Overview

Until surprisingly recently the history of the Irish Catholic Church during the Northern Irish Troubles was written by Irish priests and bishops and was commemorative, rather than analytical. This study uses the Troubles as a case study to evaluate the role of the Catholic Church in mediating conflict. During the Troubles, these priests and bishops often worked behind the scenes, acting as go-betweens for the British government and republican paramilitaries, to bring about a peaceful solution. However, this study also looks more broadly at the actions of the American, Irish and English Catholic Churches, as well as that of the Vatican, to uncover the full impact of the Church on the conflict. This critical analysis of previously neglected state, Irish, and English Catholic Church archival material changes our perspective on the role of a religious institution in a modern conflict.

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9780192871398

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Reviews

Margaret Scull's monograph offers an important contribution to the historical literature on Northern Ireland and, moreover, it is widely relevant to the study of organised Christianity in divided communities in times of civil unrest. * Eugenio F. Biagini, Sidney Sussex College, Journal of Contemporary History * The author has looked at a commendably wide range of material and has interviewed some key figures in Church and politics ... these interviews give real insight into the complementarities and antagonisms between the Church, nationalism and republicanism * Oliver P. Rafferty SJ, Journal of Ecclesiastical History * This is an important book and it should certainly be read carefully and mulled over by anyone interested in Northern Ireland specifically and in the intersections between politics and religion more generally, with all of the moral, ethical, and cultural considerations therein. * Margo Shea, H-Diplo * Margaret Scull's book The Catholic Church and the Northern Ireland Troubles, 1968-1998 transcends the parochial view on the Catholic Church during the Northern Ireland Conflict and instead situates it in a transnational framework. Thereby, she challenges established views and provides fresh insight...Scull's book hopefully will rekindle the interest of the Church's role in the conflict and will do away with the stereotype that the conflict was primarily the concern of the Irish Catholic Church with the English Catholic Church playing the part of a bystander. * Jan Freytag, British Catholic History * This volume is an important contribution to the scholarship of the 'Troubles' in Northern Ireland; it is painstakingly researched and engagingly written...Margaret Scull has made a very significant contribution to the literature of the Northern Irish conflict; it is to be hoped that the book will be widely read and made available in paperback. * Stephen Hopkins, University of Leicester, Cercles * Dr Scull has injected fresh impetus into chronicling the often secretive roles played by the Catholic and Protestant Churches in the Irish Troubles. * John Cooney, The Irish Times * A rich and carefully-researched new book, The Catholic Church and the Northern Ireland Troubles, 1968-1999, offers fresh insights on the changing role of the Catholic Church and the personalities that drove its interventions during that fraught period. * Gladys Ganiel, slugger o'toole * It has been some time since Catholicism has been the subject of such a focused academic study. * Gladys Ganiel, Queen's University Belfast, Slugger O'Toole *

Author Information

Margaret M. Scull is a historian of modern Britain and Ireland. After graduating with a PhD from King's College London in 2017, she has held teaching and research fellowships at KCL, the National University of Ireland, Galway, and Syracuse University London. Her multi-disciplinary research explores the relationship between religion and politics in the contemporary period; particularly the 'soft power' influence religious leaders still possessed in British and Irish politics after the Second World War. Her current project examines the role of funerals throughout the Northern Ireland 'Troubles'.

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