BOOK REVIEW: REPORTING THE TROUBLES 2 - COMPILED BY DERIC HENDERSON & IVAN LITTLE

 

Blackstaff Press 2022

https://blackstaffpress.com/reporting-the-troubles-2-9781780733258

Reporting the Troubles 2

More journalists tell their stories of the Northern Ireland conflict

Compiled by Deric Henderson and Ivan Little

Foreword by Bertie Ahern and Sir Tony Blair

This book (and its predecessor, Reporting the Troubles, published in 2018) is, on a deceptively simple level, a book by journalists about journalism. But it is so much more than that. Book 1 and Book 2 are recollections of some of the most harrowing and deplorable events that happened in Northern Ireland in relatively recent times.

"Reporting on the tragedy of what happened here in the last five decades was never easy. It took a certain kind of journalist to head off into the night to report from the scene of the latest murder, to listen to heartbreaking stories of the lives destroyed by the conflict, and to try to make sense of it all." (Mark Carruthers).

The memories of death, injury, destruction and brutality are told vividly and also with humanity for the victims and their families. These are people stories that I read with stirred emotions, often with a tear in my eye or with raging anger.  I was struck by many things but when reading about babies, young children and others who were killed by "mistake", followed by a blasé "oops, sorry, but our campaign continues" from paramilitary outfits, I could feel the intensity of my blood boiling.

On one side of these narratives, there is despair and everlasting grief. On the other, there is a clinging to a sincere desire that the current fragile peace in Northern Ireland will one day become something more solid cemented by hope.

Another running thought as I read these brilliant pieces of journalism was the attempts by some individuals and organisations to wipe the slate clean, to erase the past as if it never really happened or mattered. How wrong would that be? What an insult to those who died, those who can never forget and those whose pain and torment never fade!

"In Northern Ireland there is a word for dealing with the past. It is a word for the killings during the Troubles, the murders, assassinations, the abductions, the bombings, the dreadful mistakes, the people who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. We call it legacy. But legacy is difficult, because legacy lasts a lifetime. (Will Leitch)

This is not always an easy read but it is an essential book that (along with its previous companion) should be read widely for years to come. There is truth here, truth told by great journalists via exceptional journalism. Without these extraordinary people, quite a few dealing still with their own recurring nightmares, the past really would be forgotten. Journalism at this high level really does make a difference. 

"We dedicated the first volume of the book to the victims of the Troubles and they and their families are still at the heart of this second book. We hope that both volumes stand as an enduring act of remembrance." (Deric Henderson and Ivan Little).

An enduring act of remembrance, it certainly is. Highly recommended.