"But I think the violence isn't just a moral thing. It's not just a moral choice at this stage. It's a kind of reflex, and there's a great deal of establishment violence, as well."

I went into this book basically not knowing anything about the Troubles and I came out of it fully supporting the IRA. I'm not sure if Keefe wanted to write a pro-IRA book, but that is essentially what it read as to me, and while the later parts of the book detailed the ways in which the IRA perhaps became twisted from its original aims, the fact remains that to me, the IRA did what they did because of what the British started. When you have a majority colonizing force that is armed and violent, what other option do you have to get the them off your soil? Is there really another option, especially when they use violence against you and ignore your peaceful protests? I truly don't think the Sinn Féin party could have achieved the political success and prominence in politics that it did after the Troubles without the Provos IRA paving the way by forcing the British to take their aims (somewhat) seriously.

This book was well-researched, well-written, and never boring. There were twists and turns to the point where I would occasionally forget that this was actually a nonfiction book, because some of the things that happened, especially after the Good Friday Agreement, seemed to come right out of a political thriller (also fuck Gerry Adams!!) I feel like Keefe really dove into this topic and was able to draw from a variety of sources, including some of the oral history and recordings or transcripts that he did have access to, so we were able to read quotes straight from the sources of people who had been intimately involved with the IRA, like Dolours Price and Brendan Hughes.

I was shocked (but not surprised, let's be real) at the amount of crimes that the British state essentially got away from in the years before and during the Troubles, including state-sanctioned assassinations and situations where people who committed crimes during that period were just never prosecuted. Of course, when the oppressed rise up with violence, it’s always decried as “terrorism.” When the government does it, it’s always “self-defense” and “justified.” However, I was not shocked by certain people's attempts to rewrite history, particularly to paint the IRA negatively after the unification of Ireland actually began to be a talking point that people took seriously. The way that Price, Hughes, and other ex-IRA members were discarded and struggled with PTSD, alcoholism, and more made me think of the veterans who went through the exact same thing—and it really was the exact same thing, because they were basically in a war throughout their teens and early 20s, but without government (from the Sinn Féin party) recognition of what they had gone through or support to manage the fallout. Instead, it was all about how to appear squeaky-clean in the eyes of the press by denying, denying, denying.

I will say though, that I did not come away from this book with sympathy for the abduction and murder of Jean McConville, which is one of the stories that this book is woven around. At least one reason for that is because I felt so much sympathy for Price and Hughes, and they both stated that she was an informant for the British state. The book stated that more ex-IRA and supporters were prosecuted for their crimes than loyalists and British supporters, and it feels like this was another situation where the official powers spent a lot of time trying to bring her murderers to bring more ex-IRA people to "justice" when the British 1) started it and 2) did the same and worse to people.

Anyway, my own leanings and opinions aside, I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about the Troubles, the players who were intimately involved, and the subsequent political fallout after the peace talks and Good Friday Agreement. This book goes into both an overarching picture and the small details and events that happened throughout the many decades of upheaval with thorough research and engaging writing. I know that I, for one, will definitely be seeking out Keefe's other books, because with this one book, he has definitely established himself as a non-fiction great!

[tw: Alcoholism, child abuse, eating disorders, gun violence, murder, pedophilia, sexual assault torture, war]

"But I think the violence isn't just a moral thing. It's not just a moral choice at this stage. It's a kind of reflex, and there's a great deal of establishment violence, as well."

I went into this book basically not knowing anything about the Troubles and I came out of it fully supporting the IRA. I'm not sure if Keefe wanted to write a pro-IRA book, but that is essentially what it read as to me, and while the later parts of the book detailed the ways in which the IRA perhaps became twisted from its original aims, the fact remains that to me, the IRA did what they did because of what the British started. When you have a majority colonizing force that is armed and violent, what other option do you have to get the them off your soil? Is there really another option, especially when they use violence against you and ignore your peaceful protests? I truly don't think the Sinn Féin party could have achieved the political success and prominence in politics that it did after the Troubles without the Provos IRA paving the way by forcing the British to take their aims (somewhat) seriously.

This book was well-researched, well-written, and never boring. There were twists and turns to the point where I would occasionally forget that this was actually a nonfiction book, because some of the things that happened, especially after the Good Friday Agreement, seemed to come right out of a political thriller (also fuck Gerry Adams!!) I feel like Keefe really dove into this topic and was able to draw from a variety of sources, including some of the oral history and recordings or transcripts that he did have access to, so we were able to read quotes straight from the sources of people who had been intimately involved with the IRA, like Dolours Price and Brendan Hughes.

I was shocked (but not surprised, let's be real) at the amount of crimes that the British state essentially got away from in the years before and during the Troubles, including state-sanctioned assassinations and situations where people who committed crimes during that period were just never prosecuted. Of course, when the oppressed rise up with violence, it’s always decried as “terrorism.” When the government does it, it’s always “self-defense” and “justified.” However, I was not shocked by certain people's attempts to rewrite history, particularly to paint the IRA negatively after the unification of Ireland actually began to be a talking point that people took seriously. The way that Price, Hughes, and other ex-IRA members were discarded and struggled with PTSD, alcoholism, and more made me think of the veterans who went through the exact same thing—and it really was the exact same thing, because they were basically in a war throughout their teens and early 20s, but without government (from the Sinn Féin party) recognition of what they had gone through or support to manage the fallout. Instead, it was all about how to appear squeaky-clean in the eyes of the press by denying, denying, denying.

I will say though, that I did not come away from this book with sympathy for the abduction and murder of Jean McConville, which is one of the stories that this book is woven around. At least one reason for that is because I felt so much sympathy for Price and Hughes, and they both stated that she was an informant for the British state. The book stated that more ex-IRA and supporters were prosecuted for their crimes than loyalists and British supporters, and it feels like this was another situation where the official powers spent a lot of time trying to bring her murderers to bring more ex-IRA people to "justice" when the British 1) started it and 2) did the same and worse to people.

Anyway, my own leanings and opinions aside, I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about the Troubles, the players who were intimately involved, and the subsequent political fallout after the peace talks and Good Friday Agreement. This book goes into both an overarching picture and the small details and events that happened throughout the many decades of upheaval with thorough research and engaging writing. I know that I, for one, will definitely be seeking out Keefe's other books, because with this one book, he has definitely established himself as a non-fiction great!

[tw: Alcoholism, child abuse, eating disorders, gun violence, murder, pedophilia, sexual assault torture, war]