerry Adams

The Exile

By Pete Hamill

October 1986

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A Story of Ireland Whenever Michael Walsh thought he was finished at last with Ireland, all of it would come flooding back, like a sudden wave on a glassy sea. He had tried to rid himself of that sad green country with cheap whiskey in too many bad bars in a city that was not his own. And now, on this perfect spring day in his eleventh year of New York exile, he could feel … [Read more...] about The Exile

Wild Irish Women: Bernadette

By Rosemary Rogers
Spring 2023

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After 800 years of colonial rule, Ireland finally got conditional freedom and fell victim to the British Empire’s deadliest legacy, partition. In the six northern counties, bigotry and resentment simmered over the years until it broke wide open in 1968. Then along came Bernadette. In the beginning, there was a single face that symbolized the conflict, a passionate college … [Read more...] about Wild Irish Women: Bernadette

Understanding Northern Ireland’s “Troubles”

By Peter Quinn
IA Newsletter, August 13, 2022

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Quarantines are not without their benefits. During the early months of the pandemic, I was able to reduce my bedside leaning tower of books before it toppled over on my head. Two of the best deal with Northern Ireland. Together they are essential to understanding the conflict. Maurice Fitzpatrick’s John Hume in America: From Derry to DC tells the story of a man who, in the face … [Read more...] about Understanding Northern Ireland’s “Troubles”