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The Ghosts of Belfast: Exploring Ireland's Bloody Past
March 16, 2009
Last week's brutal murders of two British soldiers and an Ulster police officer by Irish Republican Army dissidents raised fears of a renewed wave of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland, but it appears that, as the New York Times reports, old enemies are determined to resolve their differences peacefully. Rallies drew thousands of people to vigils in Belfast and other cities in the province, and the funeral of the slain police officer, who was Catholic, was attended by both Catholic and Protestant mourners.
As a post-conflict Northern Ireland struggles to maintain its fragile peace, writers and filmmakers are taking a new look at The Troubles, which wracked the province with bloodshed for 30 years. British artist Steve McQueen's controversial film, Hunger, (which won an award at the Cannes Film Festival and which opens March 20 in New York), retraces the last six weeks in the life of Irish hunger striker Bobby Sands. Coming this October from Soho Crime is Stuart Neville's The Ghosts of Belfast (published in the U.K. as The Twelve), the first book in a new series. With blurbs from John Connolly and Ken Bruen (who calls Neville "Ireland's answer to Henning Mankell"), this thriller about a former IRA hitman who stalks his former bosses to appease the 12 victims who haunt his life is sure to garner attention and stir lively pub discussions. 
Posted by Wilda Williams on March 16, 2009 | Comments (0)
