Northern Protestants: On Shifting Ground
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- Create Date：2021-06-30 04:41:06
- Update Date：2025-09-24
- Status：finish
- Author：Susan McKay
- ISBN：1780732643
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Summary
Twenty years on from her critically acclaimed book， 'Northern Protestants: An Unsettled People'， Susan McKay talks again to the Protestant community in Northern Ireland。 Based on almost 100 brand-new interviews， and told with McKay’s trademark passion and conviction， this is essential reading。
Containing interviews with politicians， former paramilitaries， victims and survivors， business people， religious leaders， community workers， young people， writers and others， it tackles controversial issues， such as Brexit， paramilitary violence， the border， the legacy of the Troubles， same-sex marriage and abortion， RHI， and the possibility of a United Ireland， and explores social justice issues and campaigns， particularly the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights。
Containing interviews with politicians， former paramilitaries， victims and survivors， business people， religious leaders， community workers， young people， writers and others， it tackles controversial issues， such as Brexit， paramilitary violence， the border， the legacy of the Troubles， same-sex marriage and abortion， RHI， and the possibility of a United Ireland， and explores social justice issues and campaigns， particularly the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights。
Reviews
Joe O'Donnell
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This book could hardly be timelier。 In 2021， Ulster Unionism / Loyalism finds itself at a crossroads。 Having tied themselves to a Tory-driven Brexit during the last half-decade （just as the UK Conservative Party seemed to be jettisoning what remained of their own unionism）， they find themselves betrayed by Boris Johnson， with the union of Britain and Northern Ireland apparently weakened by the Protocol agreement。 Ulster Unionists are facing a demographic tipping point， with the likely loss of th This book could hardly be timelier。 In 2021， Ulster Unionism / Loyalism finds itself at a crossroads。 Having tied themselves to a Tory-driven Brexit during the last half-decade （just as the UK Conservative Party seemed to be jettisoning what remained of their own unionism）， they find themselves betrayed by Boris Johnson， with the union of Britain and Northern Ireland apparently weakened by the Protocol agreement。 Ulster Unionists are facing a demographic tipping point， with the likely loss of their long-standing majority status within Northern Ireland。 And working-class Loyalists， claiming to have received no benefit from the long decades of relative peace， are now making ominous noises about ‘fighting to defend the union’。All of these are reasons why “Northern Protestants: On Shifting Ground” is such a crucial read right now。 The veteran journalist Susan McKay （herself from a Northern Protestant background） sets out to widen our understanding of this frequently-maligned group – a people often derided and dismissed even by their putative political allies in Britain。 This book comes almost exactly twenty years after Susan McKay’s previous opus on this subject， 2000’s “Northern Protestants: an Unsettled People”。 Her latest book follows a similar format to that previous tome， in that it attempts – primarily from a series of interviews - to paint a portrait of Northern Irish Protestantism through the words of more than 60 members of that community。And those interviews provide an invaluable insight into the psyche of the Northern Protestant community。 In the centenary year of the founding of the Northern Ireland state， McKay finds Unionist and Loyalist politics demoralised and intellectually moribund， without the confidence to articulate the merits and benefits of the union they profess to defend， and on a perpetual hunt for traitors， sell-outs and “Lundys”。 But it is on the more personal， human level that “Northern Protestants: On Shifting Ground” is really illuminating。Susan McKay performs a great service in showing that Unionism / Northern Protestantism is far from a monolith。 She makes every effort the capture the voices of Women from a Northern Protestant background – voices which have for decades all too often been marginalised within Ulster Unionism。 Similarly， we hear the views of the LGBT community within Northern Protestantism and learn how these people reconcile their sexuality with a political ideology that has more often than not been fiercely intolerant of them。Although Susan McKay is frequently exasperated with the more unreconstructed， 17th-century-style variants of political Unionism， she writes with a deep empathy and understanding for the community。 This is particularly important given how so many of her interview subjects appear to be trying to recover from some level of trauma， whether that be from the sectarian violence of The Troubles or from the addiction and gangsterism that are endemic in many working-class Loyalist estates。 Never does McKay come remotely close to resorting to the kind of condescension which can often be the default setting for intellectuals – whether from the Irish Republic or from Britain – when working-class Protestants are being discussed。If “Northern Protestants: On Shifting Ground” were just an excavation of the level of post-Troubles trauma that exists within Northern Irish society， it would be hugely worthy and a superb achievement。 But what elevates Susan McKay’s masterful book is that it challenges our preconceptions about a community that is regularly reviled by their political opponents， and shines a light on the heretofore overlooked diversity within that community。 It was this later emerging diversity that left me feeling surprisingly hopeful about Northern Protestantism by the end of the book， and more optimistic that a more forward-looking， less fearful Unionism might yet emerge in Ireland。 “Northern Protestants: On Shifting Ground” is essential reading for anybody who has any interest in Northern Ireland， or in the concept of reconciliation。 。。。more
Thomas Harte
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I would urge everyone with an interest in Northern Ireland to read this book。 There is a perception that Ulster Protestants are all the same。 This is an easy characterisation。 This book shows the complexity and diversity within the Unionist community。 If we are ever to have a lasting political solution in Northern Ireland the two communities need to understand each other。 This book offers us a glimpse into the Protestant identity and we would do well to understand their fears and aspirations。 Th I would urge everyone with an interest in Northern Ireland to read this book。 There is a perception that Ulster Protestants are all the same。 This is an easy characterisation。 This book shows the complexity and diversity within the Unionist community。 If we are ever to have a lasting political solution in Northern Ireland the two communities need to understand each other。 This book offers us a glimpse into the Protestant identity and we would do well to understand their fears and aspirations。 This is a fantastic piece of writing， part sociological study， I was totally immersed in the views and opinions of those the author interviewed。 。。。more
Julian
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