Northern Ireland, British-Irish Relations and American Concerns, 1942-1956

This article considers the political impact of particular Irishcontroversies during the Second World War and the post-war period.It highlights the American dimension to these controversies,and examines what they reveal about different sets of inter-governmentalrelations, especially that of London and Belfast. The articleargues that the context of wartime, and the circumstances ofthe post-war era, should have led to more effective cooperationbetween the Westminster and Stormont governments to the endof improving the operation of devolution and ensuring the curtailmentof corrupt practices. The article also contends that there weresignificant tensions between different areas of successive Londongovernments which hampered the effective handling of Irish matters.     

Northern Ireland,employment and the law

Employment Equality in Northern Ireland, vols I‐III Eithne McLaughlin (series ed.), 1997 Belfast, Standing Advisory Committee on Human Rights ISBN 0.9527.5280.8

Vol. I. Fair Employment Law in Northern Ireland: Debates and Issues Denise Magill & Sarah Rose (eds) pp. 202

Vol. II. Policy Aspects of Employment Equality in Northern Ireland Eithne McLaughlin & Padraic Quirk (eds) pp.197

Vol. III. Public Views and Experiences of Fair Employment and Equality Issues in Northern Ireland John McVey & Nigel Hutson (eds) pp. 170     

‘This we will Maintain’: Gender,Ethno‐Nationalism and the Politics of Unionism in Northern Ireland

This paper examines the gendering of unionist national identity in Northern Ireland through an analysis of organizations that are central to unionist politics today. While the commonplace observation that unionist women are ‘tea‐makers‘ conveys a critical dimension of the gender order within unionism, it does not fully capture the significance of women's contributions to the establishment or maintenance of unionism. The article analyzes how Stormont constituted an ethno‐gender regime, examines unionist women's political engagement during the Stormont era and under direct rule, investigates how the peace process and Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement have affected the unionist ethno‐gender order and the gender politics of unionism, and explores the possibilities for political transformation.     

The last glaciation in the Western Mourne Mountains,Northern Ireland

During the late‐Midlandian (25–13 ¹⁴C ka BP), the last Irish Ice Sheet was thicker in the Western Mourne Mountains than previously argued. Geomorphological and sedimento‐logical analysis shows that regional ice from the Irish Ice Sheet spilled over the mountains, reaching a major limit 5 km along Pigeon Rock Valley. These findings differ from the previous view that a local valley glacier occupied the valley during this period. The pattern of deglaciation was reconstructed using glacial and periglacial evidence. A complex topographic environment in the upper reaches of the valley suggests that regional ice stagnated as it wasted away. During the Nahanagan Stadial (Younger Dryas, ca. 11–10 ka ¹⁴C BP) an arcuate ridge was formed on the western flank of the valley. Calculations suggest that the Equilibrium Line Altitude, influenced by topographic conditions favourable for snow accumulation, was approximately between 1736 m and 1386 m lower during the Nahanagan Stadial than at present.     

Deducing rationales and political tactics in the partitioning of Ireland, 1912–1925

Partition is an intrinsically abstract and simplistic blunt instrument applied on a complex mosaic of peculiarities that constitute reality. There are very few modern states that are ethnically or culturally homogenous. In this context, partition is a subjective territorial tactic that can treat or exacerbate symptoms of historical, political, and geographical difficulties. While exhibiting comparative scope, especially to the role of the British State and the dynamics of national majorities and minorities, the circumstances concerning the partitioning of Ireland deviate from patterns gleaned from other examples as the evolving bases of its partition between 1912 and 1925 mutated at various stages with regard to geography, political status, and function. However, Ireland served as an important historical precedent in illustrating the disparity between the original intent and eventual result of its partition. Indeed, one can extrapolate from the Irish example that partition is better understood as a catalytic tactical process that radically reconfigures the political and geographical dimensions of conflict rather than as a decisive political instrument solving it.     

Religious Identity and the Future of Northern Ireland

Religion matters in Northern Ireland because it shapes social and personal identity and influences the very different worldviews of people within the two cultures of the province (Protestant and Catholic). Because religion matters so profoundly, no long-term solution to the political problems of the province will be possible without acknowledging its impact on values and thinking. The significance of the expressions "the Catholic community" and "the Protestant people" is explored as is the impact of religious ideas on current policy issues. A comparison of Northern Ireland and the United States is offered as a way of suggesting the effect social and economic mobility will have on attempts to resolve the province's political troubles.     

The British Parliamentary Labour Party and the Government of Ireland Act 1920

Immediately after the First World War the British Labour Party was forced to reconsider its relationship with an increasingly militant Irish nationalism. This reassessment occurred at the same time as it was becoming a major political and electoral force in post‐war Britain. The political imperative from the party's perspective was to portray itself as a responsible, moderate and patriotic alternative governing party. Thus it was fearful of the potential negative impact of too close an association with, and perceived sympathy for, extreme Irish nationalism. This explains the party's often bewildering changes in policy on Ireland at various party conferences in 1919 and 1920, ranging from support for home rule to federalism throughout the United Kingdom to ‘dominion home rule’ as part of a wider evolving British Commonwealth to adopting outright ‘ self‐determination’ for a completely independent Ireland outside both United Kingdom and empire. On one aspect of its Irish policy, however, the party was adamant and united – its opposition to the partition of Ireland, which was the fundamental principle of Lloyd George's Government of Ireland Bill of 1920 which established Northern Ireland. Curiously, that aspect of Labour's Irish policy was never discussed in the party at large. All the running was made by the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) in the house of commons in 1920. The PLP's outright opposition to the bill acted as balm throughout the wider party, binding together the confusing, and often contradictory, positions promulgated on the long‐term constitutional future of Ireland and its relationship with Britain.     

The pens of the defeated: John Hewitt,Sam Thompson and the Northern Ireland Labour Party

Telescoping the political lives and work of Sam Thompson and John Hewitt, this article demonstrates the importance of the Labour movement on both Belfast-born Protestant writers and how this inculcated a socialist conviction quite separate and antagonistic to Ulster unionism. Referencing Thompson's unpublished, largely unknown plays as well as newspapers and his trio of performed works, the article illuminates his public impact as well as the significance of the play Over the Bridge (1960). Hewitt's early political activities and regionalist outlook are explored, as is the controversy surrounding his 1957 move to Coventry. The underestimated importance of a class perspective within Northern Protestantism is addressed, the article arguing that questions of national identity are secondary to the writers' class and internationalist politics. With continuing resonance, literature and writing itself are shown as intrinsic to the Northern Ireland Labour Party, with which both were associated, fuelling resistance to both unionism and Irish nationalism.