Northern Protestants: On Shifting Ground

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Well written and just enough author commentary to provide context to the interviewees’ comments but oh what a tale of despair. But it is on the more personal, human level that “Northern Protestants: On Shifting Ground” is really illuminating.

Many feel that, as one interviewee puts it, “social issues have been neglected” in the constant manoeuvring over the national question, while there is a profound frustration with the Stormont assembly’s long, dysfunctional drama of stalemate and standoff. It’s a deep but breezy read, and I found myself constantly saying far past my bedtime, “Just one more section. As an atheist and an Irishman,i have naturally struggled to find patience for them down the years,as the base elements within their community are often the loudest and still haven't been cast to the fringe where they would belong in any other civilised society. This is simply an important read for anyone who takes an interest in the Irish Question, particularly in the context of Brexit.

People (mainly Protestants) experience explosive events where they believe life will never be the same.

These are issues that can be addressed, even resolved, through community organising and clear political advocacy – developments that are not just permitted to Ulster Protestants but actively encouraged through EU peace funding. Towards the end of the decade, as civil rights protesters demanded an end to a political system designed to disempower Catholics, that unionist rallying cry grew louder and more strident in its opposition to the same. It is a potentially transformative narrative for anyone who takes the time to read it and reflect on the many experiences, commentaries and stories of the contributors.Living in Northern Ireland and growing up from mid teens in the midst of an identity crisis, where death and destruction were commonplace and the "other" were always suspect. I helped a protestant man on his milk round, but as we sat and ate sandwiches, we didn’t talk so much.

I grew up among this lot, though kicking with the other foot, so I am completely confident of the accuracy of the picture presented - not much has changed at a fundamental level. At present, it would seem, unionists are fighting mainly with themselves, the DUP’s leadership debacle a symptom of a deeper existential crisis within unionism caused by a conjunction of forces, some predictable, some unforeseen, which have rendered Northern Ireland’s future as part of the United Kingdom increasingly uncertain. Every year we publish a selection of books and pamphlets that address the key issues facing activists and trade unionists.

It's almost impossible to separate my reaction to the interviews in this book from my personal experience of growing up in Belfast (not as a Protestant but Protestant adjacent shall we say) and my current view on the constitutional question. The author gives the impression of allowing each interviewee to speak for themselves without directly confirming or refuting the veracity of their claims, but as another friend has pointed out she allows some more space to articulate their positions than others. It is a fascinating time in Northern Ireland given Brexit looming before them along with an election that placed Sinn Fein in power. All of these are reasons why “Northern Protestants: On Shifting Ground” is such a crucial read right now. I would be particularly interested in how liberal unionists react to this book, and the many contradictions in unionism/loyalism that it brings to light.

There were a couple of protestant owned businesses but they were mostly concentrated at one end of the small town we were from.Susan McKay first visited this topic twenty years ago, when the north was still basking in the glow of the early days of the ceasefires. But as many Ulster Protestants will denounce this book as an indictment of their people,I found myself warming to many of the people in the book and found their perspective refreshing.