How to Fix Northern Ireland by O’Doherty, Malachi

Description

‘Deeply researched and often revelatory… variegated and sensitive’ Literary ReviewIt is twenty-five years since the Good Friday Agreement brought an end to the terrible violence that rocked Northern Ireland for decades. Yet, in this controversial and provocative new book, Malachi O’Doherty argues that it completely ignored the real reason behind the conflict and instead left a festering wound at the core of society. Part memoir, part history and part polemic, How to Fix Northern Ireland shows how the country’s deep division is simply not about whether it should be governed as part of Ireland or as part of Britain – as presumed by the agreement – but rather is fundamentally sectarian, an inter-ethnic stress comparable to racism.

O’Doherty reveals how the split between catholics and protestants continues to invade everyday life – from education and segregated housing, from street protests, bonfires and parades to the high politics of power sharing and Brexit – and asks what can be done to solve a centuries-old social rift and heal the relationship at the heart of the problem.